Story- It’s about loss, finding love through that loss, and forgiveness. Really well written in that, the writers managed to balance the love-lines and boxing theme. There wasn’t a single episode where I felt bored and the episodes flew by fast. There were some things that I didn’t like about the story though. This includes all the scenes involving the CF President (obsessed with the female lead character) and also all the angst in the second half of the drama. I really really wish they had only a few episodes where the main female character can’t forgive the male lead character. You have to make it through to the very end before forgiveness/reconciliation occurs. The ending wasn’t bad but it was kind of disappointing for what the writers made us go through with all that angst.
Acting/Characters- Shin Min Ah was perfect and her character development was interesting. She starts out as a likable character but halfway through her character changes physically and emotionally, and not for the better. And Can I just say how awesome Joo Jin Mo is?! He is a versatile and phenomenal actor. I’ve seen him in so many things and this character is just so different and out of the box for him. I seriously loved his character because you could tell he loved the main female so much and my heart kept breaking for him during all the scenes the main female character showed her hatred for him. The other main male actor (who seriously is no rival) was just awful. His lack of acting skills and the fact that the writers made his character so unlikable just made his scenes (unfortunately he has a lot) unbearable to watch. His character wasn’t even that evil but he had no redeeming qualities and I had no sympathy for him at all. I mean he doesn’t even give up the female lead till the very end! He is pathetic and just a worthless character who didn’t offer anything to the drama. On a different note, the supporting cast was perfect. I liked that the writers gave the supporting cast prominent roles and I enjoyed the love triangles of the female lead’s 2 female friends.
Music- Matching angsty music but also has Christina Augielera’s “Stronger” as a running theme which matches the boxing theme of the show.
Rewatch- I am going to rewatch this cause the acting was really good but not for a couple years cause of the high angst.
Overall Punch plays like an extended top quality sports movie. Whether you like sports themed dramas or not you will be able to watch this. Your enjoyment of the drama might dwindle towards the last quarter though, because the female lead character becomes really unlikable and there are misunderstandings and too much angst!
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We need to talk about this ML
I had written a review that I *thought* encompassed all my thoughts on this drama. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I needed to scrap it and start over. This drama is lo-budget in so many ways, and the natural compulsion is to be kind of dismissive, and I had written "what an excellent cheap thrill". WHICH IT IS. But it's more than that. So I think it deserves a more serious review. So let me get serious.First off, stylist needs to be fired. Let's just get that out of the way. And that is probably the main weak link in the show. It should have been styled by whoever did Fake It Till You Make It. But it wasn't. So to appreciate this drama, you have to kind of look past the stylist's choices more often than is comfortable, and it makes this watch awkward. So, immediately, points off. At least nobody had their hair wrecked. The hair is good. Idk bout yall, but for me this is kind of a real factor in show enjoyment. It shouldn't be, I mean that's silly. But it is. Bad hair can just destroy a show's spark. Fortunately hair here is good, or at least plenty good enough. At least the bad styling choices err on the side of caution, and nobody is wearing a dress shirt covered in mini stuffed teddy bears, or a leather polo shirt, or a belt that looks like a literal alien designed it.
Also music person needs to be fired. It's annoying and out of step, imo. But that's neither here nor there, because you just turn it down when it gets intrusive for a few mins, and it's fine. The crappiness of it didn't destroy the show or anything, it's just that it's not good. It didn't ADD to anything. It's mainly ignorable, and that's the best I can say about it.
With different styling and music this could have been very EITDN-level hot, but coulda woulda shoulda... that part is a fail imo. And is the reason for the points-off on the score.
With that having been said.
What I really want to talk about, that to me is the highlight of this drama, is the ML character himself. First off, this actor - Zhang Fei Ran - just poofed into existence out of thin air like some ML genie. Go look at his page. There's nothing on it. He just started his acting career. This performance he gave here, was GOOD. Really good. The character he plays doesn't have a lot of range, or at least not yet by ep 17. So we don't know what all Fei Ran is capable of yet, or what all his strengths are as an actor. But I am very encouraged by what I see so far.
