Completed
Along with Me
13 people found this review helpful
Jan 22, 2023
18 of 18 episodes seen
Completed 15
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

Best Bromance (NON BL) drama since killer and healer and word of Honor

This drama is all about Male friendship between the two male leads,, the romance with the female lead is subtle and not overly exaggerated,, it's friendship and youth struggles in life
I loved loved the friendship
to have that long lost friend finds you and protect you from your own self that's friendship goals
one of the two friends is desperate to carry his grandmother's responsibility in a young age and she's sick most of the time
he endured everything on his own for his only family, his grandmother until his childhood friend found him again and began pursuing him to connect again and to live his young age properly
of course, the young man has a lot of responsibilities towards earning money for a living and taking care of his ailing granny
but his friend and his new girlfriend of sorts didn't leave his side,, they did everything possible to help him take care of his granny and also get him to feel happy and wanted again
it's really emotional story and really amazing sweet friendship you can't miss
I felt happy watching this drama and feeling all these amazing feelings of love without cause or sexual intent
pure innocent strong love
I really recommend it

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Completed
Mr. Bad
13 people found this review helpful
Jan 11, 2023
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Tooth-Decaying Chemistry!

This was an adorable drama. I’m usually not a fan of modern c-dramas (more of the historical type), so I was instantly hooked when I found out that Mr. Bad had a dual-plot (that is, one with historical and modern elements)! The drama was light and refreshing. There were no unnecessary love triangles or crazy misunderstandings. Sure, it did follow some cliches, but these cliches were executed fairly well. And unsurprisingly, that was only made possible by the leads chemistry.

Lord. This has to be the first and only drama where the casting team struck gold with their choices. Chen Zheyuan and Shen Yue, although an unexpected duo, completely swept me off my feet. Their chemistry was undeniable- heck, it practically OOZES off the screen.

However, CZY x SY’s chemistry wasn’t the only thing that had me compelled to watch this show. The characterization for the secondary couple, as well as the other supporting characters, were so tender and enough to make a grown man cry. Characters were well-rounded, adorable, REALISTIC, and the writers even gave us a generous amount of character development for characters that needed them most.

Good things aside, I knocked off half a point because kiss scenes could’ve been improved, since they looked rather sloppy (?), and the ending could’ve been.. how do I say this.. some things could’ve been a bit different.

All in all, the drama was incredible, and I would highly encourage anyone who’s a fan of rom-coms (or if you aren’t, like I am, but who fell in love with the genre again after watching this) to watch this drama! Don’t let the low rating (8.1.. REALLY?) discourage you from watching it. I’d say give it a chance!

Just a side note, but truthfully speaking, I really can’t watch any other dramas where CZY or SY are paired with other love interests anymore. I miss them so much TT

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Completed
My Esports Genius Brother
13 people found this review helpful
Feb 14, 2022
13 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

soulmates, enemies to lovers, cohabitation, obsession, magical realism

A strangely cute somewhat incomprehensible censored magical realism BL micro series about fated mates who balance each other out and must find the courage to stay together.

Firstly, look, it has nothing to do with esports or being a genius or bothers.

Suggested corrected title ?

My Esports Genius Brother Endearingly Gay Boyfriend

What to say about this weird af BL?

It’s actually really cute.

Yifeng is a Zhan-yan who feels nothing at all except when in the presence of a Deluded. Lu Lin is a Deluded, who feels everything too much, overreacts and is a violent drama queen, and societally disenfranchised as a result. However being around Yifeng calms him down.

Obviously the Deluded are queer coded, and so is Lu Lin. The character is set up to be the uke: he is more emotional, wears more feminized clothing, engages in (mostly) uke tropes, and is shorter than Yifeng. But he is also much more aggressive about the relationship, makes the first moves, and is more physically violent. So I believe this BL is actually intentionally subverting seme/uke, which is a first (in my experience) from China.

“How come your name comes first?” ~ oh they KNOW what they're doing

I would call this censored BL and not a bromance. Literally you can see the parts where they were told to delete the touching bits because “too gay.” So there are some very abrupt cuts and truncated scenes, but there is no doubt what-so-ever that these two are gay. There’s even a full on love confession, it’s just that anything remotely sexy can’t be depicted.

Honestly, I still enjoyed it and I think I’ll like it better on a rewatch.

