Reviews

HEAL THROUGH A JOURNEY OF THE WINDY PLACE ❤️

MEET YOURSELF
I don't know where to start this drama has been HOME I cried when I realised it has ended maybe because I've been soo attached to it🥹 now why should you watch meet yourself ( 5 reasons they could be 100 because it's worth all that but I'll sum it all up into five😅😇

#1. The storyline
Unique refreshingly, slow but intriguing and indulging, full of life, healing amazing I can't find more words but this has a story I needed, I was hooked from EP one which made me cry alot by the way till EP 40 which made me cry too because I couldn't believe it had ended🥲🥹

#2.THE CAST
All characters be it the leads or the supports every single one of them did a great job, every character was given room to bond with the viewers every story was given time, every character was soo good I felt so connected to each and every one or them thanks for bringing this beautiful story to life🤍🥺🙏

#3.The healing life lessons and dialogue
Usually when iam watching a drama I screen shot funny scenes 😅 but with this it was the dialogue that was so relatable I couldn't help pause to agree, the lessons of life I've learnt in this series were more than anything... thanks to the writer....for such relatable life lessons 🥺

#4.The cinematography and scenery

You know how you feel calm by just staring at the breath taking scenes in a series, that's how I felt I even wished I could pack up and go to the windy place too 😂 every one needs that freshness thanks yunan village for the breathtaking scenery🥰

#5.The osts and because it's that good

The osts were soothing, amazing to here and catchy🤍

This is my current top one drama of 2023 it's gonna take alot to take its place so good luck to all dramas iam watching you have got your self a tough competition 😅

Lastly if you want a healing drama, slow but amazing then this is your pick😌
TITLE: MEET YOURSELF
PERSONAL RATING: 10/10 I BADLY WANT IT GIVE IT A 💯❤️🥺

A special appreciation to Janice wu and all the other cameos for portraying their roles amazingly too❤️

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The art of letting go

This show essentially IMHO is about learning letting go. Li Xiangyi could let go his fame, glory, romantic love, and hatred and transformed into Li Lianhua, whereas the villains couldn't let go of their jealousy and obsession. Other characters are in between for letting go.

This is the first time ever I leave a review for a show as it left a deep impression for me. It's also my first Cheng Yi show, I had no idea who he was although I knew he played a judge in "Draw the Line" which I haven't watched.

I knew this show existed because I saw some Youtube comments about this show was the show they most looked forward to. When I saw the first 2 episodes were available in iQiyi, I was prompted to watch.

I don't know what to expect as I hadn't read the synopsis. But once I started, I couldn't stop. It had all the ingredients in dramas that I enjoy, which are Sherlockian mysteries, humor, bantering, with plenty of bromance. For the mysteries they gave enough clues to let people guess but with some twists that sometime the audience wouldn't know such as changing gender, changing appearance which were not common in "normal" stories. However the conclusions they arrived are logical so that is a plus for me.

Some of the cases are heart breaking and show the best and worst of human nature plus the compassion of our duo detectives.

Now let's move on the duo (which occasionally became trio). Li Lianhua is the Sherlock of the show. He is smart and has very strong observation and deduction powers. He also lies as easily as he breathes. He is also a renowned physician although nobody knows about his past. The Watson of the show is Fang Duobing, a wide-eyed rich kid who wants to be a detective. When he discovered that Lianhua could deduct really well, he stuck to Lianhua like glue to the annoyance and amusement of the latter. They later formed a deep friendship and camaraderie. To complete the trio is Di Feisheng who knows Lianhua's real identity and was determined to have a duel with him. Both he and Lianhua tried to hide Lianhua's identity which made a lot of funny stories in the beginning of the show.

