Only for Love has me in a chokehold!!!
I know this drama is not for everyone … BUT for me this drama is sooo amazing and addictive!!! Currently up to episode 10 and OMGGG I am obsessed!!!- 1st of Bai Lu: I mean absolute Queen!!! Every drama of hers is a slay!! I have read the novel and Bai Lu really did a perfect job portraying ShuYi’s character in the novel!! the cheesy pick up lines, dramatic acting and everything to me was exactly as the novel!! perfection!!!
- 2nd is Dylan Wang: A lot of people are saying his stiff in the drama but I feel like he has definitely improved than he past drama!!! For example whenever his character ShiYan sees ShuYi he’s face brightens up liek a light bulb!! He is definitely a “he fell first and harder”
type of guy!!
Overall, this drama to me has been a masterpiece causing me to giggle like a psycho and blush like a tomato!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Sometimes, you may need to believe in magic to get through dark times and make your life colorful.
The Sound of Magic is based on Ha Il Kwon's (하일권) webtoon "Annarasumanara" (안나라수마나라). This was one of many dramas I was looking forward to in 2022, and I had high hopes for it. I'm pleased to say that my expectations were not crushed, and that it delivered far more than I expected.This drama is about a high school girl named Yoon Ah Yi who is struggling to support herself and her sister. Her mother had abandoned her, and her father, who was in debt and had fled to make money. She had to work part-time to make ends meet. Despite having many adult responsibilities, she always managed to get good grades and was near the top of the school. She believed that poverty was the cause of her misery and her ambition was to become an adult as soon as possible and to acquire more wealth.
One fateful day, on her way home from work with her earnings, her money flies and flies and takes her to an abandoned amusement park, where she meets the mysterious magician of rumours, Ri Eul. The rumour was that the park is home to a handsome magician who performs real magic and will ask anyone who visits if they believe in magic. He asked Ah Yi the same question, and the terrified girl ran back to her house. Then they had numerous encounters, which helped him gradually gain her trust. But she still didn't believe in magic, which she thought was childish and that the fleeting joy it provided couldn't change the harsh reality. But, as the end approached, she began to believe in the magician and his magic, which also led her to believe in herself.
Yoon Ah Yi had a rival at school, Na Il Deung, whom she always beat in maths alone. They were in the same class and shared a desk. Il Deng always followed in his parents' footsteps and studied hard not to disappoint them. But, after meeting the Magician, whom he initially did not believe and even resented, he realises how trapped he is. He shows him how cold and dark the path he is on is. Il Deung has feelings for Ah Yi as well.
The mysterious aura surrounding this magician holds us spellbound, making the drama really interesting, and because the magician's true identity was concealed until the end, he poses many questions, even questioning whether all of this magic was truly real. When I first started watching the drama, I was concerned that the story would be weak because there are only six episodes. But this is completely false. The story and script were both intriguing and fascinating! It had the potential to keep viewers guessing about what would happen next.
As a musical, this drama worked well. The drama's start took me by surprise! For a brief moment, I almost mistook this for an Indian film disguised as a Korean drama, because the characters were singing and dancing, as is common in Indian films. In any case, the musical aspect was not perfect because some of the songs felt awkward in their creation and placement. But I really liked the music and the lyrics, which were some of the most meaningful and thought-provoking. Furthermore, the majority of the sound tracks were sung by the leads themselves, making them feel more realistic when the characters sing them.
Should I really bring up the cast? They were, as expected, fantastic! True, there are some scenes that made us cringe in between the songs, but overall, they were fantastic! Ji Chang Wook's performance was the one I most enjoyed. He captured Ri Eul's mysterious aura as well as his childishness.
The visual effects were incredible and mesmerizing! The scenes with the blue butterfly fluttering around are especially lovely. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen because they were so beautiful. This exceeded my expectations!
Finally, I really enjoyed this drama as a whole (very typical of a Netflix drama). Anyone can watch this drama in a single sitting without becoming bored.
P.S. May be edited afterwards.
Was this review helpful to you?
Vinchenjo Quassano is *chef's kiss* - [update: the drama is a cathartic experience you won't forget]
If you are looking for a comedic, thrilling, creative, and oddly-satisfying drama to brighten your weekend, then Vincenzo is it!STORY: If you liked dramas like The Fiery Priest or Chief Kim, then you will love the plot, characters, action, dialogues, and style of story-telling here. It's absurd, wacky, funny, but also very serious in its themes of crime, corruption, revenge, and justice. There is a good-mix of lovable characters and crazy evil villains (the main bad-guy is perhaps the biggest surprise, definitely takes the crown for the most iconic villain reveal!). The plot twists, comedic timing, chemistry between characters, and anti-hero vibes are immaculate. Also, so many great one-liners!!
