A BL Gem, Not Perfect But It Deserves 9 Stars
I hate this series. Why I hate it because my sleep has been disrupted. LOLIt made me binge-watch it from past midnight to morning, only giving me four hours of sleep. In the end, despite the bad engsub, I have come to love the series.
This is the first BL series that has managed me to gush at the main characters. I have watched many BL series and I think those who know me here know how toxic I can be when I defend a BL series such as TharnType.
But I understand that this BL series is not everyone's cup of tea. It is not perfect but it is a feel-good BL series that I end up loving it.
It is a shame that there is no extensive social media promotion for this series. I have come to love the main characters but I have to take a special mention to Earth for justifying the role of Songkram. I don't really like that cool, arrogant, and handsome main lead but his character is volatile. He can be this sexy arrogant over-achiever but also a silly lover. There are moments where he is romantically excited chatting with his new boyfriend that I find really cute. And then he can be this strict boyfriend even though they are not in a relationship yet.
And their acting is also good. It's a comedy BL series so I expected chaotic scenes. There are a lot of them actually.
I feel like some scenes should have been retaken but the spontaneity of those scenes, the natural acting, and vibe in that certain setting and the flow seem satisfactory for me as a BL audience. It's like they were having fun during the production and might have that 'come-what-may' recording of scenes. But the results are good. I feel like I am watching a stage play where a character appears and then another one exits in one scene and then another. But I still see the direction to be exemplary.
I have to commend the director and editor for that.
I have to say that Destiny Seeker is a rare gem in BL. I would have given it 8.5/10 but seeing the ending of the series, a 9.0/10 is a fitting rating for the series. Again, it's not perfect. I can see some BL fans ranting about the cliche moments in the scenes and some generic tropes. But what it delivers is a feel-good vibe in the end. I am very entertained.
I did not even mention the sultry scenes and even the side characters. The character development of side couples is satisfactory to the point that it does not eclipse those of the main characters. They even help build anticipation for the main course though some viewers may have complained that the bed scenes of side couples are earlier than the main leads.
Anyways, I like the differentiation strategy of the directors because even if the bed scene of the main leads occurs in the last episode, it is all worth it. Viewers will have to check it.
Kissing scenes are not that good but the main leads have better improvement in the last episode. Side couples' kissing scenes are better though.
I am looking forward to more of EarthBank series because they are another BL couple that deserves the BL fans' support.
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I see why this movie is rated so badly in international fandom. Fans and even critics alike ripped this drama apart for its very unorthodox approach to the story and characters. And it IS really different to other shows at the same traits. Well, the makers of the movie actually took risky path anyone has refused to do, while it can be done in more mainstream way but it didn't. Yet, it appears to be very successful in terms of technical merit and the fact it won prestigious awards proves that this show is actually irrefutably good.
If you had watched Vantage Point or any kinda shows like that, you will easily notice that both shows do a number of point of views. In Kirishima Bukatsu Yameteruyo, they are a movie geek, a girl who can't make her mind, Kirishima's best friend, timid girl, bitchy girl, etc. The title-mentioned Kirishima itself disappears and practically never shows up. It is the aforementioned characters with their own point of views who are affected and exhibit subsequent changes due to the disappearance. Yes the plot is actually pretty straight without shocking twists, but if you watch in-depth, down to the character's gestures, you'll find revelations after revelations that even if they do not give you a very clear picture of the ending, you will know what would happen next.
It should be noted that the character developments are the main point of this movie and they are handled in masterful manner. I personally think the directing is a masterclass and so is the acting. What makes me surprised is, aside of some well-known former child actors like Kamiki and Suzuka Ohgo as well as acting prodigy Ai Hashimoto, most of the casts are no-name young actors, some even just begin their acting careers. The acting level in the movie is so even but very good, not a single actor displays stark stand-out or being weak spot. If I could name a single actor who plays the best, perhaps it's Higashide (the big guy) and I surprised because this lad is already 24-25 years old at the time of the filming and he plays an 18 years old boy. Not only for that, he plays Hiroki who is Kirishima's best friend (hence he is the most influenced one) with depth and heart. This lad, as the rest of the young casts, has a very bright future in acting world.