There is also an overarching arch in the story and some of the stories are actually related to a big conspiracy dated 10 years ago which Lianhua and co tried to uncover. This arch is closely related to Lianhua's past which he tries to let go and triggers the development of each character.
One of the most profound part in the show is when Lianhua told someone the transformation from Li Xiangyi to Li Lianhua. Li Xiangyi was at the top of the world to the admiration and envy of a lot of people in Jianghu. Because of some misfortunes, he became penniless and his main focus was not to get hungry as he grew his own vegetables. During this time, he couldn't hold on to any grudges and resentment or even former glory as his main focus was survival. This part was very touching and Cheng Yi truly delivered. As Lianhua, he could roam freely in his lotus tower and helped people through medicine.

Acting wise every one did great, especially the main characters. I need to check out the main trio works in the future. I deducted some points because the villains were too one dimensional even though they were well acted and Li Xiangyi could let go of everything except his guilt which in fact he was not really guilty about when we later found out. He could forgive others and let others to live their lives without guilty but he never forgave himself.

It's definitely a good show for mystery, humor, and wuxia fans. Upon rewatch, we could appreciate the story and acting more.

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Lessons on Life, Love, and Letting Go

Moonlight Chicken is, arguably, the best BL series to come out of Thailand. If, that is, we regard it as BL at all. This series defies expectations associated with dramas from the BL genre many times over, while never quite betraying its roots as a BL drama. For a genre associated with same-sex romance, BL series seldom explore what being gay means to the characters, whereas that is the calling card for series in the LGBTQ genres. Rather than claim a confused sexual identity or espouse some version of “I don’t see gender,” Moonlight’s characters and themes are unapologetically gay. Where the typical BL series peddles an idealized courtship fantasy between virginal men aspiring to a meaningful first love (that will, obviously, last forever), this series focuses on men trying to recover from failed past relationships. The lead characters are neither virgins nor under the illusion that love will be permanent. Instead of two characters overcoming obstacles as they move toward something, this series centers on characters struggling in different ways to let go of their past. The shards of their broken prior romances comprise the obstacles to be overcome before they can contemplate moving on to someone new. Many of the support characters must also learn to let go of some event or person from their own past. These personal demons anchor their present and future. Moonlight Chicken is an extended rumination on the pain of letting go, rather than the straightforward courtship story many viewers might have expected. As a consequence its themes, characters, and plot obstacles will resonate to an audience both older and more conversant with life’s hiccups than the audience that consumes BL solely for the vicarious thrill of (re-)experiencing the bloom of first love. The fantasy elements of BL romances usually revolve around situations designed to infuse reliable doses of serotonin in the brains of viewers. Grounded in the rigors and mundanity of adulting, Moonlight Chicken eschews the fanciful for realism. Anyone who has been burned by love, struggled to make ends meet, or invested time in pursuing someone who is emotionally unavailable will relate to these characters.

At the center of Moonlight Chicken stand Wen and Jim, played by Mix and Earth respectively. The series marks the actors’ third pairing as the showpiece couple of a GMMTV BL series, after A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) and Cupid’s Last Wish (2022). Wen and Jim showcase the actors’ emotional range better than their prior pairings, where the nature of the roles trapped those characters in a single lane. Here, Wen and Jim each have some emotional trauma to process—leftovers of events that unfolded before the two met—so that the actors have some real work to do. Before Wen and Jim can embark on a relationship themselves, each man must confront the emotional baggage he has carried from the past. Wen has recently left a relationship with Alan, who cannot understand why their relationship failed. Jim lost his lover twice. Once when he discovered that the man had a fiancée and a second time when an accident claimed the man’s life before he could choose which course to follow. In the five years since those events, Jim has never trusted another with his heart. That high wall effectively froze out Gaipa, whose mother runs the chicken stall that supplies the product for Jim’s restaurant. Rounding out the principal cast are a pair of high schoolers, whose incipient friendship blossoms into an incipient romance. Their tale provides a more traditional BL side story, to temper the angst of the main characters.