Here, he plays a total red-flag character. But it's not your typical red-flag. This character is kind of borderline psycho, not even kidding. Kind of stalker-like around the edges. Possessive and obsessive. Huge power imbalance between he and FL. He's kind of coercive. But ALL this is played so so low key. The ML and the way the director frames him, makes him seem innocent and sweet and safe and harmless. And in a way he is.
So this is classic Luo Zheng CEO vibes, where the dark humor and dark intentions of the ML are wrapped up up in ribbons and sweet bows like "haha haha this behavior is fine because I'm wearing a pink sweatshirt and holding a puppy." And I know this is the exact behavior that alarms feminists, but personally I love the strange and twisted, and I love this brand of red-flag. It reminds me of Dia di los Muertos art, it's cute and innocent mixed with sinister and unsettling.
So take Luo Zheng, and give him less pretty-boy looks and more boy-next-door looks. And make him a closet scorpio --> cool, aloof and self-possessed but secretly an unbridled s*x maniac who's into monogamy due to total obsession with one woman.
The way Fei Ran plays this character is wicked hot. He manages to exude down to earth humility and shyness, and complete confidence and self-assurance at the same time. It is swoonworthy. He doesn't overact. If anything your gripe after watching might be that he is a little bit "wood plank". I like it when actors stay calm, grounded and subtle in their performances, because it makes it easier to watch tiny shifts to their expressions happen, it makes you watch people's faces closely. So I loved it. I liked how his acting was understated but still really confident. Giving kind of Arthur Chen/Elvis Chan vibes... because he doesn't come off as serious necessarily (like Deng Wei, Deng Kai or Leo Wu), he just comes off as quiet and calm with a self-assurance that's really sexayyy, with a tendency to err on the side of underacting instead of overacting. And yet still lets himself be emotionally vulnerable to the camera ---> goofy smiles and puppy dog pouting are not off the table for him.
So as long as you can appreciate a true red-flag ML, I'd say this is a do-not-miss in the realm of short-lengths, just for that alone.
The story is SIMPLE, and feels elegant and purist in a way, precisely because it is so pared down. It is unapologetic about the fact that it's tropey. It doesn't try to pretend it's super creative or that it has some unique twist. It is only trying to be the best version of itself. And that was refreshing to me. The facepalm moments are kept to an absolute minimum. The director and producer work within their budget to give you a smooth, fresh-feeling story. The pacing is nice. The FL is a seasoned FL who knows how to lead a show, and she's really beautiful and very believable, and she did great here. She could probably carry a hi-budget production and bring good performances out of A-lister co-stars. I love her brand of pretty. She's strikingly pretty, and her smile is so vulnerable and sweet, so is her crying. I mean her crying could use a little work, but she at least makes it so that when she cries, you empathize with her.
The supporting cast are all pretty/handsome in their own right, and solid actors in their own right. Maybe not top-shelf, sure. But really easy on your eyes and on your mind. Well-cast, thoughtfully cast.
THE SPICE IS HERE, folks. It is here. It is so so good.... and there's even good kilig in this one, which is hard to come by, especially in spicy short-lengths ---> something about spice and kilig usually don't mix. Usually kilig moments happen better in angsty romances, slo-burn romances, frustrated love or forbidden, repressed kinds of romance. But surprisingly there is some here. And ML has some really hot lines, kind of like in a similar way to how EITDN and Koi To Dangan had ML delivering some HOT lines of dialogue. We get some of this too. This show just spoils you rotten with romance. But you HAVE to like it dark to appreciate it. If you lean green-flag, the chances of this ML's brand of loving a woman making you uncomfortable are really high, consider this your second warning. You've now been double-warned. If you can't handle creepy CEO Luo Zheng, you won't be able to handle this guy either. He is a shameless manipulator, and his fixation on her is.... probably unhealthy.
This drama is deceptively cheap, deceptively simple. But really LOOK at it. Don't write it off right away. Its actually effin good, for it's genre. It's seriously a case of the stylist murdering the potential of the show. Do you know how much more boring and stupid EITDN or Fake It Till You Make It or Love And Bid Farewell would have been if they'd had sh*tty stylists? Also the director needs more practice and experience... he's not the worst but not the greatest. But overall, this is seriously a really decent cheap-thrills watch. I would recc this to any red-flag spice lover.
I really wonder what Fei Ran will do with his career, and he's got me interested.