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Completed
Autumn's Concerto
13 people found this review helpful
Apr 18, 2011
34 of 21 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0
The plot for this drama is slightly different, spanning a VERY long time. It begins with the leads in college and then moves on to their lives afterward. The acting is phenomenal, not the two leads exactly (with Van Ness Wu struggling with his Mandarin) but the supporting roles were executed perfectly. The majority of the characters are loveable, and they are all three-dimensional, they have their evil sides and good sides, including the typical evil-mother character, flawlessly portrayed by Linda Liu.

The story is touching, and though the plot drags on a bit, its definitely a good watch.

And it helps that Van Ness Wu has a smoking hot body!

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Completed
The Eighth Sense
13 people found this review helpful
by chiha
Apr 27, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
If you ask me what romance as a genre really lacks then I'd say: authenticity. And maybe I'd be wrong according to a lot of viewers but I really do get surprised when I come across stories like these which by the sheer force of authenticity bring out those emotions in me–and let me tell you that's hard given what a crudgy watcher I am.

And it doesn't have to be a pulpy show of chastity or, on the other side of that scale, terribly unnecessarily raunchy; it can be something as small as hands brushing, smiling when the other isn't looking (gosh I hate that! BUT it works here, it works). The Eighth Sense really doesn't have a lot to offer on this metric, it does not have full-blown NC (it's not wrong to have sex scenes, except i mostly feel it's a terrible substitute for plot) yet it left my insides in a happy state of “butterflies”!

Ji Hyun and Jae Won are the perfect opposites attract trope. Ji Hyun, newly moved to Seoul from a remote part of the country feels quite lost and he understandably develops a sort of reverence for the senior who takes him under his wing and (seems to) have his shit together. Then, a feeling Ji Hyun can't understand, emotions heightened after he and Jae Won kiss. But let's stay friends, a poor, poor follow through.

An important part of the story is Jae Won dealing with emotional trauma of witnessing (and believing himself to be the cause of) what is the most painful event in his life. It's been years, he's almost thirty and has been going to a doctor regularly. This unhealed trauma is a source for grief to both parties later in the story and there are so many ways this can go wrong.

The Eighth Sense doesn't go down the path of "loves fixes everything" but that we can experience the same excruciating pain in safety and support. While Ji Hyun becomes a sort of safe space for Jae Won, JW himself recognises the problems of that (and even discusses it with his doctor). This a very positive depiction of the importance of mental health not just from the perspective of the sufferer but also Ji Hyun’s side, how he must try to understand him in a different way.

Secondly, I loved that Jae Won as a character is not defined by his trauma. Neither is Ji Hyun merely a puppet, a stand-in "love healer". There is an inherent kindness in both of them that they protectively branch out to each other (and to me, any relationship be it family/pets/friend/romantic comes with kindness). The side characters supplement the story with being draggy fillers.

Coming to the production itself, beautiful acting. I found myself holding my breath in a few scenes (eagerly leaning into the screen, nose touching pixels and all). Jun Taek (Ji Hyun)in episode 9: wrecked my heart. His happiness is my happiness, his grief is my grief. And normally that would imply grief for the one who brought grief to my aggrieved child but Ji Im Sub (Jae Won) stole my heart too. Man he's got that hollow look down pat, and that way he visibly kind of lights up when JH is around.

My major problem in the show were the openings, that wannabe edgy look is something I dislike but I got over it. There were many blackout scenes and sudden cuts which I again attribute to the "wannabe edginess" but okay, not a major issue compared to the other wonderful thing about this show: the soundtrack. I don't listen to music, I have a reason for that, but I recognise very well that showmakers often don't know shit about choosing the right music. And they unlike me cannot–should not–cite mysterious reasons for their ill choices of music (basically playing the ost over and over or different parts of it sometimes slower and sometimes faster. This is why shows like the eighth sense and kinnporsche and i told sunset about you stand out to me in the bl romance genre).

I think I've accomplished my mission rant abt The Eighth Sense. Hopefully it's going to make some more crudgy souls happy like it has made me for the last 5 weeks. (Also that poster has a whole new meaning when you get past that scene, awesome choice).

PS: when I say no NC I don't imply a lack of sexiness because damn that tension and their dynamic? fire. hot. (and I do mean it, I'm a crudgy soul remember?)

