This review may contain spoilers
狗血!! Revenge! scheming drama
I can't believe i finished watching is. The chinese website i watched it on said 38 episodes but other places said 40 episodes is the end?Ya'll after watching this drama you need to breathe!!! OMG SO FREAKIN FRUSTRATING!!!WANT TO SCREAM and hit THE Beeps.... in the drama!It felt like i watched like 60 episodes. so much hatred. revenge, evil, scheming, bullying . take advantage of. This is one negative drama, its like torture on the female lead.
Like where do i begin?
Female lead is a super sweet, but takes everything in kinda girl, she is appreciative for the Li's corporation CEO for helping her get through school and into the fashion industry. She is also know as the shadow designer. Li's CEO has a daughter who basically grew up with the female lead. She is also known as a deisgner, but its just all her name. She cant design and has never designed, only using the female lead's design. Other people in the company dont know and think she is just a cleaning lady ( super sad right?)
Male lead is the son of the Chao fashion corp. Chao and Li are competitors.
The back story of why they are competitors... While Li was young, she knew Chao's wife. Chao's wife was in charge of a warehouse that caused fire and killed people and losing the clothes they made. Long story short, turns out it was Li who was behind it, causing Chao's wife to commit suicide because she couldnt pay back the workers. At that time the Chao's had a baby boy. Chao ended up losing contact with the family that took care of his son. Chao swore to take revenge for his dead wife and his lost son.
Fast Forward... So the male lead is the adoptive son of the Chao's and Chao made the male lead to thinking it was the Li's who was responsible for the death of this parents and also his missing sister too . Turns out it was Chao who locked his sister up and was trying to use the male lead to help him knock down the Li's.
I feel so bad for the female lead, she literally had to go through so much shit!!! Like first, thinking the Li's is a benefactor but it was just that so they could use the female lead's designer and let the Li daughter call it her own. I didnt understand why the daughter is not named after her. lol her daughter is named Tang Guo er.
2) the person she loved had to marriage her best friend.... and she just let it go like that.
3) Losing her child and her mother's also suicide. so much hurt is done to her..if i were her i would go crazy already... ( which later towards the end she was hospitalized for..
4) having her designed copied by another person ( who was someone she trusted that betrayed her)
Her daughter is such a despicable character, so rude, selfish, arrogant, spoiled full of her self !!! Literally wanna say all the swear words at her . She is a true bitch !!! Like she and the female lead were suppose to be best of friends.
In dramas I always love the male lead but this drama I hated him ! He went for his own interest in the sense that he just followed the orders of his adoptive dad. He loved the female lead but it was so limited. Like which side are you on? He even sided with the evil best friend, when he found out that the Li's was not the culprit behind his parents suicide. He was never really there for her and didnt support her enough...
Sorry this is more of a rant than a review haha!
watch at your own risk if you like revenge, scheme, bullying, torment ....
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This review may contain spoilers
Conditional vs. Unconditional Love
This drama should go by the title 'Pure Love Dissonance' and not just 'Love Dissonance'.The Japanese title 'Junai' translates to 'pure love', a specific type of love usually associated with Unconditional Love or Agape, also known as 'selfless love'.
Many forms of relationships and types of love exist in this drama. Relationships between lovers, friends, family, and not-quite enemies but definitely rivals. Various types of love are present in just about every form except for Erotic love. It could be a result of the innate censorship of the drama because of the rating or because it's from Japan a conservative country, but there are moments when the drama mentions Erotic love. However, it's just never mentioned about the main couple unless someone believes that that is the reason the main couple is together.
It's not. It's way deeper than that.
The main couple - in comparison to every other dynamic, pair, or relationship in the drama - represents selfless love. Unconditional love. The type of intimacy that is only present in those who have experienced 'infinite empathy' for another person.
Masaki and Sae met each other at one of their lowest moments in life and helped each other overcome their personal struggles and find comfort, support, and sanctuary with each other.
