Completed
Don't Say No
19 people found this review helpful
by mixpha
Nov 29, 2021
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.5
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 3.5
This review may contain spoilers

Sigh

Who tf keeps letting mame make dogshit? First of all, i was debating whether to watch this or not bc i despised fiat in tharntype (and the show as a whole) but i ultimately decided i would give it a try. From the trailer i thought this was going to be about the struggles of being in a relationship with someone you've been friend with your whole like..NOPE..they struggled with that for .2 seconds and then they got into some other bs.
Ja and first's acting is not that great for having the main roles, i was much more satisfied with smart and james' acting, especially the more emotional scenes between the two.
LeoFiat's sex scenes were awful, at times it was so strangely aggressive and stiff that i skipped them entirely.
The story is very lazy and basically a copy and paste of mame's other works...she is just not a good writer.
One thing i will give mame credit for, which is the bare minimum, was confirming that Leon was pansexual, ive honestly never seen pansexual representation in a bl before so it made me smile.
I really liked LeonPobphan, they had a really healthy relationship which is something we dont often see in mame's stuff.

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Completed
Study Group
19 people found this review helpful
by Heracin Flower Award2
Mar 1, 2025
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 4.5

Loved the introduction but lost interest halfway through

I had so much fun at first with the series but I unfortunately lost interest halfway through it. I feel there are a lot to love in the series regarding the webtoon vibe with the over-the-top fight scenes, the banger OST, the exciting colorful production and the likeable gallery of characters.

Unfortunately, I found the story quite lacking. I found the overall narrative arc for the characters very expected with little to no surprises. The morale felt very one note with some redundant aspect inherent to the genre. Don't get me wrong, I found quite touching some of the storylines relating to the Study Group members but it is a shame it was often in spite of the main character Yun Ga Min. The latest was so much less interesting than all his companions that it was a bit of a shame.

This central role was played by Hwang Min Hyun, whom I feel has improved since his performance in Alchemy of Souls. He felt less bland but still it seemed a bit like a miscast for the part. He felt (like most of the Study Group members) too old to play a young high school student. This was a source of concern but not really that problematic in the grand scheme of all. However, what is an issue is that even if I full recognize his acting has more range than what I have seen in the past, it was still a bit too robotic to my taste. Fortunately, I must say that I was much more convinced by the acting of the other cast members who appeared all throughout the series.

The production was very good. You need for sure total suspension of disbelief. It is part of the genre as it is an adaptation of a webtoon which does not aim to reach realism or very profound social criticism but rather to provide some exciting fighting scenes, hyping the hero and his friend with a lot of slow motion sequences. The OST was really nice : a lot of good raps, with an energizing opening song that I liked a lot.

I would recommend this to people that are looking for an action / shonen-like story within high school background. If you enjoyed series as The Uncanny Counter, I feel this could be a good series to test out. I had some real good laugh at first and I enjoyed some storylines. I just felt the hero arc was too predictable and remained relatively one-note which reduced my interest in the series as the story progressed.

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Completed
Untold Scandal
19 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2012
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 6.0
Well if you have heard of "Dangerous Liaisons" (or as the original "Les liaisons dangereuses" novel by Choderlos de Laclo who inspired a chain of movie adaptations) this story is all to familiar.
The only difference is that the Korean version of this story makes the viewer root for the main characters, who become almost likeable and beautiful. I never thought I'd cry for Valmont (Korean version, of course). Thinking about it, it's much easier to get attached to Bae Yong Joon than you can ever do to John Malkovich!
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Completed
A Gentleman's Dignity
19 people found this review helpful
Aug 13, 2012
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Story : What to say other that this drama was beautifully written, the story unfolded so naturally that we naturally traveled with the characters. It was written with the perfect amount of wit, laughter, sadness and utter respect for the age group that it was portraying.


There's nothing to say much about the cast, they played their characters perfectly to the point where it was easy to get irritated, to laugh, cry along with them. Each and every actor brought their characters to life in style and color.

The Music was just a perfect match to each of the situation they were supposed to be matched with.