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Completed
Neung Nai Suang
13 people found this review helpful
Oct 29, 2014
17 of 17 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
My absolute number one thai drama. This drama definitely deserves a recommendation for all lovers of good drama. Excellent written, with interesting, humorous dialogue and situations.
Full perfection of production. They are fully present period 50-60. Starting from the lighting that perfectly fit into the period, then how are equipped home, furniture, household sundries, this is taken care of every detail. What is even more commendable is that the drama was filmed in many locations, so there is a selection of items that we have seen from this period more than impressive. Even the restaurant serves Coke and Seven Up from the original bottle from that period!
Stylist is definitely a genius ... Every dress in this drama I wont to sew. Beautiful. Haircuts are stylish and well suited to each character. Many makeup artists in today's dramas should take notes from this artist ....
Music is awesome elected jazz compositions that completely fit into the period but the first mood of our heroes ...
Acting is such that I completely lost track of it in terms of actors, and to those I saw in a lot of drama ... Each character is perfectly presented.

The story is greatly written with a plot that we have seen since the origins of drama ... But great featured. What surprised me pleasantly is how much I enjoyed all characters. Families are each in their own way unique and that's what attracted me. We should not forget that this is a period drama so ther are certain psychological aspects treated accordingly.

The fact is that it could be shorter for one episode. Also, some characters are getting a little more play time than is necessary, and some characters have been forgotten ....
But I finish this drama with a big smile on face, and immediately took off to look at her again!

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Completed
Bad to Bed
13 people found this review helpful
Nov 4, 2024
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 5.0

depiction of mental health struggles (watch suggestions)

Overall: the heart of this series was in the right place, but it took way too much effort to figure out the plot/characters/timeline in this series. 10 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on JC Show YouTube Channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLalG2smk62xFJiyPLSsGxIW_4Znk24W_j&si=J4IbxX_npVilW4Rf

Watch Suggestions (to focus on the main couple)
- watch episode 1, watch episode 2 stop at 14 min
- episode 3 watch 6-10:40
- skip episode 4
- watch episode 5 beginning to 10:30
- skip episode 6
- watch episode 7 3:45-16:20
- watch episode 8 for the first 6 minutes to clearly explain the plot/what is happening
- watch episode 9 7-end
- can watch all of episode 10 or start at 5:20 to focus on the guys' relationship

Content Warnings: manhandling, mental health struggles, self harm, discussion of bullying, past death

What I Liked
- that they tried for a different type of plot
- sweet/caring moments
- visuals
- good music
- behind the scenes (though it was almost as long as the episodes)

Room For Improvement
- conversation with the doctor in episode 1 took too long
- I realize they were going for more an artsy/experimental vibe but they could have made timeline jumps back and forth more clear and what was a next episode preview, also if they had removed the exes that would have made things more clear (finally clearly explained in episode 8 what the situation was)
- in ep 10, it was a well intended discussion about the important of talking to a doctor, but then the character talked about slowly reducing the medicine if stopping and it made it feel that the goal should be ending medication when some medication is life long and life saving and there should be zero stigma taking it long-term
- should have moved the 15 minute behind the scenes footage to separate videos

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Completed
Hello Monster
13 people found this review helpful
by ines
Feb 7, 2016
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10
This is my first review. I’ll try not to make it very long but I’ll apologise in advance because I really have a lot to say about this drama.

This is, for sure, a must-see! If you want to watch something thrilling, with a lot of moving moments featuring two brothers whose relationship is tormented by the past and you love stories with a bit of a psychological side, don’t think twice.

I didn’t even hesitate on giving this the highest rating. I had only a watched a few episodes and I already knew I’d be giving it a high score. But only after watching the final episode (which doesn’t disappoint at all), I decided that it deserves a 10/10.

I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll only tell you that the story goes way beyond the synopsis you can read above. In my point of view, the perfect word to describe the plot is “thrilling”. I never got bored watching this. A lot of dramas tend to drag a bit from episode 11/12 but that didn’t happen, fortunately. There were many powerful scenes full of tension but they were pretty well balanced with a few feel-good scenes (mostly consisting of the romance since the drama doesn’t focus on it as much as it seems). There were a lot of unexpected plot twists (mainly in the last episodes) and I loved how they build up to the climax. The way flashbacks were interlocked with present actions was extremely clever and not confusing at all.