Steering the whole shebang was Aof, scriptwriter and director. His prior works often have moments where a semblance of queer authenticity crept into the BL proceedings. This go around, the studio allowed him free reign to represent an overtly gay sensibility. Another difference between Moonlight and most other BL series is that four characters—Wen, Jim, Alan, and Gaipa—are all out gay men, well-adjusted to and self-accepting of that identity. For these characters, being gay structures not just personal identity but also dynamics between themselves and their families, friends, co-workers, and lovers. It positions where they believe they fit within society, and what opportunities society offers and forecloses on that basis. Too often BL series believe having two men hop into a bathtub together suffices as a basis for “gay.” Moonlight Chicken understands the difference between gay-as-entertainment and commentary about gayness. In the later episodes, the series even gets a little preachy in its advocacy for accepting same-sex attraction as a perfectly ordinary type of human possibility.

The authentic queer sensibility emerges in the opening scenes of episode 1. A drunken Wen has patronized Jim’s late-night diner, only to pass out in a stupor. The type of person to take responsibility for the well-being of everyone around him, Jim stays with Wen until a friend can arrive to claim him. Because “plot requirements,” the friend never arrives. Instead, the two end up in bed that very night, after a carefully negotiated agreement that their sex was to be a no-strings attached one-night stand. They do not even know each other’s name. That sort of negotiation is quite common among gay men in real life but quite rare in BL. While exceptions exist, the standard BL character is shocked—absolutely stunned!—at the suggestion that two virile men could even contemplate a physical relationship outside of a genuine love. As everyone knows, sexual relationships cannot be consummated until after all the dramatic plot obstacles delaying courtship have been removed. Such thinking reflects the “good girl” standard, that very patriarchal prescriptive model of behavior that regulates the sexuality of single women. (Remember, BL originated as a genre written by women for women. That the sexual comportment of men sleeping with men in BL would resemble the expectations society foists onto women is unsurprising.) Moonlight Chicken favors the descriptive model—portraying how people actually behave in lieu of adhering to some moral standard. Even more than featuring four out gay men, that simple “no strings attached” negotiation helps make this GMMTV series the most authentically gay series ever to emerge from Thailand. That kind of queer authenticity, blended with the theme of letting go makes Moonlight Chicken a compelling drama.

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Before you get yourself started with this drama, you have to prepare yourself to go through with the endless flashbacks in every single episodes. Overall, I actually find the drama quite enjoyable to watch, given the story plot with background on business setting, which in many dramas either made redundant as supporting environment for the characters or become too boring with all the talks on business and power politic stuff. For me, the drama made the drone business sounds rather compelling and for something techie like this, it was not too complex for audience to grasp the business matter depicted in the drama. To me, this the drone business is a refreshing point in this drama.

For this drama, I see the key theme as focusing on human intertwined relationships. We all have relationships from the past that somehow stretched to present life - good or bad regardless, these past relationships made us who we are now. This drama tried to have good coverage of all kinds of relationship stories for all the characters featured in it. Other than the expected romantic relationships, there are friendships (esp on man to man buddy for life between Shiyue and Chang Jianxiong), boss with co-workers and among colleagues of Future Up, family members of Nanqiao (esp on father-daughters and even mention of mother-son between Nanqin and Zhenghao and issue on aging!), 'debtors'-'creditors (not just monetary per say but being life indebted and faithful to 'jianghu' aka the underworld sorta relationships), grief relationships with the dead person, and even trying to inject how we can be connected through animals! I though it was a nice play on the whole vet shop and relating to the 3 dogs of Shiyue (little things reinforcing faithfulness and kinships theme). As the relationship stories made progress for the characters, we get to see how people made choices in their lives, what they would do for love from their perspectives and learning to let go, and then to wrap things up mainly focusing on acceptance, which is not easy to do in real life to be honest.

So if you have patience to watch the unraveling of these relationships then you may be interested to stay on till the end of this drama even if you possibly able to predict the outcomes of these relationships but to watch them unfold quite worth the journey. Undoubtedly there were quite a number of what I perceived as unnecessary scenes towards the development of the story plot (aka fillers) and also in terms of characters development, not that smoothly illustrated but these became easily oversight for me when I chose to remember the meaningful conversations about the strong female MC, Nanqiao's dream in this drone business and always on the exchanges between Shiyue with Anning. I seriously thinks Qin Hailu's acting shone brighter than Bai Baihe in this drama. At times I even feel Bai Baihe's acting a bit stiff and I could not really feel strong chemistry between Bai Baihe and William Chan in this drama as a couple. William Chan was great in carrying out his role though, almost to the point of being himself at certain points in terms of being playful.