I would totally recommend this drama if you are looking for a well adjusted drama about life that's clean funny and relaxing. Even if you are not in your 40's this drama is written so beautifully that it's easy for anybody to actually relate to and be like "oh that could so totally be me."


SO in clear if you are looking for a funny well adjusted and well written drama there you have it try this one just take a sit back and be charmed by all those oppas who are going to make you feel like life is just oh so well good ...

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Completed
Bad Romeo
19 people found this review helpful
Sep 22, 2022
17 of 17 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 4.0
Story 2.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

that joyless place. I like to call; The last 11 episodes

"Whoa. Speculation reset. Just toss everything we thought we knew last week out" (2 months ago). My comment after episode 6 aired - where the line draws, and romance ends.

Where, watchers thought maybe a great chemistry could climb out into the light toward freedom. A place, that hunted-young-couple would discover love and themselves in the process. But, that story-180, took our leads away from originality, and right back where they started.

Where, the rich can take your organs, ruin your life, kill your child, and force lust on you. While, clueless vengeance and misunderstandings loop repetitively. We all know that place, that joyless place. I like to call it; The last 11 episodes of this soap-opera.

That wonder of walking down a dirt road, in a crown of straw, with a pony-tailed man - With old nanny as witness to a wedding under a open sky. All fell to nothing, and in the end the house they built, meant even less. That couple; mundane, but rich; chemistry gone; wander the earth; to write five star hotel reviews in branded gear. What a difference, that time skip made.

There are better romances out there. This could have been something special, but, it isn't. Not recommended.

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Completed
Bel Ami
19 people found this review helpful
by Aryael
Jan 10, 2014
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
Story: This is a story about a man who is so good looking, women just drop like flies at the sight of him. What a blessing! What a curse! The drama has a very cliche title and synopsis, you'd think that this is just another idol drama featuring the crazy styles of Jang Guen Suk. To a certain degree, there is self-glorification of JGS happening in the drama but they were done in such a way that they provide comedic relief. When I started this drama, I had expected to dump it after a few episodes because of my bias against any pretty boy idol drama. Theya re usually catered for the young female fan market. It was the end of the year and I was bored; so I took it up. To my pleasant surprise, this drama did not disappoint at all! There is more to the drama than the cover it promotes. It has a deeper storyline than the staple love triangles we see in idol dramas. It deals with successes in the business world, family and the meaning of relationships. Expect to shed some tears and to hate someone. It has all the qualities of a good Korean drama. It somehow revived some of my faith in KDramas.. a little, not much. I am still waiting for the next big thing! But trust me when I say that your hours of watching this drama will not go to waste. The only reason why I gave the story 9/10 and not 10/10 is because of the slight discrepancy between how the drama was promoted versus how it actualy turned out. It was promoted as a test of 10 women - the first few episodes, it certainly felt like it but somewhere in the middle, things got serious and the story moved away from the "test of 10 women" to more of a melo feel. I do not mind the change in direction given that it gives the drama more depth. So, my advice is - do not base your expectation of this drama on the "test of 10 women" premise.

Acting/Cast: All veteran actors and actresses. No complains in this department. Despite all his wacky styles, JGS is definitely a more solid actor that many idol actors in the industry. He just need to select his script more carefully and really test his strength in acting by moving away from the cliche type idol dramas. In Pretty Boy/Bel Ami, he somewhat redeemed himself after so many not so high ranking idol dramas since You're Beautiful. This is again, thanks to the change in drama direction halfway through towards a more melo type drama.

Rewatch value: I am not in a hurry to rewatch this. The story and acting is good but the drama has so many twists and revelation that watching it the second time will take away some of the impact of why it is good.

Overall: A solid 8/10. Definitely worth watching but if you are expecting something that will take your breath away and stick to you mind for years after that will turn you into a rewatch maniac, this is not it. Nevertheless, it stands out as a worthy entertainment amongst all the mediocre KDrama offerings from 2013.

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Completed
Part for Ever
19 people found this review helpful
by KingC
Apr 2, 2024
28 of 28 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 3.0

Circle of Dumb.

Okay. How do I even start with this one?
After seeing the trainwreck of the trailer, I checked out the author and stumbled across another book of hers which is even more evil than this, so I guess it's entirely not the screenwriter's fault.