CAST: Song Joong Ki, Jeon Yeo Bin, Ok Taecyeon, need I say more? With such a star-studded main and supporting cast, I think that should be enough to urge you to watch! All the actors and actresses are perfect in their respective roles and bring the characters to life. Vincenzo and Hong Cha Young have chaotic energy as partners and I'm all for it (I also ship them so much!!). SJK's Italian rants leave you mesmerized and laughing, and JYB's unique take on the quirky, eccentric female lead will leave you dying for more! And Taecyeon's acting as a ditsy, lovable English-speaking intern is (almost*) the best thing ever!
MUSIC: Thrilling, catchy, exciting. I love the vibrancy of the OST and the Italian/opera-inspired music that plays whenever something funny happens (especially when poor Vincenzo is suffering LOL).
RE-WATCH: The drama isn't even over yet and I already rewatch episodes, so there you go!!
If you haven't started watching this yet, what are you doing?! This drama is the highlight of my weekend, and now that we're nearly half-way in, I've been itching to write a review. So far, I am loving every minute of the drama, so I had to share my thoughts!
EDIT 5/3/21: Just finished the drama and I stand by everything I said 6 weeks ago! Vincenzo is a masterpiece and I dig the message at the end. The cinematography and production quality are absolutely top-notch. The entire cast and crew were absolutely wonderful and let's just say... there are bad villains, and once in a while, there are good villains too. A special shoutout to my precious baby Jang Han Seo. Excuse me while I go cry and feel empty for days now that the drama is over. What a cathartic experience.
Was this review helpful to you?
Understanding Love
'The Interest of Love' is a well paced, well written drama and the plot is easy to follow. The characters feel real, so maybe that's why some viewers have a problem with watching this drama. Like none of them are unrealistic, and not the candy typical far from reality that Kdramas like. Everyone in the cast is doing a fabulous job portraying their roles. All the emotions, confusion and acceptance in each episode, I love it. This will definitely make your blood boil, as well as make you frustrated. Like all of this workplace bullying, overt sexual harassment, and gossiping coworkers just screams toxic environment. Moon Ga-young, Yoo Yeon-seok, Keum Sae-rok, and Jung Ga-ram are all doing amazing. Fingers are crossed that this ends happily and we don't get yet another sad ending that screenwriters like to do nowadays. For now though everything is going smoothly and I'm genuinely enjoying the drama.(EDITED)
So I finished the drama, and all I have to say is that give it some time before you decided to drop it or give it a bad rating. The ending wrapped up nicely for me and made sense.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Why did I even bother?
Usually hate-watching means the show is so bad it’s actually entertaining. Here, it’s just bad, with the characters so annoying it’s hard to find someone to root for. Truth to be told, if I knew the ending before I started the show, I would not bother with watching at all. I was intrigued by the interesting beginning, and not smart enough to leave when I saw the first red flags warning me, this leads to nothing good. One could say I’m Na Bi, and this show was Jae Eon - leaving me angry, annoyed, frustrated and exhausted.What seemed like a promising portrayal of a toxic relationship, ended as nothing more than another angsty young adult love story, that is even more pretentious than I could ever expect it to be. When in fact, it’s just fancy trash with pretty actors in it.
The main plot is the relationship between Na Bi and Jae Eon. Here’s the thing though - the relationship makes no sense. At first it’s presented as a strong sexual attraction, but it never really moves to anything more. Whenever the writer tried to incorporate any strong feelings from either female or male lead, it made no sense. What are these feelings even based on? By episode 4, the main romance became extremely repetitive and boring. How many times can we see Na Bi cry and Jae Eon be a jerk?
Na Bi was just painful to watch. By the end of the show I felt like she literally learned nothing. There was no development and no progress. The moment I saw some change, she took a U-turn into a crying mess.
Jae Eon was one dimensional and an empty shell. Don’t know what the writer was thinking, but you cannot develop something that does not exist. Giving him a last minute character development, when from the start he had no character or personality was a miracle in itself.
Bit Na and Gyu Hyun were more fun to watch, since both characters were stronger and had more of prominent personalities, but even they ended up on the rather shallow note. While they could have addressed some more interesting ideas about relationships and be a good mirror to Na Bi and Jae Eon’s relationship, the writer left me with little discussion and no real conclusion.
The only couple I truly did enjoy watching was Min Young and Kyung Jun. They were funny, sweet and relatable in all the best and heartwarming ways.