When talking about meaningful conversations I recalled two intertwined dialogues on Shiyue, Nanqiao and Anning. Between Shiyue and Anning: "What we have is the past but we don't have a future", which is so true because what was once lost you can never go back and even if you do, it is never the same anymore. Then followed up with conversation between Shiyue and Nanqiao on accepting Shiyue's past and stating, "I did not make it in time to be with you in your past but I will definitely be with you in your future". I believe it is the many meaningful conversations that keep me watching the drama because they made me feel connected to the drama. Also after all the flashbacks fast forwarding, for me, Ep34 was the most memorable episode as the plot gets a final strong hold to build to the finale momentum. Oh, oh and I like the opening and closing theme songs. Both songs' lyrics aptly depicting the drama itself.

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Good one-time-watch

Recalled is a decent psychological thriller. Nothing too extraordinary, but slightly better than the average thriller.

With no further prelude or introductory elements the viewer is pulled right into the story, seeing things through the eyes of the main character Soo-Jin (Seo Yea Ji) , who has lost her memory due to an accident and struggles to distinguish between reality and illusion, going to the extent that at some point she even starts to suspect her husband.

The actual "mystery" is pretty predictable, but seeing things through Soo-Jin's eyes and witnessing her emotions, her horror and fright uncovering things actually made the plot interesting, far from gripping or engaging but enough to keep one invested. Seo Yea Ji once again proves her versatility as an actress and her capability to convey conflicted emotions to the viewer with ease. Kim Kang-Woo got some bigger parts in the second half and the chemistry of this on-screen-couple was also surprisingly pleasant. The rest of the cast had some minor roles and were frankly, quite forgettable.

The last 30 minutes or so were quite surprising, leading to a switch in genre and making this movie stand out from other psychological thrillers of this kind. While the rest of the movie, plot- wise felt more like a 6.5- 7 rating, the later parts turned it into a 8 for me.

So is it worth watching? Yes, if you are up for a decent thriller, do not expect too much from it and have spare time, go for it. And especially yes, if you like Seo Yea Ji's acting and her unconventional choice in scripts.

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It's rare for horror movies to get much of a rating. When you look at their ratings, you look more for anything above a 5, because if it has 8 or above, it must be a unicorn or something. While this wasn't a unicorn, it hit all the buttons for me in terms of creepy.

I tend to not like supernatural stories that much, as I find that people can be far scarier than ghosts. This story managed to balance a line with the aspect of a haunted place and not feeling so focused on this abstract supernatural being. It was a haunting. Not a martian or a big bad wolf. The movie also played with timing, which I appreciated. In typical horror flicks, you have a 1-2 reaction with something popping up. There were points in this where the image held and so if you closed your eyes for a second and opened them expecting it to be done, you'd be wrong. Even at points when there was looking away and back again, it didn't follow a 1-2-bang punch. You kept thinking this would be the time, and so when it finally was, it was like being grabbed by the throat.

The music was just right to get an eerie feel and add that essence of "this sounds sweet and playful while also sounding ominous and like I may lose my head." The acting was solid, and while the story is not original, it was done in a way that didn't feel like I was watching the exact same movie with different actors. What really shows that the images held up for themselves is that the subtitles were less than perfect, and yet the aspect of terror was still projected.

Horror movies are incredibly subjective, but this one definitely had me covering my eyes for a minute and is something I would rewatch with a friend.