The explosive argument in the 7th episode between Manami and Masaki highlights that. She illustrates to Masaki that she would refer prefer Masaki and Sae just sleep together instead of emotionally cheating.
It was the first time I'd seen a portrayal of Emotional Infidelity. Very well done.
"What I can't stand is the heart! I can't stand the fact that you two are connected at the heart!"
Masaki and Sae have infinite empathy for each other that seems to last the test of time and circumstance. Despite almost everyone's attempt to break these two apart, even Masaki and Sae.
At times, the image of doves hounded by a circle of vultures comes to mind when I see more drama plied on to break the main couple apart. It was almost like they were the innocents and collateral damage to the world's expected forced expectations and eventually fallout for everyone.
The photo that ruined their reputation was of them consoling each other after a few days of constant emotional and mental exhaustion. Either from their toxic parents, inability to embark on achieving their dreams, or just from society pulling them away from each other for the sake of the status quo. No kisses, no sexts, no brazen behavior at school, and no explicit form of physical intimacy between them.
Just a 'shoulder-to-cry-on' mentality. Nothing more. However, the situation they're in is inappropriate. The backlash from the photo made the situation less ideal than it was in real life.
Sae is very candid, blunt, and level-headed. I adore Smart Leads because their actions have logical reasoning behind them and they usually acknowledge the consequences of their actions as well. Sae - in comparison to Masaki - is braver and more emotionally mature than her counterpart in the drama. Masaki may be the Sensei but he has much to learn from her when it comes to being true and honest to yourself, despite what life throws your way. She didn't 'fix' him though she did inspire change within him. He acknowledges that near the end of the drama too. Sae is the reason he's decided to treat himself better, be more honest, and live more honestly too. They bring out the best in each other simply the fact that they both just want to be happy living their dreams, together or not. Selfless love.
Manami represented obsessive love towards Masaki. All or majority of the parents were just Narcissists and toxic people. Treating their children as extensions of themselves and denying those children basic human rights like deciding their own path and their privacy rights.
When Sae's mother came to school to read her daughter's novel out loud, I was truly disgusted. Then, near the end of the drama, I choked up a little when her mother told her daughter to be different from her and therefore better than her. 'Go be with Masaki', she was saying in her own petty way. I laughed too but was happy that the mom was finally ready to not be selfish.
Another aspect of the drama that really hit home for me was the parent-child bonds. There's Masaki and his parents. Sae and her mom. And then, Manami and Hokuto with their father and Manami's mother play a part too. The type of love between parents and children should be Agape or Storge known as 'familiar love'. However Agape still trumps all other types of love.
Sae and Masaki's love reigns superior to everyone else's, especially at the beginning of the drama.
The other characters' relationships - between other people and within themselves - eventually and fortunately change for the better good near the end of the drama. Even the criminals in the show have a change of heart and/or redemption arc that I'm okay with. Everything that happens in this drama relates to someone's desire for love or in the name of love.
Masaki's statement to Manami's father in the last episode was profound and brutally honest. "So long as you shackle people with conditions, no one will become your family. Family comes at the price of no conditions, whatsoever." The difference between Conditional Love and Unconditional Love is how you love. Manami's father didn't understand until he lost just about everything, in every way.
I like the little details too. The music and sound design. The editing, cinematography, acting, and how this drama exceeded my expectations in every way. I love the time jump, the repeating topics of living without regrets, loving yourself before being able to accept love and knowing when to let go of what or who you love because you love them.
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Does not have any plot holes
Flower of evil is one of my favourite dramas.. A good cast and good acting. The story is awesome and it was well taken from the start. The climax was well shown. I watched this drama due to the cast and teh reviews. Naturally i Expected a lot and this drama fulfilled me.. I usually drop the drama if its boring in between but this drama made me want to watch it till the end. I recommend this drama a lot..The thing i liked the most is that this drama does not have plot holes and it is really amazing..
(Lol, this review was for the drama but I have given it here by mistake XD)
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Totally Loved it!