I have only great things to say about the actors: their performance in conveying the characters emotions and thoughts was totally convincing and I think that it wouldn’t be possible to choose other actors who could fit better each character. They make you feel so intimate with their character that you can feel their suffering. Seo In Guk, in my opinion, has a remarkable ability to adapt to every role he gets. Park Bo Gum’s role was exceptionally performed (I’m definitely going to watch more of his work and I’m looking forward to what he’ll do in the future). Choi Won Young did such an excellent job with his character that I even got chills. Jang Na Ra was also brilliant and Do Kyungsoo really contradicted the myth about idols not being talented in acting. In most of the dramas I’ve watched so far, there’s always a character whose story I’d like to know better or whose point of view seems lacking. In “I Remember You” I didn’t feel this: I was extremely satisfied with the character’s amount of screen time. It’s a story full of wonderful characters who, individually and as I group, add a lot to the drama’s quality.

I couldn’t finish this review without mentioning the OST, which I really liked because of the feelings each theme evoked. However, it isn't the best OST of all time but it did its purpose: matching each scene’s atmosphere.

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Completed
Cry Me a River of Stars
13 people found this review helpful
Sep 16, 2021
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Couple affiliated to enemy races fighting all odds to be together forever

The most striking aspect of this drama is the male character. Just like prince Su Yu in Hua Xu Yin: city of devastating love, this male lead is the best among male leads in traditional Chinese drama world. The male lead is highly loyal, persistent and ready to bend his principles, strong convictions when it comes to anything that involves the female lead.

The alpha male lead may come across as a simp to short sighted people who can't appreciate the beauty of a simple relationship in a simple story. But the alpha male lead is in fact a simple man at heart who falls deeper & deeper in his love for the female lead(FL). As the story progresses, his deep love for the FL makes him more accommodative, considerate, caring, highly thoughtful towards not only the FL but also towards her race. He is even willing to face death if he is forced to enter into intimacy with the second female lead (SFL). So luckily for the ML, she gives in to his "fake marriage only" request .


This drama is worth a re-watch! For hardore fans, this drama can be seen over and over ( at least ten times!).
There are many events, details which can't be completely explained based on pure logic. So, it would be good to classify this drama under intrusion /low fantasy.
Once again, this is a simple, beautiful intrusion fantasy story. Viewers will enjoy this if they are willing to kindly put aside their cold logic & not try to relate each & every detail with what happens in real life or with physics/chemistry/biological principles that underlie life processes in reality.

This is one of the dramas where both FL and ML get almost equal importance and screen space. What happens to both characters are really, really intertwined & affects plot development.
The FL is absolutely adorable. She may appear baby-like to many, but the truth is, she is someone who slowly evolves into the best version of her self. She is a bit slow to adapt to worst scenarios and a bit slow to discover, understand all her best traits ( which explains her impulsive, cruel reactions towards the ML at first, that she deeply regrets later).
But once the FL learns to adapt well( it's not like she was well trained & well educated like the ML from childhood!) , the FL completely understands the ML & his intents.

The FL is a cute, sweet damsel in distress type , but she is one who is not to be underestimated. She is kind, sensitive, caring in all kinds of scenarios, and never runs away from responsibilities to help others in day to day situations even when her mind, heart is badly muddled, devastated, sad.

Both FL & ML aren't power hungry or obsessed with solving the problems, issues posed by worldly politics. They just want to live a quiet, peaceful life for themselves because if they get involved in politics, they will be separated forever. Still, the main leads do their best to set things right while pursuing their personal agenda for reunion.

The only slightly annoying aspects are the fates meted out to the villian and his vamp sister, and also the ending scripted for the main leads which could have been slightly tweaked , for the better, here & there.


The ultimate sad endings thrust on the villian who is actually a real affectionate, considerate brother, and
his spoilt, pampered sister seems too cruel. Maybe bitter -sweet endings would 've been better for the duo.

As for the main leads, they really, really deserved a perfect, rosy happy ending instead of a light-hearted bitter-sweet but cute, happy ending.

But overall, because the main leads end up together in a highly romantic, intense manner oozing oodles of tenderness, this drama is worth watching a thousand times. A possibility where the FL helps the ML to get back his life force is also hinted at.

Ultimately, no matter how imperfect it was at some turns & twists of the plot; the tender, sweet, unfathomably-deep, happy ending of the main leads was worth watching.
This story is so sweet, unique & special that it is impossible to compare it with Korean drama love stories. Both are too different to be compared. Otherwise, it will be akin to comparing spices ---- cinnamon & pepper. Both has its value, utility. This story is beyond meaningless comparisons.

Don't forget to listen to the ending ost that is absolutely soulful with beautiful lyrics.