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Had to watch at x2 speed because of the script

This show was very hard to get through, even at x2 speed. The acting isn't bad and the cast did good in their roles, it's just the script that is so lacking. When it comes down to it, the show is basically just three guys simping after the girls the entire show, while the girls just keep them wrapped around their fingers with the help from the clearly biased writers. 95% of the show consists of some form of misunderstanding or unnecessary drama that causes the female characters to become upset with the male characters, only to have the male characters try and chase after them and win them over for the next 3 episodes, and then it just repeats. You get maybe a few minutes of brief happiness and cute moments in their relationships, only to have another misunderstanding and lack of communication happen that causes the girls to become upset again. If you can get past the 95% of conflict in every relationship in this show (especially the two leads), then I guess the remaining 5% is somewhat enjoyable. Unfortunately, the conflict and drama lasts up until the very last few episodes, so at that point you basically have to suffer through the FL being mad at the ML for the entire show.

I think part of it is that the show is definitely catered more towards a specific audience that just enjoys seeing handsome guys chase after the girls in a show, and care less about a good script or balanced characters. Most of the male characters in this show are written so poorly, while others are just evil, corrupt, sexist, or harassers. The ML, Xin Qi, was especially done dirty by the writers. His character had barely any character outside of his heart condition and simping for the FL. Even his heart condition was put on the backburner in order to focus more on the "jealous" boyfriend moments and making him act like a child for the majority of the show in order to win over the FL. I swear I barely ever saw him actually working, he was just pursuing the FL the entire time, whether it was to get with her or to see his child. I can't even count how many times the writers pulled the "jealous" boyfriend card and had Xin Qi following the FL as she met up with countless guys that were only written in to create these jealous BF moments. And yet there is no 2FL or love rival to Min Hui (unless you count the childhood friend who died, but she's only in the show through flashbacks). I wish they had given Xin Qi more to his role besides pursuing Min Hui.

The side characters aren't much better either. Some of the conflicts were written so poorly that I cringed. Cao Mu wanting to break up with Jia Jun just because he was planning on proposing to her made very little sense. If she truly cared for him, why wouldn't she try talking it out first and working things out? Why immediately try breaking things off? At one point, Min Hui got so upset with Xin Qi because he "didn't trust her", even though he told her that he just wanted to find out the truth about what happened to his childhood friend. This happened literally in the same scene where he finally confessed to her and it looked like they were going to finally get together, all because of the cliche "plot-twist" connecting all the leads together (I'm trying not to spoil too much, so forgive the generalizations). Min Hui then proceeds to stay mad at Xin Qi for multiple episodes, all while Xin Qi spends the entire time trying to apologize and make it up to her, even though he's not entirely in the wrong either. If anything, Min Hui also didn't trust Xin Qi enough to tell him about his child or the events that happened in the past, and she also lied to him about pretending to be his dead childhood friend. She also treats him like dirt for the majority of the show, and the writers also seem to use Xin Qi as sort of a "punching bag" when it came to embarrassing himself, acting like a child, being constantly rejected but still pursuing, and always being in the wrong even when he wasn't.

To sum it all up, Xin Qi was too childish and there was no push and pull to the lead relationship because he was just simping the entire time, Min Hui was too angry the majority of the show and didn't let anyone explain themselves (only leading to further misunderstandings). There were so many moments when she would eavesdrop on others talking about her and would only hear the negative things said, and then walk away right when they start talking about the positive things about her, leading to yet another misunderstanding that isn't even resolved well. Cao Mu and Chen Jia Jun were admittingly cute together despite the age gap, and it was refreshing to see them together when there was so much conflict between the ML & FL, however Cao Mu did not treat Jia Jun very nicely at times, and Jia Jun was just another Xin Qi in that his whole world revolved around his love and nothing else mattered. The love triangle with Zhou Ru Ji was unnecessary and just made misunderstandings even more painful to watch, and his relationship with Zi Zhu was not very interesting or cute. Of course, the "evil" characters are obviously evil, so I don't need to talk about disliking them because they were meant to be disliked (just obvious sexists and harassers). I did really like the kid who played the son (Quan Quan). He was a good actor for his age and did well in his role, although he was that stereotypical kid role that you see in many of these dramas, where he's just way too smart for his age. I will say that the character Cindy was one of the only characters that I didn't really have a problem with. She was just fun and had a good personality.