I really loved it because the main actors were superb! They both behaved like adults unlike most c dramas where adults behave like teenagers most of the time! Here the situations were very much real and their reactions too. Just minus 1 point for uninteresting secondary couple. Just skip their scenes!If you like mature drama with ML and FL having a really healthy balanced relationship who actually take time for each other and clear any misunderstanding they might have the very next moment it happens, then here is the show you are looking for!
Music was awesome too! Especially the starting song!
9/10 from me! Highly recommended!
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This drama is silly and full of nonsense. But it's breezy and very light to watch. It's one of those dramas that you can watch without thinking much and enjoy it. I laughed hard at something every other episode. The first few episodes were absolutely hilarious. I think this drama did a fantastic job of not boring me till the last 4-5 episodes (parts of which you can easily skip). But I found the story and its characters very colourful. Members of both the family and even its secondary characters are all likable. I wasn't annoyed by a single person in it! The main guy- Zhi Shu is a genius with more brains than actual emotions. But we realize as the story goes on that he isn't that bad anyway. I have to say I liked him better than Xiang Qin's character. I tried my hardest to not criticize her actions and thoughts and that was the only way I could end up liking this drama.
As for the cast- I have become a fan of Joe Cheng and Jiro Wang. I was familiar with Ariel Lin but here she is the true star of the show. She made all the cutesy expressions and pouts in the world and still shined. She was way too cute and managed to win me over in the first episode itself. This drama has loads of cuteness in it. And the main leads have amazing chemistry. I was sort of disappointed with lots of times because whenever they were together, I found myself wanting for them to kiss. The last 2 episodes more or less made up for this part. Oh and should I mention one scene which stood out among the rest? This show has one of the best confession-in-the-rain scenes I have ever seen! I can't believe how well it was shot and with great dialogues. And the wait that builds up in the viewer till then makes it all worth it.
And I want to address this particular issue on people complaining that Zhi Shu was too "cold". I say no- he wasn't cold. The way he acted was to show the contrast between his and Xiang Qin's personalities. Where she is impulsive, he is smart and carefully thinks before acting. But I loved how he keeps smiling to himself whenever Xiang Qin's stalking him or trying to please him. I probably only didn't like his need to be constantly chased. There were times he didn't take enough pity on her but then I understand why he didn't. That's all I can say without spoiling it. Anyway, both characters are too flawed and yet likable.
This drama was a thorough entertainer. It doesn't have melodrama which is probably one of the strongest points. It's more of a family cum romance genre. And I loved the ending even if it was a bit silly. It left me wanting for more so I'd definitely watch the second season. Its rewatch value is decent. I think it's a drama that can be seen again just to remember the good parts.
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By the time the end arrives, your brain will result in confusion, however you'll find the film hits a full circle. You'll know this when you see it!
Storyline: Mysterious, dark, and disturbing. The house well sets the setting of the story with its old style furniture and flowery wallpaper.
Acting/Cast: Remarkable applause to the acting of the stepmother. Very convincing! The sisters' relationship is well portrayed. The father adds the extra which he is quite significant.
Music: The OST fits smoothly with certain parts of the story and well done with the spooky and horrific effects!
Since I never watched 'The Uninvited', this is my first horror film done by the South Koreans and I believe the original are always the best! If you're a true horror fan and enjoy stories with a psychological twist, take this movie for a whirlwind ride...
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As I watched the movie I must say that there is no freaking way in hell to tell that this was based on true story because some characters are exagerrated like as if they were straight from a Manga. Like for example...who the hell in real life is that boner guy and who walks nude in their home. Hahaha
About the movie its a feel good movie no boring moment IMO and the timespan was well done. The main strong points of this movie like I mentioned above was the chemistry between characters and that inspiring ending.
The characters
The main guy, the d*ck arrogant friend, the fat dude, the groin corny guy and lastly my favorite and IMO the most funny of them all, the boner guy. Them together is a fun watch...their antics and their favorite hobby(which is masturbation) makes me LOLed so hard. This movie also have lots of reference to manga like hanamichi sakuragi hairstyle and the Dempsey roll move.