I have my University Exams going on right now, which might be partly why this drama pissed me off so much, cause out of the 10 minutes we get per episode (which is perfect for a short break), 80% of it is spent on twirling, BGM and 'look-at-my-aesthetics' camera work.
It's a waste not because of the actors, who are the ones carrying this drama and who actually have the skills.
The story itself is so... something that it made me double up.

A dude, Ling Xiao, finds an opportunity and overthrows a City Lord to avenge his mother; he later forcibly marries the deceased Lord's young daughter, Su Wan'er, who for once, is a female lead whom I absolutely adored.
If there is one reason for you to watch this drama, then do it for her cause she is definitely up there with Princess Xiao Feng when it comes to giving apt response to their husbands.
Throw in a female villain and voila! - we have all the elements for a plot that we will either enjoy as pulp fiction or want to burn to ashes.

Sadly, the ML is the most dumbest character I've watched on screen in a Chinese Drama. [It does not help that the last two dramas I've watched were In Blossom and Different Princess, both of which had smart characters.]
His biggest contribution to the drama was it's pivotal misunderstanding. [@phroggies70 from Reddit described him as a handsome brick.]
It's a shame because the actor has the ability to boot.
I've seen the Second ML in another evil drama, but he is truly a sunshine in this one. So, kudos to his character!
Even the leading and supporting actors were highly talented, considering that this was the script given to them.
Costumes were nice, albeit a bit cliché styled and the chemistry between the leading characters was also nice. Aesthetics were good. Sigh...

Atleast, it ended how I expected it to. I'd suggest this drama to anyone in search of a chokeworthy ML and a female lead who deserved better.
[6.5/10. Cause it was nice to look at and the actors and crew really worked hard.]

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Completed
Story of Kunning Palace
19 people found this review helpful
by Rain
Nov 27, 2023
38 of 38 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 10
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

When the snow fell, you came... breaking my lucid dream to pull me into yours

~~~***~~~

"Because letting go is the best choice for memories~"

PLOT:

A broken vase of porcelain is always regarded as a bad omen. The shattered bits on the floor are often discarded. But what if this broken vase is her unconfirmed future? You can’t throw it, you can’t keep it. But isn’t what’s gone, gone forever?

She is a person who dwells in the dream like past unknown of the ways to mend it. At the same time, she is scared to be unbothered and let go. The heart can’t get away unscathed. She was left with questions unanswered and her probable future hanging on a cliff fighting to either survive or fall. I was reminded of 'Kintsugi’ while watching this drama. 'Kintsugi’ is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with gold. Now what’s broken is repaired, even more beautifully so… That is to sum up this story.

Jiang Xuening, a girl with a twisted fate right from her childhood, originally happy-go-lucky, helpful and an enough kind-hearted little girl is raised with an ambitious brain. She does what she can to achieve her aim. In the process, she lost herself. She lost the ones she loved, she lost the ones who loved her as well. Karma is a boomerang. It comes back to you the with the same momentum. She rose, she fell- as ugly as she went up, she came down. But, the writer of her fate has other plans- “give her a chance”. It’s not like she received none, she did- most often used for the wrong purposes but now she was given a chance in her full state of mind; when she was still HER- her 18 year old self.

She now has the chance to resurrect the broken porcelain with the gold in her hand, and more so- carve it even better. She does it! For she had experienced the price of an act. She does her best, like she has to- to begin with. Forming relationships of heart instead of her aim. Tasting the glory of love than power. She weaves this story like a grandma weaving a sweater for her grandchildren- with love and patience, overcoming the hurdles of the inevitable and slowly weaving into a pleasing garment that saves her loved ones from the cold of misfortune. Ning’er weaves and saves, hugs and safeguards everyone!

I hate palace politics. I always skip scenes with the palace drama. All the schemings, conspirations, plan-hatchings are not my forte. BUTTTTTTTTT I was interested in every palace-noise of this drama. It was interesting, not boring and also not too heavy. I love my manipulative Xie Wei and foresighted Ning playing things on their fingers.

A promising plot that wasn't let down.