Like... I hope you get what I'm telling you.... that there now exists in our universe, a Luo Zheng CEO only minus plastic surgery, and plus twisted, and plus SPICE. That's sort of lowkey holy sh*t u guys this is awesome.
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Tabe did a fantastic job as "Setsuko"/Katsu. Sometimes you would cry with her, other times laugh at her and even be angry with her. PLUS: her character had a great sense of fashion, I want to buy all of her clothes, haha.
The musics were amazing, as expected. I liked especially the last one (loved the lyrics). The OST will be a must on my ipod.
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Regarding the story, its a light mixture of melo and comedy, I would rather say it´s more melo. It problematizes the life of those less happy ones, who are imprisoned in mental institution due their illnes. Have they the right to live their own lifes behind the walls of these institutions, if they are harmless for society, despite of the resentment of their own families? May they find their happiness out there? Isn´t the society to unjust and overflown with prejudices to them? These were some of the questions which cropped up in my head, while I was watching this movie.
The cast was from the beginning guarantee of great acting, especially Kim Soo Mi and Lee Sang Woo.
I have to disappoint those seeking action in this movie. The movie is more focused on the inner lifes of the movie characters, so it seems sometimes more static or slow. Despite of this fact, it remains great and worthy to watch, cause it has got its own unique depth.
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Then, he suddenly stops and makes a funny expression. "Ah... I am hungry". Zoom out, zoom out, with a funny OST. This happens all the time, and after that, he goes looking for a restaurant/dining, which is mostly a familiar, cozy, simple one. He orders his food.. it is always different, but 99% of the time, one of his side dish would be rice. Goro-san loves rice (there is an episode where he even eats his Neapolitan spaghetti with rice!). Actually, he loves any kind of food. He is the happiest man on Earth when he is eating. While he is eating, internally he is commenting about his food. ""Ii janaika", is mostly his remark XD He loves it, he is so happy to have picked THAT place and THAT food. And how he eats! You wonder how such a skinny man can eat so much and be that thin. Sometimes he orders 2, 3 different things. And he eats so fast, even when the food is super hot.
The last 3 minutes is the author of the dorama going to the same dining and eating almost always the same food. My, how happy his author is! You can't help but be happy with him, he is 100% smiles.
I loved this, I realized I had to have my dinner first before watching an episode, since all dishes are mouthwatering.
Recommended specially to people who is going to visit Japan and are looking for places to eat. The restaurants Goro-san visits are real; the rest are all actors.
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This review may contain spoilers
SHALLOW & MEANINGLESS
This dating-reality-show drama is an example of what happens when there's sensuality without romance, because the kissing is great but there's NO romantic chemistry, butterflies 🦋 or story-depth. It all just felt shallow and meaningless.True to K-drama production quality, the filmography and sound is good, especially for a vertical short. However, the script was uninteresting and the pacing was too fast. Everything felt one-dimensional. The characters didn't have scenes with sufficient self-reflection and the acting was so-so. Most of the characters seemed kind of flat, except for the FL's ex-boyfriend. He had *some* expression, but then why at the end did he seem unfazed that the girfirend he'd been pining for the whole drama, ultimately picked another guy? The FL herself didn't even seem like she was interested in ANY of the guys, and the one she decided on at the end was kind of mean.
Well, there's a first for everything. Out of the hundreds of K-dramas I've seen, this is my first GARBAGE K-drama. There was bound to be one.
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The series long awaited and we all needed
Like the title says this series is the one that made us wait a few good months, but that was not for nothing. I've already fallen in love with this series concept back in 2019 when the 1st trailer was released. Literally everything from the story through the music to the cast intrigued me. We have waited quite a long time until we got the 2nd trailer of this series. It was slightly different, but the most important was that the series was said to finally happen. Then the release day finally has come...Going into the 1st episode I was freaking excited. After it finished I was totally enchanted by every aspect of it. The plot was smooth and at the same time detailed. I felt that my expectations were met and kept my hopes up for the remaining episodes. As the plot had gone further I could feel totally involved in this story. The scenes following each other made every time sense without having any unnecessary scenes (okay maybe just one scene but that's only one out of hundreds). I don't want to spoil the ending of the series but it is was executed PERFECTLY. To see me getting emotional while watching a series is quite rare and the last episode made my tears flow quite frequently. Wonderful job P'Aof! That's why I want to give this series a perfect 10 for the story telling.