BTW, the song played with the ending credit is incredible and passionate, as well as fits the movie very well. The back sound during the "brawl" is also deserves thumbs up.
This shows may not be for everyone and even I have to watch it 2 times to research the details and depth. But it's worth trying and watching and I declare this one as one of my all-time favorite.
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I am tired of dramas giving me plot points, rather than plotlines.
I honestly do not understand why writers, directors, producers - anyone and everyone who has any say in the final product, are so stubborn into adding so many unnecessary plot lines and characters, when the majority of the short shows would work so much better with minimal effort, serving just the good vibes.What I enjoyed about the show: the dynamics between the leads. The tiny twist to “enemies to lovers” trope was done in a refreshing way - adding both the tension and comedy depending on the situation. I liked how consistent the characters were. Best example - the difference in their dreams, and how it then corresponds to reality. Tiny details that just made sense. I liked how they both had clear internal issues they had to work through, and how they unintentionally helped each other deal with them.
I also liked the initial disagreements in the team based on their completely different goals and motivations. Them slowly starting to work together when they understood they can both benefit from cooperation was for sure one of the highlights.
And that would be enough for an 8 episode drama to be good. Focus and develop just these two aspects of the plot. But no, you need to make it more complex than it needs to be, add more unnecessary external drama. Create a huge issue just to solve it in 5 minutes. Why? I am tired of dramas giving me plot points, rather than plotlines. Nothing is developed or truly explained, because there is not time to do that.
I love how the poster makes it seem like it will focus on football, and have a rather big cast of important characters, when in reality the football did not matter at all and half of the people we see in the poster are there to fill the space so the locker room will not look too empty. They used their phones to film content more often than they kicked ball. Where was the balance?
The performances were rather good. Nothing too amazing, but I partially blame it on choppy editing and not so smooth storytelling. For a tiny budget it apparently had, the production was good. For sure did not stand out in a negative way compared to the majority of the other k-bl from the past few years.
Overall, it was not bad, but it was not good? The type of a show you won’t regret watching, but it’s not exactly something you would recommend others to watch either.
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In terms of story, I appreciate the effort to stay true to certain important themes of the first Let's Eat, like being single, living alone, and feeling lonely in a big city, yet introduce new dimensions like friends-turned-lovers, and talking about married people feeling lonely, not just single people. Frankly, I didn't like the recycling of the mystery theme which wasn't an important storyline for me in the first instalment.
The food porn was good, as always, and I like that they ventured outside Korean food and got the characters to try other cuisines like Chinese, Indian and Mexican cuisine.
Doojoon has made Goo Dae Young the character his own and I can’t see anyone else in that role. Seo Hyun Jin is a revelation in this show. I have never seen any of her previous shows and now that she’s in Oh Hae Young Again, I definitely plan to watch that too after watching this show. Initially, I was supremely annoyed by her character. But as the show peeled the layers of her character, I really grew to love her character and she was so good at bringing out the vulnerabilities of her character. Kwon Yul is a pretty interesting actor too and I look forward to seeing him in other shows. Park Hee Soon is hilarious as Doojoon's lonely, always-drunk sidekick. A great character actor.
Overall, an enjoyable watch that is peppered with romance, food porn, and just enough angst to break your heart but not too much that you can’t piece it back together.
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City boys experience wild nature
I was excited to watch the first episode of these four famous South Korean actors experiencing the mother nature here in Finland. At first maybe a bit confused, but soon enjoying relaxing scenery by the lake and eating wild blueberries. They have a lovely sense of humour, which adds to the charms of this Tv Show. I have seen many of Cha Eun-woo's, Lee Je Hoon's and Kwak Dong Yeon's dramas but haven't had the chance to watch any of Lee Dong Hwi's. It's fascinating to see them in different, everyday setting without the lime light they usually experience.Was this review helpful to you?