~~~***~~~

“I really want to ask you, why?
In the plots we missed, was there any sincerity?”~

CAST:

Bai Lu as Jiang Xuening. Bai lu’s acting skills will never be a let down. I can bet on to buy a theatre of tickets, as her expressions sell out every single time. Being the one who remembers the future while being able to re-live a different past, she expresses her every fear, every trauma, every love, every hate, every collusion, every dilemma, every wit, every guilt, every irk, every loyalty, every thankfulness, every togetherness, every naughtiness, every incivility, every pain, every joy with grace and finesse. The story revolves around her, so she naturally has so much responsibility shouldered upon and she doesn’t disappoint a second. Her feelings are evident, her wit is ushered. She still cries making me cry with her, she still laughs making me laugh with her. The villainy side was villainous as it should be, her innocence was innocent likewise. Ask of balance in acting while juggling a whole bunch of different characters in one drama, you can’t find a better cast than her. I saw Jiang Xuening the rise, Jiang Xuening the fall; Jiang Xuening the Empress, Jiang Xuening the Second Lady; Jiang Xuening the forest girl, Jiang Xuening the capitalist; Jiang Xuening the seductress, Jiang Xuening the untouchable; Jiang Xuening the friend, Jiang Xuening the foe; Jiang Xuening the love and Jiang Xuening the regret. I saw Bai Lu as Jiang Xuening.

Ling He as Xie Wei. I saw every minute emotion in his beautiful expressive wide face. That of hate, that of resilience; that of love, that of innocence; that of a human, that of an evil; that of torture, that of patience; that of kindness, that of remorselessness. As Xie Wei, he spew what ran in his brain, at the same time hid his plans monotonously as well. He expressed his valour but also his modesty. Xie Wei is a very wise man who can outwit anyone. He pre-plans. He is quick witted. He thinks, he strides. It’s difficult for a quintessentially fit man like Ling He to seem more brainy than muscular and he nailed it. He looked like an intellectual in every angle, yet seamlessly hiding his monstrous bigger half. His eyebrow lifts were a treat to watch. He expressed his suffering in one scene and in the same scene he switches to show his boiling anger. And in the same scene he acts pitiful while conveying his mountain of love. He despises in the same scene and appreciates as well. In that very scene he daunts his fear while flaunting his courage. He switched his expression accordingly with every line of the same paragraph in the script. Ling he nailed Xie Wei.

Wang Xing Yue as Zhang Zhe. I'm a huge Bai Lu fan, I saw all of her dramas and if you do too, we've already witnessed Xing Yue's phenomenal acting prowess through "One and Only". That was just a trailer! He performed very well here too. He fits like a glove for Zhang Zhe. Zhang Zhe is silent and judicious. He is brave enough to tell what is the truth in a palace full of manipulative liars. He dares to pay the price for sincerity if it requires. A righteous man like a lotus in a dirt pond. Xing Yue did justice.

Zhao Jun Wei as Yan Lin. My favourite! I fell in love with him. Boy looks naughty being a hottie. When he was slaying with his armour on as the Viscount, I could not take my eyes off him. At the same time, when he expressed his love towards Ning Ning not only through his words but also his eyes, I was like- "Ning bae, if you won't have him, I shall^_~" I was squeaking with coy. He legit made me blush. I love his character more than anyone else's. GEM. GEM. GEM.

Liu Xie Ning as the Princess. My sweetieeeeee, my cutieeeeeee... I shall call her with all adorable names cuz she was A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. She was the apple of my eye like Ning's. She looked like a Swan bro. Beautiful as hellll! From a bratty Princess to a reliable friend and a responsible royal kin, she transitioned like water. Was I watching Barbie in any case? I guess. I'm fanning more than a fan (┬┬﹏┬┬).