I think we all will agree that the chemistry that Earth (Chief Phupha) and Mix (Tian) had was one of the best that a Thai series ever served us. Of course the fact that they knew each other for a long time beforehand and that Earth recommended Mix for the role of Tian is the main factor for the chemistry. What matters is that they managed to get into the role despite their characters in real life. First of all, we have Mix who played Tian. No one would be able to handle Tian's role the way Mix did it. It was his debut and he nailed every single scene. He put his whole heart into acting as Tian and it totally paid of the effort. On the other hand there's Earth who portrayed Chief Phupha in an amazing way. At first cold and bossy he kept on getting warmer towards Tian. The way he kept being serious throughout most of the time and smiling once in a while in an episode made me totally feel the role he played. Such a lovely and non-toxic relationship growing episode by episode. Also shoutout to the actors who had amazing supporting roles and the kids who did great job. I have to give them all a 10 for their HUGE effort.
Music made me feel every time so good. The OST did fit very well in the trailer. I'm very glad they picked such good songs for the whole series. I'm very happy that the actors took part in it as well. Both Earth and Aye did great job covering the song. Actors should always have some cover or a song and I'm glad to see that often in Thai series. Also shoutout to Earth playing klui which was very comforting. Furthermore, the song "Lom" (Wind) in episode 10 made me cry instantly. It fits so damn well there! The only thing I regret is that they didn't use the song from the 1st trailer at all. That's why I have to cut off a half star so the music gets 9.5/10.
To be honest, it's hard for me to tell anything about rewatch value. I love this series the most of all the series, but it's just too early to elaborate on that. I'm certainly gonna rewatch it soon, but I don't know when. This series is PURE and with this word I want to end my review.
PS. I certainly want to recommend this series to everyone who want to watch something genuine, educational and beautiful to the core as an escape from our reality.
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A PLEASANT SURPRISE
Until We Meet Again is the best BL series created till date. In this 10-page essay I shall...Just kidding, I'm not going to write 10 pages even though my mind is clouded with an overbearing number of emotions right now. This review isn't even going to be coherent but it's going to act as an archive for my thoughts for when I want to convince friends to watch this.
Story - 10/10 for a great plot, amazing writing and for connecting loose ends perfectly. Every character had a part to play and helped the story progress in their own way. What started out (to me) as a cute little fluffy show with cooking interludes turned into a full fledged character development journey showcasing the healthiest relationship in BL I've ever seen.
Their relationship impressed me so much. P'Dean is not your typical "top" BL lead. He respected the boundaries set by Pharm, is communicative and shows how much he cares for Pharm through his words and actions. He respected him when he said he needed a break. Same goes for Pharm. After nearly a decade of being plagued by nightmares, they became each others' safe place. I pray that I have a relationship that's as healthy as DeanPharm.
I would like to thank the writers for acknowledging the existence of homophobia and the effect it has on teenagers. All the other shows either don't focus on it at all or brush it aside after talking about it for a few minutes. But the way it was portrayed in this show was relatable to be in so many ways and as a queer person, it made me happy to see a BL drama which was more than fanservice-filled moments catering to a fujoshi/fudanshi audience. A gay relationship isn't going to be sunshine and rainbows. Thank you for showing that.
I would also like to thank the writers for not portraying female characters as a tool for making the MCs jealous or as their crazy exes or merely people who fetishise gay couples and so on. Positive light on all female characters? Who would have thought this day would come?
Pacing - 9.5/10. When I first heard that this series had flashbacks and present time scenes shown back to back, I didn't want to watch it and this is the only reason I postponed watching this for so long. I expected it to be messy and confusing but it wasn't. The time skips were shown in a very clear manner and didn't leave me bored.
Acting - 9/10. I'm not sure why I'm rating this as 9/10 instead of 10/10. Perhaps it's because Dean had three expressions most of the time - anger, shocked grief and whipped (Honestly same.) Not saying his acting was bad or anything though. Most of the scenes required him to act whipped anyway. Pharm's acting was great too. The sub cast's acting was so-so but Dean's grandma stole the show even though she didn't have that much screen time. Her acting skills were phenomenal. The emotions, the pain, the longing; it was all evident in her eyes. I cried with her every second she was on screen.