Started off watching at normal speed, then bumped it up to 1.5x, and then found myself watching at x2 speed nearing the end because it was so repetitive. Maybe if you don't care for well thought out scripts or balanced characters, then you'll enjoy the show. Maybe if you just want to watch handsome guys simp after the girls for 28 episodes then you'll like it. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks for reading to the end if you made it this far!

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This drama was great! I watched this drama for Jumpei at first because he was the only actor in this drama that I knew. But I also watched this for the plot.

Story: The plot is school-genre like story, but the 35 year old woman going back to high school was a plot twist itself. I never heard anyone over 22 being in high school taking regular classes. Some of the arcs are predictable, but there are enough twists in this drama to keep you interested.

Acting: I'm envious of Yonekura Ryoko for pulling off a high school uniform. She kind of reminds me of Horita Maki when I saw the picture of Ryoko in the drama poster(looks wise). Acting-wise, Ryoko was amazing in this role. I could connect with her character even if I'm not 35! :) I was surprised that I didn't like Jumpei's character in the middle of this drama till his arc came around(I liked him in the beginning & after his arc). The students the story focused on were amazing. Some better than others. I've never seen any of the actors/actresses(or don't remember if I've seen them before or not). Overall, the ensemble cast was amazing.

Music: I like the mini theme song. It sets the tone. The BGM are great, some are not memorable.

Will I rewatch this?: Yes, I will rewatch this drama for the Baba, Koizumi & the student's character development.

You'll like this drama if you like school dramas, comedy, suspense, & the actors and actresses in this drama.

I like Baba & Koizumi together!!!

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promising premise and beginning, disappointed with the execution

Overall: I enjoyed the unique premise but had major issues with the plot. Aired on GagaOOLala & Viki.

Content Warnings: violence/blood (in the first scene), murder, trauma, grief, attempted kidnapping, non con kiss (sleeping)

What I Liked
- the premise was unique and rarely seen in BL
- production value
- retelling of the first episode from a different perspective

Room For Improvement
- I wish that Jae Woo and Ji Woon's parents were friends and Jae Woo had just moved into the same city, because... it felt odd befriending a kid like that/having a 10 year old sleep over in a dorm room, it was a bit squicky to me and speaking of...
- Jae Woo was very childlike and stupid for a 25 year old, it made the relationship dynamic even more strange
- their total lack of communication about something suuuppppppeeeerrrr important, like come on
- nonsense things besides the initial premise, a 10 year old regularly walks around at night alone when there is violence in the area? money? ID? same outfit every day?
- why do they like each other, love at first sight? but it was initially an uncle/nephew like relationship, when/why did it change?
- the non con kiss and also this line "I'm going to do something I know you don't like" (and he kisses him, wth?)
- what in the sisyphean hell was that ending?

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Would you leave a thing, with supernatural power to kill anybody, at random place knowing it would cause chaos if it falls into wrong hand? Would you confront a bad person who has asked you to do something wrong in exchange of not harming your beloved ones knowing confronting him would eventually harm your loved ones? You would if you were acting in this drama! There… this drama is this much lame and annoying too. Finally I’ve found a Korean thriller drama to tag ‘disappointing’ with it. Finally, I’ve found a Korean actress whose fake sad expression has totally pissed me off, to that extent that at one point I started skipping parts where she was onscreen. This drama had a sound plot with good mixture of thrill, emotion, supernatural stuff but they just ended up ruining all those! This drama took 32 episodes which was not necessary for its storyline and yet failed to explain number of twists. Audience would never know how the villain finds all those items or how he ends up dying; audience would never know how the male lead comes back to real world; audience would never know how a fatal bomb blast is avoided! The most annoying part is the ending. This cannot be tagged as an ‘open ending’ to be honest, this ending is simply a nonsense ending. I waited till the last episode hoping proper explanation of many questions would be given. But I’ve simply wasted 16 hours of my life.