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Completed
My Sweet Dear
13 people found this review helpful
by noodle
Feb 1, 2022
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

some serious cringe going on here but has Jang Eui Su in it so who cares

This is rubbish compared to Where Your Eyes Linger and my initial thoughts were Jungwoo's hair was terrible but he's still a complete beast so it was worth watching. Actually by the end I was into the hair. The other lead had a slight Jimin vibe about him (not sure where I'm getting that from - not his attitude - probably just the lips/wishful thinking). They both came across pretty straight but it didn't really bother me.
Not much of a story going on but there were several cute bits and it was nice and short - easily digestible.
All the guys working in the kitchen were sweethearts.
The model ferris wheel unveiling was fucking hilarious.
The music was HORRIFICly bad

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Completed
Twins
13 people found this review helpful
Jan 20, 2024
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Fantastic Cast with a Subpar Script

Let’s be honest, the cast is the only thing that made this show watchable in the least. Many are praising Frame and Ryan for their chemistry, which they rightfully deserve, but I haven’t seen anyone praising the other cast members. Every single actor who played a member of the volleyball team, as well as Tan’s actor, did really well. They gave us really likable characters we could be invested in even though the writing failed both them and us. They all deserve SO MUCH better than they got. I really hope we can see some of them working together on projects in the future. Preferably ones that deserve them.

***Spoilers Below***

The writing…oof. I’d like to think they at least tried, I really would. But I’m not sure how much they did.
- The entire basis for the switch was thin at best to begin with and made no sense as the story went on.
- We never get to see anything that explains why Zee goes from wanting nothing to do with volleyball to seemingly wanting to play again. Maybe even liking it? There could have been some interesting storytelling if they explored his dislike of volleyball (I think we all understood why) and actually had him quit or showed him caving to the pressure to go back. But there’s nothing. At most we can presume he missed it once it was gone when he saw Sprite training that one time.
- It would have been a lot more interesting if someone on the volleyball side found them out. Eapecially since Sprite was SO BAD at volleyball to start. They made it seem like Tom might catch them bc his mom was also in the hospital but that went nowhere. Those brothers met IN PUBLIC several times but no one every stumbled upon them.
- Sprite needed to confess to First, if to no one else, waaaaaaay sooner. First gave him every possible opportunity to tell him that he wasn’t Zee and Sprite constantly chose to lie to him.
- Sleeping with someone then letting your twin, who is a complete asshole to begin with, interact with that person while being (surprise!) a total dick then wondering why he’s upset at you?! At this point I wanted First to tell Sprite to fuck off and never give him another chance. That was HORRIBLE. (And kind of SA-y to let him think he was sleeping with someone he wasn’t, imo)
- Many characters were made way dumber than they should have been for the sake of the plot.
- First’s sister and her friends at the end? And for that to be it, just left hanging? Was that necessary?
- The rest of the team never finds out about the switch. Not even Sam who is dating Sprite’s best friend?
- No consequences for mom forcing Zee to play this sport all his life even though he clearly didn’t want to.
- No character development for Zee even though he was so vocal about not wanting Sprite to be him, not wanting to play or go back to his life anymore, etc. Basically all gets brushed under the rug.
- Zero awareness or consideration by Zee or Salmon for the fact that the team has had Sprite around for months, that Sprite and First have been velcroed to one another or for the fact they KNOW Sprite likes First and First doesn’t know about the switch. Sure, Zee is a dick but what is Salmon’s excuse?
- The spy storyline fell flat. We never found out what he gave Zee or what it did to him that apparently resulted in Sprite playing that match. This didn’t feel necessary at all.
- The Tom storyline was set up waaaay too in advance for when we finally got answers and that also fell flat.

The last episode wasn’t as bad and disappointing as I expected it to be, but it wasn’t that good. It certainly wasn’t good enough to make up for the outright anger the last like five episodes gave me over the stupidity of Sprite and the story/plot.

In the end: I loved First. I loved Sprite when he wasn’t being so stupid and lying to the guy he liked so much. I loved a lot of the guys on the team.

I would set rewatch value to zero if I could.

I’m only giving this a 6.5 for the actors.

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Completed
The Silence of the Monster
13 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Jan 8, 2023
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 7
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 7.0

Slice of life with touch of investigation and grim undertones.