The ending
Good or bad you decide but to me its good because of how inspiring it is and I admit being a guy this ending got me it makes me teary eyed a bit.
I recommend this movie to all guys in the world.
Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/
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Bumped Into This Series By Chance -
A flame ignites as two FLAWED men cross paths, leaving chaos behind them and many RED FLAGS.Story >> 7.0 >> 5.0
Plotwise, it´s not that convincing for me yet but I think that there was a lot of potential to make their story more interesting and captivating, and by that I mean not with the number of sensual scenes but a deeper dive-in into the morals and flaws of each character. In the end, I hope that "Fahlanruk" will spread an example / be a lesson for the viewers.
Acting/ Cast >> 7.5 >> 6.5
I´m aware that most of the actors have little experience in acting and I am, personally, fine with watching it nonetheless. I also think that there were some admirable shots that took me by surprise. However, it was not totally convincing.
Music >> 6.5 >> 5.5 >> 4.5
I was not okay with the choice of background music because I didn´t find it catchy or captivating. Especially in more sensual scenes was the choice of music rather anti-climatic, felt more like a hassle. Like, who was in charge of the audio?! lmao
Rewatch Value >> 3.0 >> 2,0
Nothing intrigued me as much as I´d like it to for me to rewatch it.
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1A GAME OF CHESS
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗜 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗗✅ Production quality
✅ Directing
✅ Acting
✅ Plot
✅ Dark/Serious atmosphere - No comedic elements
✅ The emperor: Finally an emperor that is actually capable and not a puppet like usual or just there for decor
✅ Suspenseful, super entertaining and also quite ''poetic'' from beginning to end
✅ It was the perfect amount of episodes
✅ The strategies of the characters A+
✅ Great ending
𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥
❎ There are some typical ''supernatural'' Chinese medicine things, but honestly wasn't that bothered
❎ Fight scenes were generally good, but sometimes when way too many people were fighting one person, we had the usual "You could have killed him while his back was turned" problem.
❌ I will pretend that last scene in the special didn't exist
❌ Plot armor of the ML that could be avoided in one simple move
❌ Some slight editing problems
𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗗𝗜𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗘/𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗠𝗘 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗜 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗:
👏 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒
There is no sugar-coating and characters being saved just because they have an important role in the series. A mistake can kill anyone no matter who they are.
👏 𝐔𝐍𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘
In most series you know from the get go which characters will play an important part, which ones will die, which ones will stay alive till the end. Here 😂😂😂
You see someone that feels like a main character? Dies next second. That was the magic of this series. Nowadays, everything feels way too predictable. But here, you couldn't tell who will be next.
👏 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐃-𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒
There are no kind-hearted characters and no pure villains here. All of the characters are calculative, cold blooded and smart and they have their own stories to tell. They are important in their own ways and all are equally vulnerable and also powerful.
👏 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐒
Huaian may be the ML, but he doesn't feel omnipotent, cause everyone around him, the people he is trying to kill, are equally smart and dangerous, something that I rarely see in dramas.
Most of the times in works like this, we have the super important main character, a couple of villains that many times are not even that powerful and everyone else is just there to play a minor part in the main character's plan.
Here most of the characters are important in their own ways. I am not sure how to explain this, but all characters feel like mains even if they barely have any screentime. They are all part of a chessboard, where any move can be fatal and no win is gained without sacrifice.
👏 𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄
Huaian is a ruthless character that is not scared to stain his hands with blood to achieve his goals and that is one of the main reasons why this series stands out for me. He doesn't hesitate. He knows how to take advantage of people and control them. I like that he is not portrayed as a hero, but as someone who lost way too much and is about to make others go through the same pain and even worse.
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This was like a gift in a time where bromance and BL was banned in China.