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Forget what you know about old manga's/anime's being made into movies. We all know that nothing is quite as good, but this movie breaks the status quo. This movie is quickly paced, an 'easy watch' so to say, has sort of a "dark humor" vibe to it, but is definitely brain food. Leaves you questioning most of the time, and when you think you've got it figured out... I'll leave it to you. Another Gantz sums the end up better for viewers, but leaves out some of the most crucial parts of the story line. I suggest you watch this version of Gantz, then just watch the last 11 minutes of Another Gantz. Besides, Anything with Kazunari Ninomiya is worth your while.

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I finished watching and I must say.. WOW.
It´s a really good series, you have to watch it. It has action and everything, and i love dramas that are in ancient times. The are good actors, and the plot is just awesome. They have a good friendship but they are both in different groups so it can´t be. But they are together for as long as possible.
I really loved the series so you should watch it, it´s a really storyand my fav episode is episode 6, I mean just. wow! I loved that episode so much. the last episode was a little confusing for me (how it ended) but I really hope there will be a sequel so I know what will happen because It´s a really good series.
I recommend that you at least begin watching it and see if it´s to your liking :)

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Derivative script for a so-so movie that put all their budget into the action scenes.

This is one of those movies where it's best to go in and turn off your brain so you can enjoy the ride. If you don't turn off your brain, you'll realize it is one of those stories where there are super powered genetically engineered "special" kids who have been experimented on and thus have violent tendencies. One of them escapes being killed and grows up, then things happen when "the Company" finds her. This is the same old plot done many times in many other movies, like the whole Bourne Series, Hanna, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Unfortunately it fails to add anything new to it or stand out in any way so the story wasn't great.

There are 3 other places this film fails. First, it has GAPING plot holes. Many of them. Unrealistically stupid "doctors/researchers" plus ridiculously Overpowered Main Lead plus unforgivably bad employee security / army guys who are nothing more than cannon fodder. If done well, this may have worked (see Jason Bourne series). But somehow it kind of went overboard and strained all bounds of credibility. This is a pity because I really wanted to like it. Maybe it's because Korean cinema is normally so great I guess I was expecting better and ended up disappointed by the excessive Mary Sue nature of the heroine and a deus ex machina plot that leaves everything wide open for a sequel. I mean, as if the words "Part 1: Subversion" in the title weren't obvious enough.

The solution - try to turn off your brain, you'll somewhat enjoy the heroine's story and acting ... and her parents. The secondary male antagonist speaks English wonderfully, he must have had a lot of fun playing the douche bag second best experiment result. His interactions with the heroine are among the best in this movie. The action scenes are very, very well done. There's a ton of blood, a few parts seemed more like CGI video gamey, but the rest of it was hyper violent. I have no complaints about the quality of these scenes and to be honest they're the best reason to watch this movie because the rest is kind of insert "meh" emoji.

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A lot can be said about Missing 9, but whether you liked it or not one thing is for sure, it was addicting as hell! Missing 9 is a particular drama, part comedy, part mystery, part aspiring thriller. Genres that don’t really blend and that was why missing 9 was an adorable mess, but such an enjoyable one!

Story
Missing 9 revolves around a plane crash on a deserted island. Effectively the story can be split into 2 parts that are unfolded at the same time as the drama continues. First part, the flashbacks, are centered in the past as we see the aftermath of the plane crush. Part 2 takes place in the present and talks about what happens after a survivor is found. The drama develops as a mystery: “what the hell actually happened on that island?”

Missing 9 is not a drama to be taken seriously. It tried its best to be original and different and while that is a definitely a plus for me, what actually made it stand out was the peculiar combination of mystery and comedy.

The drama doesn’t know what it wants to be, a thriller about 9 people trying to survive while reevaluating their lives or a hilarious comedy about a plane crush. Answer is both, and the faster you embrace it the more fun you will have watching.