Except for them, there are exactly two things that Nevertheless, did well - LGBT representation and the amazing soundtrack.
While we’ve gotten more and more gay relationships in k-dramas lately, rarely ever we see lesbians presented in any way. At best it’s vaguely suggested or mentioned as a “personality trait”. It’s good to see a side story that truly explores the romance between two girls, and how they both deal with growing feelings. Sadly for me, I could not enjoy their ploy, since I could not stand Ji Wan as a character.
No matter how much I might dislike Nevertheless, the soundtrack is full of amazing bops. I listen to Butterfly and Love Me Like That daily - some of my favorite songs from 2021.
Overall, I could easily write a whole essay on why this show was basically a writing failure, but I honestly do not want to waste any more precious minutes of my life on this title. Let it die on my completed list, never to be visited again.
Was this review helpful to you?
let me get one thing straight about all of your concerns
i saw some one comment and was impressed as they said it correctly bcoz so many out there having concerns with sehun agethere's some actors out there portrayed as highschoolers.
Lee Minho (26) in "The Heirs"
Kim Tae Ri (31) in "Twenty-Five, Twenty-One
Hwang In Youp (30) in "True Beauty
Choi Woo Shik (31) in "Our Beloved
Summer"
Oh Sehun in Dokgo Rewind which was also a teen series
I bet, you've watched some of these written above.
okay so i know the people commenting here doesn’t want us to know that they don’t like a certain actor so pointing out a silly thing as age factor was so useless
he is already way mire famous in the outside media and the director knew this too
nope the director didn’t think oh he was almost 30 no he didn’t bcoz it doesn’t matter
Was this review helpful to you?
Passionate romance that heteros don't get
Most heterosexual plots simply don't get an exclusive passionate romantic plots like this one. They usually have a bunch of other things going on and a bit of romance thrown in. Not here. The focus is on the ML and his journey to discovering love and himself. And it does make me a tad envious because they really don't beat around the bush in Love in the Big City. They explore friendships which are mostly wholesome and endearing.The show is not all roses and sunshine though. There are some dark topics explored. However, most of the show tries to be positive because the male lead is a cheerful individual making the best of difficult circumstances. Maybe even a little toxic positivity that can be frustrating or concerning for others around him at times.
The beginning few episodes were funny and enjoyable but somewhere towards the end, the show started to feel slow and dull. Not sure if that was intentional. Overall the characters and situations are mostly realistic.
I wasn't too happy about the way the series ended especially since the last 2 or 3 episodes weren't as interesting.
The opening theme is nice but the OST in particular did not stand out to me.
For the most part it is an easy binge watch with good cinematography, interesting characters, good acting and a job well done by Nam Yoon Su.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A must watch!!
Words are not enough to express how much I love this drama. It is one of my favorites. The story is beautifully sad and I cry like a baby every single time. The bromance between Lee Dong Wook and Gong Yoo is everything!!! They always make me laugh! Lee Dong Wook as the grim reaper was a perfect casting choice! (every time he is casted, it's a perfect choice). This gorgeous man can be awkward, funny, crazy, sad, angry, etc. And I love how he looks so young when he is clean shaven but so mature with facial hair. He is just so beautiful, and HOT 🥵❤️🔥🥰♥️. His portrayal of older Wang Yeo was superb; as usual, he gives it his all. And of course Gong Yoo was amazing as the goblin, too. He is an amazing actor and I love his friendship with Dong Wook so much! They have amazing chemistry!Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This high school GL drama was a sweet little romance with so many lovable characters to get attached to. But perhaps a merged or cut storyline could've allowed the much needed foreshadowing of character flaws that were relevant to the drama's climax. I also found that the lack of addressing of 2 red flags (one from each of our main characters) killed my investment into their particular ending.SPOILERS START HERE!!!
>>> Ongsa and Sun <<<
I absolutely loved the initial set up for this couple. Ongsa is an insecure, anxious, and socially awkward teen from the countryside. Sun, is the popular (though we really don't see this really), confident, and mature classmate who Ongsa instantly develops a crush on. They accidentally become penpals and Ongsa anxiously lies when it starts coming time for them to actually disclose stuff like names and such. This arc didn't overstay its welcome in my opinion (but Aladdin's the genie "Tell her the truth" scene certainly played in my head on repeat). I was also quite taken by how maturely Sun handled this. Demanding an explanation and refusing the nonstop stream of unexplained apologies. Most love interests would have stormed out, and the lack of communication would have been dragged out for days/episodes. Not here.