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Did not get the attention as Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day
While we were in a slump with most thai BLs, China got us three good shows. Sadly for this show, it was overshadowed by Double Helix and Sammy's Children Day even when in parts it was much better than the other ones. First of course there is the historical settings, gorgeous costumes and a budget which got strained, so we only have two nice fighting scenes.While the script was not as polished as it could be, the actors compensated for most of it. Especially the scheming crown price was a delight to watch. Of course it was a bit too gay. 🤣 We not also got a BL we also get a GL but in subdued undertones but very obvious. Combine this with great cinematography and you get a good show.
You get the scheming, the fighting, the fluffyness, tasteful nc-scenes and a bit of sillyness (6th princess). Of course, they could not go with a sad end, because it's a BL after all. You get everything you can wish for in a setting which is interesting with a story-arc which made sense and compared to most other chinese BLs a story without toxicit., Just a fairy tale where the good gals/guys win. For me it was very entertaining, everything is like a small river flowing evenly and then comes the thunderstorm and water is cascading down the hills and flooded everything in it's way. And after the flood comes the time to rebuilding, in this case the search for a cure for Yanzhi with an happy end. So, this is definitively worth a watch!
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Not Perfect but Desperately Needed
I had to think about the finale a bit, before offering my review.A 7.7 rating (as of 1/27/25) seems a bit low to me, but higher than what MDL scored the weekend predecessors (It's Beautiful Now, The Real Has Come, 3 Bold Siblings, Beauty & Mr Romantic, etc). I would score this series as an 8....here's why:
First off, as a prototype for the new 36 episode weekend format, this was a huge win. Can you imagine this story stretched out for 50 episodes? Haven't we suffered enough with draggy, filler-laden series? I hope KBS sticks with the 36 episode rule, unless it can find writers from the era when "Once Again", 'My father is strange', etc ruled. But I fear those days are long gone.
Secondly, lets think about what this series DIDN'T have....a ton of cliches. There was:
-No WTOD (although many of us would have cheered it on for a few characters)
-No Amnesia Arc
-No huge cancer scare (instead cancer that stalked the elders was dealt with as a part of life and kept in the background)
-Only ONE DNA test (take THAT, writers of 3 Bold Siblings)
-No Evil Mother-in-Law
So what DID this series have?
- A-list cast (elders, FL/ML, FL mom)
- A very different premise from prior weekend 'family dramas'
- quick pacing
- the ability to be sad, infuriating and funny all in one episode
- seamless time-jumps
- a satisfying ending that could have been better, but I get it...
And the big question is "What was this series about?" To me, it was all about the money. It was the real star of the show, and got in the last word (or wink). This show was about the corrosive effects upon a family that the money caused. Either because it originated as Ill-gotten-gains (a loan shark's endowment to his daughter) or just because it was such a huge amount of cash, everyone the money touched, changed for the worse: we saw this all happen in real-time: first the elders, then their DIL, their own daughter, their oldest granddaughter (who resisted temptation), their grandson who betrayed his police training and lost his career, and finally the 'rightful' owner of the money, the ML's mom. Although "Iron Family" was a cute play on words, the series should have been called 'The Root of all Evil" or something like that, to show how ordinary, law-abiding and moral people became something they were not, all because of 10-million Won.
So I appreciated how different this series was, with the only villains a bunch of incompetent loan sharks who were utilized sparingly. Yes, GangJu was the only likeable character and I'm happy that KJH got such a great role for prime-time. And the only real regret I have is that the main leads chemistry was under-utilized. They made a really great couple, and I would have liked to have seen more romance on their part, but this wasn't a rom-com, so it's OK. But casting directors note: they play off each other REALLY WELL.
Thanks everyone here for your comments, and the lively discussion. I did enjoy this series and will miss it. And that's a good thing for a fan to say about a series. Well-done KBS and production team.
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The quality of acting is AMAZING. Every actor/actress was brilliant, but I must say the ones who absolutely blew me away were the ones who acted as Kang Chil, Gook Soo (Kim Bum) and the bad guy - i forgot his name :/
I was able to laugh, cry, smile, and I was able to relate to the story line.