Technically The Silence of the Monster had all the typical slice of life elements - a group of characters creating a bond with each other, learning many useful and meaningful life lessons and learning how to overcome their struggles and traumas. It was cute and fun to watch. And yet, the drama managed to add the darker twist to it all, making it seem like the happiness was diluted, and the bubble could burst any time.

It was all possible thanks to the characters and how they were portrayed - especially for Luo Bin and He Chu Feng. The events of their past were still haunting them in the present, and even though they tried to move on, sometimes you need to face the tragedy, before you can build your happiness.

Luo Bin and Chu Feng had a great dynamic going on - one more reserved, the other not being able to stay still and quiet for more than a few minutes. What the show did well was giving small tweaks to who we thought the characters were. Chu Feng was not really this cold and quiet type, and Lou Bin was not as happy and carefree as it seemed.

On the other hand, while I enjoyed Sui Yi a lot, her character had nowhere near as much depth and complexity as the two male leads. For me, she represented the normality in the show - pretty, smart, hardworking, good natured. She brought the sunlight and warmth to Monster Vintage.

But then, we have Xiao An, whom I would not even consider one of the main characters. She showed up really late, she had little to no personality and presence on the screen. The development of her relationship with other characters was poorly paced and she never truly seemed like a part of the team for me.

The plot of The Silence of the Monster might seem like an investigation focused story, but for me, playing Sherlock Holme was more of a means to deliver the messages. It never felt like the focus was on the cases themselves, but rather on the people involved, especially the victims. Through the investigation, the drama presented many important social and personal messages. It tackles subjects like stalking and cyber crime, prejudice, animal cruelty, divorce/remarriage and the impact it might have on the child, mental health issues, trauma, the consequences of the white lies, and many more.

Sadly, plot wise, around episode 20 it all slowed down and I started to lose interest. The cases were nowhere near as interesting as the ones at the beginnings, the transition from the case by case scenario, to linking them to create a bigger picture was questionable. And the big bad guys were simply laughable.

The performances in most cases were great. I especially liked the raw emotions Annie Sun showed in the last few episodes. Both Bi Wen Jun and Zhu Zheng Ting had a strong delivery throughout the whole show. Ye Peng was capable of portraying Gu Nam in a way I had moments when I did empathize with him, even though I completely disagreed with his actions. The only performance that did not convince me at all was Baby Zhang, but it’s hard for me to judge how much was it the actress's fault, and how much I should blame the writing of the character.

The thing that stood out the most in a positive way were the costumes, styling, set designs, sceneries and the soundtrack. The whole show seemed like a piece of art, proven by 468 screenshots I took. I loved the vintage vibes they used, that felt stylish and not outdated. I liked a lot of the wide shots with the focus point not being in the center, but rather on one of the sides.

Soundtrack wise, I think Clare Duan - Tao Hao was my favorite song, but honestly speaking, literally every song was perfect and a gem worth adding to the playlist. Well fitting the drama, the scenes and the atmosphere created by the visual means.

Overall, it was a great watch, but the few complaints I had, had quite an impact on the overall quality of the show. It’s still worth watching and diving into the mysterious, but somehow welcoming and warm world of Monster Vintage.

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Completed
Kimi to Sekai ga Owaru Hi ni
13 people found this review helpful
Mar 24, 2021
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 8.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

Japanese zombie drama with an intense, amazing first half.

This was one of my favourite dramas this season. I haven't seen an Asian zombie drama before and this delivered on my high expectations. The first episode or so didn't impress me but the following episodes got intense and extremely engaging. I looked forward to new episodes every week and waiting for them was a struggle! The writers were great in depicting the depths that humans fall into when trying to survive, the moral dilemmas, how people are valued differently in our society because of factors they can't control, and how large groups of people are easily manipulated. I'll be honest, the zombies weren't that frightening, the other survivors were the scariest part of the drama. At first, the drama never failed to deliver on the thrills and tensions and horror...

Sadly, these good qualities diminished in the second half and the drama became a little bit too melodramatic and focused too much on a romance that seemed really forced. Nevertheless, this drama was still entertaining to the very end and I would really recommend giving it a try. Don't expect Train to Busan level quality, but more along the lines of #Alive - a very fun zombie drama that has its flaws.