By the end of the drama, we start to realize that Sun isn't the perfect, one-dimensional love interest previously portrayed. While her dream is repeated rather verbatim in a short span of time, she does have a dream that she is passionate about and knows where her future is going. She also is not quite at the maturity generally presumed around her. Indeed, much like most teenagers, that "maturity" is partially covering up the fact that Sun molds herself and her reactions to what she thinks is expected of her. Which, of course, causes problems in her relationship with Ongsa - especially since Ongsa is also not thinking as a unit (most high schoolers/first relationship couples dont) and makes the unanimous decision that Ongsa and Sun shouldn't be out to anyone but their shared friend group. This was frustrating, and i feel like Sun's character flaw could've been better hinted at earlier in the series, but overall, quite true to a high school first romance.
What did make me angry is the fact that both Sun and Ongsa did incredibly red flag things that were never really addressed well. Sun literally outed Ongsa, Aylin, and Luna. She outed Ongsa once to her (Sun's) parents without warning, and then again (along with Aylin and Luna) to Ongsa's own parents despite/in spite of Ongsa's attempts to stop her. This wasn't even addressed once, let alone condemned. Being out very obviously means something in the world of this drama, and Sun couldn't have known what Ongsa's parents' reactions would've been. And then, after their break up, Ongsa wouldn't leave Sun alone. This was brought up once, but then was swiftly ignored when Ongsa came with a more detailed apology (that I sorely hope was victim to something being lost in translation, because i didn't like how it compared their love for each other as one being more true than the other just bc Ongsa was scared to be out of the closet).
I am, however, glad that Sun realized that she was being hypocritical and unfair though, especially since she was molding herself to what she thought Ongsa wanted in their relationship, instead of talking to her. And so, i appreciate that they became a more healthy and stable relationship afterwards. Though, admittedly, my enjoyment of them as a couple was killed by their red flag actions that weren't properly addressed. So, I wasn't really invested in their ending.
>>>Aylin and Luna<<<
An absolutely adorable 2nd couple. I loved how honest Aylin was, even when she was nervous, in pursuing Luna (after Luna showed her she could trust her). And i loved the relationship between Aylin and Ongsa (her cousin). Aylin and Luna were a healthy couple pretty much from the beginning (with the hiccup of pushing Aylin into socialization too fast), and I don't think i stopped smiling for a moment when they were on screen together. And Aylin's neurodivergent (potentially autistic?) coding was great to see - especially with her lack of social cue awareness, her needing clear answers to social questions, and her displays of overstimulation that can be seen even in the background of other scenes. However, my one complaint is probably that Luna, as cute and lovable as she is, didn't really have a character flaw in sight.
>>>Alpha<<<
Alpha is Ongsa's older sister and Aylin's older cousin. On one hand, i loved that her presence helped contribute to Ongsa's family relationship development (she and her father had lived separately from her mother and sister for several years). Her scenes with Ongsa and Aylin were sweet. And i really related to her pre-graduation stress of uncertainty in her future and in her family relationships. But, she really didn't have much of an impactful role. So perhaps this was a storyline that could've been omitted or perhaps merged with Luna's (perhaps to balance out Luna's perfection) since they share similar traits and are in the same year together.
>>>The Friend Group<<<
I really value the focus on Ongsa's growing friend group, as it really helped her develop as a character and in her confidence - not having any friends coming into school and all. They're supportive, distinct, eclectic, quirky, and diverse. It made for the perfect complement to Ongsa's story and needs. There was also some comedic relief in there I really appreciated.
>>>Teachers Bambam and Nida<<<
These characters stole my heart. I loved their low-angst side story of the hapless accident-prone and tarot-loving Bambam and of her caretaking friend who developed feelings. Furthermore, I liked how they provided advice to their students when needed, and also stepped away so the major characters can figure things out on their own. And of course, they helped to drive the story forward at a few places, in believable way that never made me blink twice.
Was this review helpful to you?
one of my best and favorit chinese drama
Hidden love, one of the best Chinese dramas I have ever watched, the story is light and sweet, the chemistry of the actors is very good, especially Zhao Lusi and Chen Zhe Yuan, the plot is also very good, easy to follow, there are no bad characters, and there are many good examples, such as how warm and loving family relationships can shape a person's character to be good, full of attention and affection, friendship, hard work, everything is good, I have watched Hidden Love 12 times and am not bored at all, because their acting looks real, I really like this drama, this drama brings a lot of happiness to me, thank you to the writer, screenwriter, director and actors and actresses as well as all those who have made this drama a good drama, many people underestimate this drama, but it turns out this drama got so much support. I'm not very good at putting words together, I'm also not an expert at judging dramas, but in my eyes and heart Hidden Love is one of the best Chinese dramas I've ever watched, I really enjoyed and was very happy when I watched it 😁 Hopefully this drama can also bring happiness to others and I also hope that Zhao Lusi and Chen zhe Yuan have a happy life like Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu 😁Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Overall, it's not an astounding drama, however, it's one of the best online dramas i can find these days. Love the drama, many thanks to the director, actors and actresses as well as the whole production crew, who work with devotion and expertise.Alert: don't expect too much on the first half, this serial gets better as it progresses.