There are some supernatural qualities to the story line, however it is incorporated so brilliantly that it just flowed smoothly with the drama.
This is definitely a MUST WATCH DRAMA.
If you are even second guessing on whether or not you should watch this... watch it. It is amazing and you will not regret it!!
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Two people who make pit stops, in this journey called life, right next to each other.
Josée is a mysterious, pretty woman who is helped up onto her wheelchair by an engineering student, Lee Young-seok. She offers him free meals every time he goes by their house and he helps her out, closing the distance between them little by little.The movie is shot mostly from a third person's perspective thus lessening the probability of forming a real connection with the characters. Much like we're looking into their lives through the hole in the wall that Josée uses to look outside.
To be perfectly honest, I expected there to be waterworks because this pairing brought us one of the most heartbreaking dramas, Light in your eyes. But I gradually came to realise that this movie isn't supposed to make you cry. It is meant to bring you to tears, to leave them dangling for their lives right at the waterline. It needs you to think which then brings in this feeling of knowing, of understanding the characters and why they did what they did and why they brought in conflict when it didn't seem necessary. We don't really see how the characters feel but rather how they express it. The movie captures you not because of the characters individually but how they interact in a closed space. The feeling is so surreal and something I have never experienced before.
There are just a handful of characters and it is extremely aesthetic. While it seems like a vague and open ending to most, I really saw finality in it. There is great beauty in Josée and her white lies. A great beauty in their little world. A world built on loneliness and helplessness but one that blossomed into independence.
Do I recommend this movie? Yes but only in a specific kind of mood. Like I said it won't give you a good cry, you are just left sitting and staring at the void as the credits roll in and a beautiful song plays. However, it gives you an immense sense of empathy, of understanding without hearing. So, if you're in the mood for a slow-burning, introspective movie filled with beautiful cinematography and exceptionally acting especially from Nam Joo-hyuk, then yes.
I give Josée an 9/10.
(PS: I see so much of kind-hearted Nam Do-san in Young-seok. These two were also engineers, so it made me smile, all nostalgic. And Han Ji-min is just wow, but I don't think I've to say that specifically.)
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First things first: the synopsis to this isn't quite right. 2 guys do fall in love with her, but one becomes a complete ayouknowwhat.(sorry if this feels like a spoiler.)Second, if you have heart problems, don't watch this. It will make you furious and cry alot. If you like dramas about revenge, this is perfect to watch.
Third, this is one of the best dramas I've ever watched, and i don't say that often. It has everything in it, melodrama, romance, comedy, suspense, and awesomeness!
You will not regret watching it, the first episode might make you have doubts, but stick with it!
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ACTING/CAST: Quite excellent. I think Ma Ke (Du Yun Xiu) did a great job and is much more capable and versatile of an actor than the part required, which was a shame; most of the series he was simply scripted to be broody.
MUSIC: The music was good. The main song was English subbed.
REWATCH VALUE: I probably won't, but I will recommend this to my friends.
OVERALL: A very intriguing show, kept me interested the whole way. The pace slows in later episodes. The English subtitles were adequate, but could have really used a fluent English editor.
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Finally, a romance with the most intriguing time travel mystery plot that's intricately written and doesn't fall apart. This is the time travel story I've always wanted to read or watch: Main girl time travels into the body of another girl and gets that girl's crush (male lead) to fall hard for her (he didn't like the original inhabitant). I've always wanted to read about a romance plot like that because it'll be such fun to watch the male lead slowly fall for someone he's never liked, but now is drawn towards only due to the main girl's soul inhabiting the body. It's like he truly falls for her soul/spirit and not the body. Sooo romantic!!! And the drama does such a good job at showcasing the male lead's "falling" process layer by layer and doesn't rush it. So delicious and swoonworthy!!!
No episodes feel like filler and such care is placed into the narrative and character development. This feels like a breath of fresh air! So many dramas these days waste screen time with bloat or scenes that add absolutely nothing to the narrative that I can hardly believe a drama like this can exist. Thank you Taiwan!!! This drama is on another level and I love the love story and overall plot!!!