Music- 10/10. I don't have much to say expect they did a good job. Loved the OST :'0
I usually don't give high rewatch values because I'm the type of person who prefers to binge a lot of shows and never touch a series for a second time. But this one, I will make an exception for this show. I would definitely rewatch it and like the experience the emotions all over again. Forgive me for repeating myself, but this show really kept the fanservice to the minimum possible (almost negligible) level. I was seeing a gay real relationship and it's progress here.
(SPOILERS START)
A complaint most people had against this was that they didn't understand why Pharm said they needed to stay apart in the last episode. In my opinion, that was a very crucial part of the show. Until then, Pharm had trouble seeing Intouch and himself as two separate people. He wondered if the love he felt for P'Dean was only because In and Korn were in love in their past life. The nightmare he had about P'Dean cutting off the red thread of fate and moving on was a very valid and understandable fear on his part. After suggesting time apart, Pharm dreamt about In and Korn again. But this time, it was not from the perspective of In; he was watching it from the side because he was Pharm. He was a different person, not the Intouch from the past. That realisation was important for him to put aside the insecurities he had about his relationship with P'Dean and confess his feelings once again.
(SPOILERS END)
That's all I have to say. Of course, our tastes might not be similar but please give this series a chance. The chances of you regretting it are very less. And towards the beginning you might feel like dropping it but please stick till the end.
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This series is about Eda-san, a Taxi driver with a special Taxi that can bring his customer back to a time of their choosing to ''set right what went wrong'', to quote another great - and underestimated - series about time travel called Quantum Leap. So each episode is a stand-alone story about this or that customer going ''back to the futur--'' I mean... the past, till they get it right. There's a sort of continuity as well between the episodes with recurring characters (the staff at the Choice Café for example), the hilarious scenes from the impossibly confusing ''dorama'' Hanzai Deka, or the recurring no-time-slip-feeling joke, which gets more and more hilarious as time passes - even going so far as subtly referencing Doctor Who, at some point.
With the exception of the first episode, which was kind of weird, compared to the rest of the series, the stories are mostly light-hearted and funny, or bittersweet at most. Please don't let the first episode influence your viewing. It kinda sets the series to be dark and heavy, but that episode was really the odd one out.
I mentioned early in the review that this series is about the ''non-complex'' kind of time travel - that means, this is not Primer, you can watch this series without getting confused about timelines and paradoxes and stuff. That said, there are some paradoxes in the series that bothered me a lot, so, if you're like me, they're gonna bother you too. But the series doesn't address them - maybe the writers didn't even notice them - so just try and find some explanation for yourself or try to accept the matter as it is. Shouganai.
I liked the acting a lot, especially from the main cast. The guests were all good with some exceptions, but the fact that they were there for just the one episode makes it so it doesn't ruin your viewing. The Henzai Deka cast was delusional and over the top, so they were brilliant as well.
Fun fact: the creator of the series is actually one of the main cast's actors. I was a little surprised when I found out.
The music, especially the instrumental OP was great! I didn't like the ''time-slip sound effect'' very much, though - it became annoying after a while.
You can easily rewatch this series whenever you want, and you don't even have to watch it altogether because of its stand-alone episodes.
So then, I guess you have a general idea of the fact that life has many turning points, right? What kind of job will you land? What kind of house will you live in? What will you have for dinner? Will you watch this dorama or not?
Well?
What kind of choice will you make?
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Beautiful Drama "Perfect Her"
Please don't go by the review listed. I'm glad that i did not take heed to the review I read. I would have never watched it but I'm so happy I did. This drama "Perfect Her" has a great storyline, and the cast was great in their roles. I'm not going to include any spoilers because I want the audience to watch for themselves. The ML and FL were awesome in their roles. At first, I was not going to watch due to the switching of the souls but what a surprise. It is great in my opinion. When you get upset or mad at actors on screen that meant they played the part as he/ she played that character well. Just saying!!👌🏽My suggestion, watch the drama and judge for yourself.Was this review helpful to you?