The whole cast was a tailored pick meticulously embroidered to create a masterpiece.

~~~***~~~

“The abyss is in front of me,
I know I’ll be smashed to pieces if I jump in.
How could I go for it knowing this?” Ning’er pitches
“What if I jump in?” Xie Wei replies.

BONDS:

The chemistry between the mains is lit! Like as soon as you see Bai Lu and Ling He side by side, you see two incredibly pretty people looking like a match of the cupid. They do not need a script to look hot together. Though I was like- "bruhhhhh... I'm sailing the wrong ship" in the beginning, the ship overturns and we sail the right ship. Yeahhhh! LOL. I was not just having a treat, I was having an unlimited buffet seeing them together. The romance starts very slowly but as it starts, the heat is felt!

The friendships are my treasured part of this drama. Ning'er being the center and these awesomesauce friendships she forms around her were UwU. Not just the leads, the whole effin cast has sizzling chemistry duh! I live for these bonds! Especially, Yan Lin-Ning Ning and Princess-Ning stole my heart.

~~~***~~~

"The reflection of light will one day swallow you and me~"

APPRAISAL:

I know that the story is that way but I can’t fathom characters vanishing for half of the drama and then suddenly appearing. It’s like they serve a purpose, but like to talk that they serve a purpose than actually show the purpose they serve. So one moment you feel like a character is no longer important but the very same character pops on screen being the need of the hour. I do like the use of all these many characters but at the end of the day I feel few of them appear so okay-ishhhhh to me.
However great job with the main characters in hand. I love the dynamics, the friendships, the relationships. I love how complex they are, yet have a light airy calmness.

The camera angles were okay. Sometimes though they felt like they focused the wrong things, when I observed it better I see why that happens. This added a lot of depth to the scenes in my opinion. However, sometimes the cuts during the scenes to show different angles were not smoothly videographed. It feels kinda raw. For the time Kunning had in between the filming and release, a lot could’ve been perfected. The transitions were okay. They are not over the top minding that it’s not a high budget god-demon realm fantasy Xianxia.

I really love the makeup. I always feel so triggered with c-drama makeup which only aims towards whitewashing the actors which most of the times make them look pale and that often overshadows the acting and the little expressions that the actors try to make it appear on the camera. In Kunning, I see that the makeup nicely helps in bringing the features of all the actors at the same time being very subtle and minimalistic to go with the theme. There were also scenes and characters that required heavy makeup- like Bai lu in the empress era to show her cruelty or viciousness. Also when Xie Wei wilds out in the snow, a devilish kinda cold makeup is given with a nice red eye shadow to differentiate his emotions better. I not only love the character development arcs but also the makeup transition game that is evident in the drama. It’s nice and clear in the Princess’ case. Her makeup becomes mature as her character does. All those beautiful faces of a starry cast and not one face disappointed either with their expressions or their makeup.

The costumes are so-so. The styling is so-so. There is nothing new and nothing you see for the first time in a historical drama like this one. However I still appreciate the intricacy and the nice jewellery which went well with the theme. A job done is still a job done. I appreciate that it was nowhere seen underdone. Nevertheless, not a high on costume and jewellery drama. There’s nothing that goes par or under par your expectations.

The sets were fine too. Won’t say mediocre as they served the purpose. It doesn’t feel like there was no effort put in as the story doesn’t call out for huge settings. So again, no disappointment.

~~~***~~~

"Looking at the sky
anxiously waiting for winter
reminiscing my memories
I forgot that my four seasons don't have you~"

OST

How to even express my satisfaction that I received through the OSTs? Melodious music with eloquent lyrics paired with worthwhile voices stringing into a harmonious enticement. I heard it for the first time and I guarantee that there will never be a last time.

1. Borrowing Dreams sung by Zhou Shen. All Bai Lu and Keep Running fans are well aware of Zhou Shen and his amazing vocals. Why would this song be an exception? What makes it sweeter to me is the fact that they are good friends in real life too and Bai Lu personally thanked Zhou Shen in Keep Running for lending his voice to this masterpiece in her drama. This is also the closing song of the drama and also my favourite from the list. "Take a willingness to lose to exchange for my other half" is my most favourite part. Whether it played during their romance scenes in the drama or during the end credits, this song didn't fail to make me sing even though I sang it in gibberish due to the language barrier. And the song break where Zhou Shen harmonizes "HaaAAaaaaaaaa... HaaAAaaaaaaaa" .... man, I always transport to the Kunning world.

2. Snow Season sung by Bai Lu. Talk of a multi-talented queen who can act, dance, sing so beautifully! Snow season is a lullaby to the soul. Its like a sweet dessert that satisfies the soul after a scrumptious meal. Bai Lu sang "Entering A Dream" in Arsenal Military Academy along with Xu Kai and I got its vibes with this. I'm telling you, when Bai Lu sings such melodious slow songs, its the end of the world for me. I still couldn't take Entering A Dream out of my mind, now this adds to the list. Not kidding, the moment I listened to her sweet voice, I cried. IT IS SOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

3. Three Thousand Worlds Not Meeting You sung by Jing Long. A breath of fresh air. I think this music and Jing Long's vocals drift from the typical Xianxia music to slightly the current R&B side and it's such a refreshing transpose. Yet, it still feels to be within the theme adding to its ambiguity. The main chorus is very catchy and ran in my mind 24/7 during the whole period I watched SoKP.

Honorary mention: Like a Dream sung by Zhou Jun Wei (We hail a multi-talented king too.)

Other OST include: With Love sung by Jane Zhang