After watching almost all the bromance available in China, this was the next thing that kept me glued and entertained. It had the Shizun X Disciple elements, which I sometimes have a hate and love relationship with but this one did it well. It kind of reminds you of the Chinese novel SVSS which is a BL, it feels like a life adaptation of the novel. Anyways, based on acting the cast did a good job and the storyline was very addicted as it's in short episodes which is easy to watch (I binged watched it in two days) but the second season...it was good but I won't spoil it though, the ending felt kind of rushed out and confusing at the same time, though I highly recommend it.Was this review helpful to you?
A really nice xianxia GL that shows that you don't need a large budget to make it work
I've been saying since Legend of Yunze Special that their productions keep getting better with each new show. The funding looks to be larger, the costumes better and better (although that's to be expected), and the stories get more coherent. I enjoyed Legend of Yunze season 1 because I could see the potential even if it felt weak on other points. This season 2 is even better than the Special and I can see the potential finally getting somewhere.But let's do it in the right order, shall we. On the technical side, we can see that the scale of the story, but also of the sets has increased. The ambition is clearly higher than for the previous season and it shows. There are some really nice moments in terms of cinematography (notably in that confrontation scene in the last episode which was doing interesting things in terms of colour and light). The costumes are better and better and so are the hairstyles. Some of them are truly a pleasure for the eyes, especially, I have to say, the demon ones of Zhaoyun. I commented in my review of Legend of Yunqian that they clearly had zero budget, but it's not the case anymore and while I don't think their budget is very large, they are clearly doing things right in terms of allocating it. This feels more like some low budget professional short (mid-length) films.
The story is much more coherent. I think part of it comes from the fact that they have a better grasp of the character, as well as because we, as viewers, already knew them, but even past that, I didn't have a moment when I was wondering what was going on or where that came from or thought "okay, that really came like a hair on the soup" (to literally translate a French phrase (meaning "came out of nowhere")). Not everything is perfect of course, but it is coherent. It feels epic on a larger scale than before and I felt much more into the characters and their relationships (both the main as well as the secondary ones) this time. We get some backstory for the different characters, we get some well-rounded-ish side characters.
Wang Laoji and Peng Jingxian once again do a good job as Zhaoyun and A-Ze. They're credible in their role and sell the story. Not all of the actors playing side characters are as good, but overall, everyone does a good enough job that I can suspend my disbelief and enjoy the ride.
All in all, this stands on its own without needing the caveat of "we don't get a lot of GL so we make do with what we get". It is real xianxia that I would recommend if you want to support an indie group of creators with ideas and ambitions that keeps on growing with every new project. It has demons and sects and choosing your paths even when it isn't the one that was given to you from birth and everyone else is telling you that you shouldn't be here. It is about people choosing each other again and again because that's just what's right. It is far from perfect, but it made me go "dang that's a good story and I want to know what comes next" several times. And that's personally enough for me. It delights me to no end that I can recommend a GL show, even a censored one, as good without a very large caveat. If you like xianxia and GL shows, beautiful costumes and characters who are all in for each other even when the world isn't, if you want to support indie creators who are trying and constantly improving, then this is a great show for you. Plus, it is short enough that the time commitment isn't too high. I, for one, cannot wait to see what comes next (and also more wuxia and xianxia GL, please and thank you).
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Why the mind twist?
Undoubtedly, this would have worked much better as a fantasy. Instead, they tried to fool us into thinking it is and then wildly twisting the plot into making it fit into our ‘reality’ only to fail miserably on all fronts. This series is a complete mess, Painful as it is for me to say this, this story should never have been made. This relationship is based upon two individuals who live in an illusion. One created it while the other wants it. It does not mean necessarily that their love is not real or could learn to be real. But it does mean that the foundation and its development were based on false premises and no amount of ‘feel good’ bedroom scenes can make it real. The real notion is they barely KNOW each other! There is nothing normal and in fact real about this series. If only this series had been a fantasy!Was this review helpful to you?
Overall I recommend this drama if you have a lot of free time and are into makjang because the drama is filled with secrets and revenge. It was quite enjoyable to watch but I would not rewatch this again.
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