First half:
Plot:7,5
Actors: 9
Production: 8,5 ( great cinematography )
Second half
Plot: 8,75 ( getting better as the drama progresses)
Actors: 9 ( both on talent and appearance)
Production: 9( great angle, some tasteful cinematographically scenes that worth gif-making, good after effect, lovely and aesthetic background)
A special detail i want to add is that the loveline between XM and LF. It's not developed much but enough. It's cute and it adds different feelings along with the excitement of the film pace.
Some people complain about the OE , yet i love it, i don't want it to end so soon:(((.
Was this review helpful to you?
Not Fourever, maybe Twoever?
As someone who started watching this with a lot of hope and interest for Pond / Earth being paired together, I have to say I was truly disappointed with their half of the story as Hill/Ter. It felt very one dimensional and kind of cheap? The acting, especially from Earth, felt annoying at points. It was just too immature and kiddish feeling for me. And I think it was this sore point that didn't allow me to fully enjoy Pond's story / character either. Both of them are great actors, but I just feel like these roles were not challenging enough for them. I encourage Earth to tackle more mature scripts in the future, something that's a little more on brand with his age and level of acting.I almost stopped watching this series, but to tell you the truth, North (Bas) was the single character that kept me going. I loved his humor and cuteness, which felt real and not overdone. And because of him, I was able to really love his and Johan's story. I think that Bas and Maxky were great together, their chemistry was palpable and I honestly just needed so much more of them.
Idk if we'll ever get another series with those two together, but I'm already sat for it if it is a possibility.
Pond's next series looks so much better fitted for him.
And again, I hope Earth one day ditches the school roles and does something different.
Was this review helpful to you?
I actually enjoyed this more than the drama!
I LOVED the drama and gave it an overall rating of 9/10, but this movie is a straight-up 10/10. Something in this movie just felt RIGHT! I very much enjoyed the removal of the inner dialogue, letting me feel my own feelings rather than hearing the characters' thoughts. The scenes just seemed so much more beautiful! The music was also changed and gave it such a more (for lack of a better word) "mature" feel.This movie made me BUY a Viki Standard Pass so I could watch it (I have no regrets, now I can also watch so many more dramas). Please enjoy this movie, as it is the director's cut! They didn't just make a movie to make a movie.
If you're thinking of watching, please do! This show was wonderful in so many ways. Both Han Gi Chan and Jang Eui Soo did a fantastic job acting. Especially for Gi Chan, I can imagine it must've been hard to debut as an actor in a BL drama, not long after trying to debut as an idol. He was so good at expressing his emotions, I really couldn't tell that it was his first time acting. Every actor did a fantastic job portraying their characters! Without spoiling too much, the story is very sweet and had my emotions on a roller coaster, even though it was so short. The development between Tae Joo and Gook was amazing, and I am a sucker for romances like these.
Was this review helpful to you?
came for Cherry Magic actors, stayed for everything else
I'm truly loving this series so much!As in the title, I had originally started watching this for Eiji and Keita. However, I ended up staying for the many other great qualities of this series. Not only have the characters, acting, and plot continued to surprise me non-stop, but the romantic interests are also lovable.
The biggest aspect of this show that keeps me hooked is the main character Mamoru. As a woman CEO, she is a very refreshing representation of what all CEOs should strive to be: a hardworking, strong, and honest boss who sincerely cares about their employees.
Overall, I would recommend this drama to anyone who loves a funny, romantic, and surprising workplace series to enjoy!
Was this review helpful to you?
That was until the last couple of episodes happened. It felt like the writer of this show just had a sudden idea at the end of making this story and they wanted to insert it no matter what, or just had the idea all along and couldn't mix it well with the rest of the plot. Either way, it is didn't work out and they were a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions. Also, the relationship between the princess and the other man bothered me.
But I'm going to look over all that since I'd enjoyed almost everything about this drama and don't want to ruin the experience. Besides, episode 20 went back to original funny vibes of the show and it was really entertaining. I'd love to see more about Ji Man and Da Xi.
Recommended if you want to watch a (mostly) lighthearted drama with a lot of funny moments.
Was this review helpful to you?