I read a lot of comments claiming that the plot is a trainwreck. I sincerely disagree. I could call the plot tryhard, absurd, ridiculous but also quite intriguing and interesting. What I appreciated the most was that even in its completely ridiculous nature, the story was there from start to finish, implicating murders, mystery, questions and twists that will make you keep watching, hence the addictive part. However, there were countless times I rolled my eyes and giggled at how absurd the script was, how convenient and silly. The comedy isn’t for everyone but for me it was golden.

Best thing about it? The transition between comedy and seriousness was nonexistent. The drama throws intense situations at you and then it mocks itself by ridiculing them all the way, without making itself unwatchable at all. It’s amazing how they made it work. I am the first person who dislikes serious situations being made fun of, but here, I loved it. This is the first time I’ve witnessed a drama doing this so, even if the results aren’t perfect, I give points for originality.

The drama doesn't want to be serious, it wants us to have fun. Therefore, it would be advisable for everyone to just dismiss your logic while watching this and just buckle up and enjoy the crazy ride. I understand this is not for everyone, but what i don't understand why we need to blame this drama for its irrationality when we've accepted countless unrealistic and stretched dramas (with less plot than this one), dramas about time travel, mythical creatures, comic characters ect. Either judge them all or accept them all, they all come from the same imaginative place.

Romance wasn’t present in the drama; there is some kind of romance developing between the leads that was not explored and didn’t need to be. Romance, with the heavy sense of the term, would have been redundant. The couple did look great together and had amazing synergy especially in their comedy scenes.

Overall, Missing 9 was immensely entertaining and one of the better dramas for escapism. Completely mind-numbing, but oh-so amusing! It was this distinct characteristic the drama had where it just made fun of itself completely that I found so provoking and creative that I just fell in love with it. The drama knows it’s silly and absurd but instead of trying to avoid facing that, it builds and thrives on it! Commendable! Not a drama one would rewatch but for what it was it was extremely enjoyable.

Acting
I came here for Jung Kyung Ho, and he was flawless, especially acing his comedy scenes like never before, but the actresses that made the drama for me were Baek Jin Hee and Lee Seon Bin.

For… reasons, I had low expectations from Baek Jin Hee even if I had never seen her before. The girl positively surprised me and proved to be a very strong female lead. Her acting was spot-on and tip-top, being funny, cute and emotional when needed. I'm looking forward to her future projects!

Lee Seon Bin is definitely a new favourite for me, not only because she’s certifiably hot but because she’s a very promising young lady with a bright future.

The cast was mostly unknown-at least to me- but I sincerely enjoyed watching them as a whole.

Recommend
Missing 9 sounds amazing from the synopsis but it would be wise to drop your expectations a bit. It is not anything groundbreaking as a drama, but it is unique in terms of script-idea and development. The combination of thriller and comedy and the ridiculousness of the whole thing really clicked perfectly all together for a unique experience. If you are into comedy, want to watch something light and would like some thriller on the side this is not a bad watch at all.

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The game will now begin...

If you're still contemplating whether to watch Alice in Borderland: watch it!

I've been waiting for so long to see a high budget Japanese show, and this really is what I've been looking for. So, thanks Netflix, I guess? The camera work, the acting and special effects are all top-notch, hands down. I just wish they went further with the soundtrack, it would have been nice to have a more distinguished background music for the series. (Although I think we can agree that “Good Times” is the bop of the year.)
The plot is very intriguing. The moment I saw that the base plot revolves around Tokyo where people go missing... I was sold already. But it actually managed to keep my attention all the way through thanks to the plot twists and great characters!
I believed prior to watching that the story will be continuously action-packed, but I was relieved to see that they put quite a lot of emphasis on building characters, which made the pacing a little slower at times, but gave a nice chance to get emotionally attached to all the characters.

There are some things in the plot that I will never forgive the writer(s)! But I won’t go into that since that would be a spoiler. (And I have many many other thoughts but all spoilery.)

I really hope many-many people will watch and support this show because
1, I really want to get a second season
2, I'm begging Netflix to pick up more Japanese productions.

P.S.: I can’t believe I didn’t realise it sooner that the name “Arisu” sounds exactly the same as “Alice” in Japanese.

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