~~~***~~~

REWATCH VALUE:

I'm really satisfied. Definitely re-watchable. It has a calm feel to this drama (idk), I'll definitely re-watch.

~~~***~~~

RECOMMENDATION:

“Mr. Xie, your ambitions are high
as the clouds in the sky
While I’m shallow and short-sighted
like the mud on the ground.
The sparrow will not know the will of a swan.
A miner’s lady is stranger to the sea.
A mortal hopes for nothing else
but to live peacefully.
Mr. Xie, please have mercy on me.”
⁃ Jiang Xuening to Xie Wei
could Xuening really live peacefully? You gottu watch!

Just watch it y'all. It's worth giving a try. But go with no expectations, you'll enjoy it better.

Also folks, do not miss "As You Wish: Story of Kunning Palace" with few of the cast of this drama. I gushed at every episode with the sultry chemistry between the leads and lovely rapport with the whole cast. It's worth your time.

~~~***~~~

P.S: Was I writing a review or a whole new story? I'm tired X﹏X

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Completed
My Perfect Stranger
18 people found this review helpful
by Lia
Jun 20, 2023
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.5

pleasantly surprised

I started watching the drama solely for Jin Ki Joo and the time travel aspect of the plot. But sci-fi dramas, especially when it's around time travel, tend to fall apart pretty quicky so I decided not to get my hopes up. Which might be why I'm left with this warm feeling while finishing up with the last episode.
The relationships between the characters' past versions and the leads were really interesting to see develop, and the murder mystery was entertaining enough to stay engaged in the story.
I loved the fact that the romance wasn't at the front, but rather developed in the background, although I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two. I felt the same way Find Me In Your Memory, and I think I'm just having a hard time getting used to Kim Dong Wook's acting.
There were a few things left out at the end that I would've liked to have an answer to, but overall I was surprised with how solid the story was compared to what I thought at first.

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Completed
Three-Body
19 people found this review helpful
Apr 21, 2024
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 4
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

Underneath the science and math, it's about human frailties destroying mankind or Earth or both

Plot Summary:
(In chronological order, as opposed to the sequence of events in the drama)
During the Cultural Revolution in China, a budding astrophysicist witnessed a horrific incident that made her lose hope in humanity. Armed with research data and basic math, she was able to figure out that the Sun may be used to amplify radio signals from Earth to the vast space of the universe. She sent a signal through the Sun that was picked up years later by a pacifist alien who advised her not to answer otherwise his less peace-loving colleagues would conquer her planet. Had she regained enough hope in humanity to heed the warning, thus stop exposing Earth's location to the aliens, or did she still think earth couldn't sort its problems out itself and needs to be saved by an alien civilization?

Several years later, top scientists in China are committing suicide, seemingly due to frustration over failed experiments and the dread that physical laws known to man don't apply to the whole universe after all, thus making their life's work pointless. Might the shooter theory supposing that seemingly universal patterns apply only to limited areas and not the whole universe, actually be true? Might physics really not exist?