The story is beautifully done- not a lot happens in this film,as it's more about the emotional consequences. I must admit- this is not an easy film to watch at parts, as it it heartrendingly sad. It's a real pity that this film is not more well known, as it is a fantastic film.
Yoo Yeon Seok and Yu Da In are brilliant as the two leads. Their portrayal as the broken couple is breathtaking and they make you feel every emotion they portray. The rest of the cast are great also- but it is these two that stay with you after the film ends.
The music in the film is very suitable- it is very poignant and enhanced the emotions of every scene.
I give this a rewatch value of 8, only as I feel this is not the kind of film that is easy to rewatch, due to its sad content.
Overall, I highly recommend anyone to watch this film. This is a powerful film, that will leave you more than a little bit teary after the ending.
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This was my first time watching these two actors and I will definitely be looking forward to more of their dramas. Lets go searching, searching, searching!
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Nothing is resolved
This story starts with a challenge, to make a believable love line between a man (Nai) and his younger sister-in-law (Pa) after the suspicious death of the wife (Da). And this lakorn chose to meet that challenge by... not really addressing it? We saw all kinds of strange and what seemed like uncharacteristic behavior from Da in the flashbacks to the day she died and we really got no explanation for any of it. [Why was she considering adding something to Lita's drink? What caused her to faint in the pantry? Did she really push Lita and cause Lita's injury?] All of that just got buried amid the one-upping between Pa and Nai's mother, and even there, there were hardly any truly satisfying moments where you felt Pa had gotten some revenge.Then while more and more people began to see what Nai's mother was willing to do to 'protect' her kids, Pa somehow became more and more sympathetic? The idea that all of these people would put their differences aside after what happened is too hard to swallow, especially with such little repentance on the mother's end.
Thom and Lita were fine as a side couple, but I never really felt anything about Nade and Trai together.
All in all, not worth the time.
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I'll just go unconventionally.. and talk about the points I mentioned above.
Mild makjang- Yes it's over the top... in many ways, unbelievable things happening here and there. But why mild, coz it's not frustrating or blood boiling, though having many annoying, hatable characters I wasn't desperate to slap or punch anyone. It's more like, 'Oh I hate this character, he/she's just so insane.' but that's it no overflowing emotions.
Intense comedy- The worth only thing is a comedy, though it doesn't offer the peak comedy moments, a good laugh, and quality humor. It's not consistent till the end... as you know how 'revenge' dramas turn in the last episodes, even if it's comedy.
Slight romance- Honestly the most boring part of the show and unnecessary, firstly I don't feel the romantic chemistry between leads, they are good as friends but nothing more than that. She has more chemistry with Yoo Jun. Romance feels forced and out of context... and some part is just sooo cliche.
Slight action- I just love when FLs can fight... and here she definitely can, as I said it's slight action so there aren't many action scenes but I did enjoy little action, and seeing FL kicking the ass of everyone.
Coincidences: Why I felt to make a different section of it... This is just too much. Coincidences start from the very first episode till the end... as if everything is in the circle. 1,2,3,4,5... okay fine I can endure that but when it's way beyond it's annoying.
Lee Ha Nee was just awesome, she did a splendid job... But I would have loved it if Cho Yeon Joo's character was consistent till the end, Cho Yeon Joo kinda lost her charm later. Han Seung Wook is bland.. he's lead but I just can't see him as ML maybe I end up comparing him with Yeon Joo which ends up Seung Wook having no spice, is Lee Sang Yoon aging backward? he looks so young than last time I saw him. Yoo Jun I love this guy yes more than Seung Wook... he's just so adorable and such a sweetheart. Though it's not SLS as I wasn't rooting for any romance. Our Ahjusshi aka HG's legal head.. has his charm, he comes 2nd after Ha Nee of whom I enjoyed screentime most. Villains are just so stereotyped... even their motives are the same.
Being revenge drama.. it revolves around comedy more, it's not surprising at all... as all the 'twists' I saw coming miles away, so nothing gonna blow up your mind. And it's forgettable... I even forget I was even watching this... I stumbled upon a review and learned oh it ended, I've to catch up with the last episodes lol.
'One the Woman' is watchable but not out of the box just have... watch it for entertainment and Lee He Nee.
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