The ending totally justified the means and resolved the narrative in the best way possible. It's both an incredible love story and a story about self-worth and the drama achieved both without seeming forced or preachy. Wow, can't believe how seamlessly the writers were able to intertwine both the love/self-worth plots without sacrificing either. Both heavily overlapped with the other, so it was impossible to become invested in one and not the other -I loved this as I hate too many plot threads that go absolutely nowhere.
Almost every plot thread in this drama was resolved in a satisfying manner, without leaving you feeling cheated. There was only one forced/conveniently written plot thread and even then, it made way for a good twist and didn't influence the most important aspects of the drama, so I was easily able to overlook it by the end. Overall, not only did this drama have my dream time travel plot , but also wrote it masterfully and had the best actors bringing it to life. Masterpiece through and through and will go down as one of my favorite dramas of all time along with "Nirvana in Fire" and "Ten Miles". Boy did this one steal my heart!!!
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Acting: It was just OK (though some were less than OK), but to be honest I had hoped that Kang Sora would do a better job since she was one the actresses in the group. I did like JinWoon, he did better than I had thought he would and I, also, liked Jung Yeon Joo's character and her portrayal of it.
Music: The music was great. For me, it was the best part of the drama. I loved the performances and the preparation scenes which took place before them. I also liked the "non-competition" music scenes.
Re-watch: I do no plan to re-watch this drama since I found it lacked a lot and I can just search for the clips involving the music parts, which is the reason why I even rated it a 5.
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Good Doctor The story line of this drama is quite peculiar – the fact that an autistic person could adapt fully and work in a hospital nonetheless is quite impressive because in reality it is unheard of.
The pilot episode had given me the impression that it was going to be a very promising drama, then by the end of the whole series I proved myself right. Although like any drama, Good Doctor has it high and low points along with loop holes. Due to the unbelievable premise, I say the writer was very much imaginative although farfetched for having such a plot. An autistic person basically has a lot of limitation but given the patience and perseverance to the people surrounding the person with a disability, it could be managed. Setting those thoughts aside, I love this drama because of the story and characters. It was like watching the movie Forrest Gump only in a clinical setting.
The main character Park Shi-on (acted by Joo Won) was such a lovable character. During the first few episodes, he may be an annoying autistic man who knows everything but after awhile his character grows on to you even his mannerisms become endearing… or maybe it’s just me because I find him really cute and funny? Anyyyywaaay… not to get side tracked, Cha Yeon-so (acted by Moon Chae-Won) is a woman with a strong personality. She has this tough exterior but deep inside she has a really fluffy heart which has a soft spot for our main lead.
I am not going to elaborate on that or else I might post unwanted spoilers. As for the supporting cast, they are essential in the series because they provide the substantial element of acceptance depending on the character's relationship with Shi-on.
Music wise their is nothing really memorable about it except that it adds to the drama.
Good Doctor may not be in my rewatchable list but it is very much in my recommended one. You don't have to be a medical literate to appreciate this drama because there are notes which would explain the terms & procedures. Over all it is a wonderful drama and it has exceeded my expectations.
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far better than the original...
While the original dragged on for ever this version is very compact. The "Ai" and "Rak" characters were played very similar while the "Kaishin" and "Mut" characters are quite different. The japanese version is less fluff and more animalic in the first half. The story plays out in the same fashion with the difference that the GL "to be" couple is far less abnoxious.Now that MDL changed the episodes there are two special episodes after that but MDL could not be bothered to add them in the index yet. I felt the finale was a bit disappointing even with an happy end for all. The acting was far superior to the original series, the chemistry was there and they did not hold back in the NC-scenes either. Production quality was also high but less polished to the original series, so imho it felt more "natural".
Overall I prefer this compact version compared to the thai version which felt boring most of the time. So, if you didn't like the original version, chances are high, that you will be more comfortable with this version.
Update: Because MDL does not have an entry for the special episodes I like to mention them here. They are much more finale then ep 10 imho. Which rounds up the series nicely.
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