A nanomatter expert suddenly starts seeing a number in his line of vision and realizes it's a countdown. Countdown to what? He witnesses the universe seemingly blinking. He is invited to participate in a virtual reality game simulating a planet ravaged by a three-body problem causing its civilizations to get obliterated every now and then, haphazardly, with no pattern in the intervals between chaotic and stable eras. The object of the game is to find the pattern, i.e. solve the 3-body problem.

The failed experiments, the countdown and the winking universe are actually caused by photons sent to earth by an alien civilization, Trisolaris, whose inhabitants have given up on their fight against their 3-body problem and are currently on their 400+ years trek to Earth. The photons are monitoring earthlings' progress, making sure, with the help of humans who have joined Trisolarians' impending invasion, that human technology does not advance far enough to rival or even surpass that of Trisolaris by the time they reach Earth. Thus, they are driving scientists suicidal with frustration by tampering with their experiments. When a scientist agrees to stop his experiments, his countdown stops.

What happens when the countdown goes to zero? Is this when murders that look like suicides happen? Would humans, called bugs by Trisolarians, be able to ward off this threat of an alien invasion? Would they be able to help solve the 3-body problem thus obviate the need for Trisolarians to leave their home planet and invade Earth? Would Trisolarians, who cannot abide lies, be able to work with lying humans?

These and other questions may or may not be answered in this drama but they drive the narrative. It will be noted that this drama is based on the first book, "The Three-Body Problem", of a trilogy written by Chinese author Liu Cixin. So, sequels are likely to follow.

Review:
This is the most engrossing Chinese drama I've watched. It's much better than the Netflix version. Aside from the scientific and mathematical discussions, the issues covered - humans treating other humans and the environment despicably to a point that would raise the question of whether man deserves to continue living in this beautiful planet or not - are presented in such a thought-provoking manner that powerfully draws the viewer in. The production, acting and music create a haunting, mysterious and sinister mood that fits the subject matter.

The story emphasizes the fallacy in the conventional belief that more advanced civilizations are likely to be friendly. In fact, history has shown that advanced civilizations tend to subjugate more primitive ones. This drama made me pray that those searching for extraterrestrial life would be circumspect about letting aliens know Earth's position in the universe, much less invite them in.

This drama also revived my awe at how blessed we are to have such a beautiful planet to live in. In this violent universe, planets are more likely to have uninhabitable conditions similar to Trisolaris than Earth. Yet, how are we handling this blessing? By acting like only certain humans have a right to be here, disregarding how our actions affect other occupants of this planet like humans who look different, other animals, plants, land masses and bodies of water.

Three-body is such a drama that can make viewers feel strongly about our beautiful planet as well as human moral frailties such as cruelty, selfishness, pride and dishonesty that could spell our doom.

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Completed
Hidden Agenda
19 people found this review helpful
by JFD
Nov 5, 2023
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0

Coming of Age

This is a great series exploring coming of age. Who am I? And what is my goal in life? If you look at this as a stricktly romance series I can understand that you miss a lot of the interesting underlying plot lines. I personally love how strings and crumbs were given in episode 1 and with a red thread throughout the episodes became clear how each character had multiple hidden agendas with their actions and experiences.

The series explore self-awareness into adulthood, how ties to family changes from childhood into young adulthood and romantical connections. How past experiences are carried with us and impact our future decisions and reactions in various situations.

Personally I loved how Dunk’s acting showed parrallels in scenes from the beginning of the series to the same scenes happening at the end of the series and you can clearly see his character growth. (Zo is supposed to be an awkward character in the beginning before he grows into himself over the couse of the series. We see Joke grow and learn more about himself as a person and how to approach his friends, family and situations.

The side couple wasnt showed much, but Aou and Boom did amazing in the few scenes they were present. And gave the perfect counter-balance to Dunk and Joongs characters.

Also, we cannot deny that Joong and Dunks chemistry carried in the low plot parts of the series.

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Completed
Single’s Inferno Season 3
19 people found this review helpful
Jan 9, 2024
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 1.0
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 1.0
Music 1.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

That was a BIG disappointment!