Takeuchi Ryoma and Takito Kenichi were amazing as always. They really sold us on the characters' inner turmoils and emotions. Takito Kenichi was especially noteworthy in his role of an evil scientist, a man on the very precipice of insanity. Ryoma was really good at portraying his tortured pysche as he desperately tried to keep his band of survivors alive while trying not to make dubious moral choices. Also a shoutout to Kim Jae-hyun, who was also memorable as Min-jun as was Marie Iitoyo as Kanae! Unfortunately, the rest of the cast didn't really make an impact on me and Nakajo Ayami's acting wasn't that impressive, despite being the FL XD.

Imo, other than the acting, the best part of this drama is the OST. Rei Yasuda's "Not the End" is an absolute banger; her voice is gorgeous and that song WILL get stuck in your hand for the next several day, it's so catchy and beautiful.

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Completed
Dangerous Romance
13 people found this review helpful
Nov 4, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 6
Overall 6.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 4.0
This review may contain spoilers

Nonsense romance (with a bit of illegal romance mixed in it)

So... As most people already said it: it started real good but it went down the drain real quick!

First, I think that the fact that Kang's behaviour makes a complete u-turn without really good reasons was one of the reasons the series started to get bad from episode 3. But the thing that really upset me was when Kang was suddenly in love with his childhood friend, Pimfah. There were no previous signs of him liking her and it was so sudden that it felt so out of place. Contrary to some people, I wasn't really surprised that Pimfah was interested in Sailom because she's kind of shown signs a bit before (even though, those signs can easily be understood as just her being nice), but Kang's feelings for Pimfah were out of nowhere. Especially when he already showed signs of jealousy towards Sailom (but I was apparently wrong...). Then, Sailom confesses he likes Kang and Kang suddenly likes him? That was so freaking weird (also, I don't really like the fact that Sailom liked him before and just because he gave him an umbrella... I know he's young but still).

Second, I don't have anything against Chimon, I thought he played his part good in all the dramas I've watched with him but we can all agree that he's not good with romance. Everytime Kang and Sailom kissed, I was silently (or not) cringing in front of my screen and I pitied Perth for doing his best at carrying the romance scenes. Perth did all the job and he's one of the best thing that saved this drama from falling further down (even though his role was not the best - I mean, Kang that rejects Sailom for something that HIS BROTHER has supposedly done was pretty sh*tty of him).

Third, and I'll finish with that, GMMTV needs to stop romantising teachers with students!! It's the second time that happens in less than a year (last time was in The Eclipse). I sensed romance between Pimfah and Napdao as soon as Napdao appeared in the story and I really hoped I was wrong but no... they definitely made Pimfah having a crush on Napdao, which is not bad because I'm sure we all had a crush on one of our teachers when we were at school (I did) but what is bad is that Napdao is accepting those feelings and kind of reciprocating. And they tried to cover the whole thing at the end by making her say that she's not their teacher anymore but, I'm sorry, it's still very bad. And of course, like in The Eclipse, the teacher joins the student's trip. I hate that...

Anyway, watch if you want to watch, you're the only judge of what you like.

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Completed
A Love Song For You
12 people found this review helpful
Jul 11, 2012
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers
Kimi ni Love Song wo is a beautiful lovestory with a message behind its first most noticed storyline. While it is a story about love, It also tells the story of the friendship of the band, Helping eachother out when its needed through difficult times. I will be writing a spoilerless review.

Sungje is a singer for the band Supernova, However he has always had his flaws in his Japanese pronounciations. After unwillingly failing his song records many times, the song producers decides to put his songs on hold for now asking him to improve his Japanese. He takes a walk along the harbor and comes to meet a girl, This girl doesn't seem to see who he is however. Singing on a song by the korean band Supernova, He is unable to get the sentences to come out right causing the girl Saori to complete his song lyrics with perfect Japanese. Sungje quickly falls for the girl helping him out, And so he asks her a request of her learning him the right way to speak Japanese. She accepts on the condition that he will learn her korean aswell. His feelings develop for Saori while hiding behind somebody elses name, Determined to confess about his real identity. From here on starts a story of heartbreak, Friendship and romance for Sungje, However his happiness won't be one gained without struggling for it.

I found this movie to be really incredible. It had me laughing, crying and making me unable to refrain from smiling at some points. The movies soundtrack was amazing, Into the soundtrack there were original music from Supernova themselves fitting into the story without a doubt. Music was put into the right situations, No music I feel didn't belong in the movie. Great!.

Kimi ni Love Song wo is a story for all out there who are able to take watching romantic tearjerkers. While the storyline is unpredictive it only keeps the watch more amazing. Sung Je's first movie role, Couldn't have been performed any more perfectly.

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