I gave it a go, as I loved SI1&SI2 - how could the producers put this as season three?!
Nothing worked for me.
Cast - largely boring and shallow characters - both women and men. In previous years we had a great mix of ages, professions and personalities. This time on women’s side these was team Miss Korea vs one basketball player (who were the rest of the men again?)
Location - in season 1&2 the participants had much more space - I appreciate it’s the inferno but turning it into Bog Brother is not very interesting for me. The hotel was not that nice as the ones before - had a tiny tab and they had to eat around a coffee table…something just didn’t add up..
Stories - generally very bitty; the only story I kind of liked was cafe owner&young model. The basketball player triangle was centre of all proceedings out of desperation for me - I’m sure that should there have been more interesting men characters, this would have not happened! He was portrayed as shallow, unconvincing and unreliable man - what got omitted from the edits that is SO charming about you?!
I’m not sure if the editing was bad or this season was generally just boring, but there was no much really interesting relationships. For the first time I actually rewarded forward a programme just to see key moments..and these extremely long pauses - who needs that many and that long?!
The best thing - although painful to watch sometimes - was the studio team who was commenting..
Bring them back!

What a disappointment!

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Completed
Secret Crush on You
19 people found this review helpful
Jun 4, 2022
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

I felt seen...

I felt like I could belong. This series not only help me realize what kind of F*d up world we live in, It also helped see understand myself and Love myself.

I just read a comment saying how the male lead is effeminate and creepy and they just dropped the series because of it. I'd like to say to that person, good riddance. Because how people react watching this series is literally shows how society also treats these characters that are based on real people that exist.

This world makes us think that we need to fit in somewhere and do things how they want us to do. But in reality, this world is made for the entitled, elite that made all these society rules and those of us who recognize it and never succumb to fitting in know how difficult it is to be ones self but at the same time, how empowering it is to say "This is Me, I was born this way and if no-one comes into my life loving me for myself, then I dont want it". This series was exactly that.

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Completed
Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy
19 people found this review helpful
Jul 24, 2025
Completed 5
Overall 1.0
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 1.0
Music 1.5
Rewatch Value 1.0

Honestly just read the Novel.

Its honestly disappointing. It disrespected the original source material to the very point where it's completely unrecognizable and different from its source, from even the overall messages and symbolism that ORV tried to convey, everything had been completely butchered. But by peeling and stripping away everything to adhere to the general audience's expectations, there won't be anything left to love. for all I could say it's quite disappointing and unimpressive to say the least. This is setting a supremacy for future and prospective Live action adaptations to completely mess up a beloved story by extracting all the aspects that make it great in the first place. You can't even call it an adaptation, it fails in every aspect. the cinematography is incompetent, Additionally some actors with major supporting roles are just completely sidelined for no appropriate reason. This exactly isn't a matter of an "accurate adaptation and depiction" anymore.

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Completed
Codename: Jackal
19 people found this review helpful
Jan 17, 2013
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
No matter what is to come I ENJOYED this movie.
Lets face it its not great but its not bad either. ( lots of flims out there that are not great but perfectly fine to watch)
I was reading the other reviews...i question the scores....either they are being bais or i just have compelety diffrent view.
I'm scoring this based what i saw ...

Comedy: It was enjoyable, It was fuuny. i laughed :D

STORY: It seems simple..but quite the twsit you face at the end. The story was meant to be one of those that you laugh through the goffiness then bam! you realise what was really happening . HOWEVER .....I think it wasn't told in the best way. the end i thought was rushed. i was left totally confused with everything being revealed at once with not enough time to comprehend. I suggest rewatching the end.

ACTING: JJ i would say did a great job. i'm impresssed.lol maybe his got personal experience...SJH however...did not do a good job with her character . can't say i understood her very well.(acting aside..she was super cute)

MUSIC:(IN THE MOVIE) the songs themselves are fine. However the way that they are pesented was just...chessy(?)..it felt forced.

Would i rewatch?
No. not really maybe cuts from it..there were some funny bits i would rewatch.

Overall-
Not the best MADE film. The actors were fine nothing horrible. it was more of a for the fansmovies... so if you love JJ or SJH or both..GO FOR IT....all others hmm if you have time.

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