This drama’s strength is its characters. My Ajusshi portrays deep and nuanced characters not only in Park Dong Hoon and Lee Ji An but also in their supporting characters as well. This drama delves deep into the concepts of love, marriage, family and community.
I did want to address the love between Park Dong Hoon and Lee Ji An. The love between these two is not a romantic type of love, it transcends that. Dong Hoon refers to Ji An as someone who knows him completely just from observing him, someone who almost shares a soul with him, a kindred spirit of sorts is my interpretation. I personally refuse to see their love in a romantic light. Their love is too pure for that!
This drama is incredibly beautiful and able to encompass an aspect of life unlike any other drama I’ve seen before. Though it may have a darker framework, it’s uplifting and encouraging message is so very rewarding! This is by far one of the most encouraging dramas I’ve seen! My Ajusshi is a beautiful story about salvation, redemption and rebirth! What are you waiting for? Go watch this now!!!!!
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✨An Emotionally Rich Journey That Stayed With Me✨
I went into this one knowing almost nothing about it, and it turned out to be an unexpectedly emotional and beautifully crafted journey.The writing, layered narration, multiple POVs, and haunting OST all come together to create a deeply immersive experience that stays with you after it ends.
Bai Lu and Cheng Lei are outstanding. While both are consistently strong actors, this drama gives them especially layered, complex characters. Bai Lu, in particular, may have delivered my favorite performance of hers so far—her character was intelligent, vulnerable, and compelling, and I found myself fully invested in her journey, rooting for her at every turn.
There is also a (not so) subtle but refreshing psychological layer to her character involving unresolved trauma and how she perceives her past, which adds unexpected depth without giving too much away—but I’ll leave that for viewers to discover.
The romance is equally well done, with chemistry that feels natural and earned rather than rushed. Even when things are difficult between them, the emotional build-up makes their connection all the more satisfying.
The overall premise—swapped marriage, political intrigue, and opposing schemes—is familiar, and many arcs, especially the final palace rebellion, follow a well-known historical drama formula. Still, Mo Li manages to stand out through its execution, character depth, and emotional pacing.
The ending is also a highlight, taking its time to resolve everything properly and giving the story a peaceful, satisfying conclusion.
All in all this one surprised me in the best possible way. It's beautifully written, wonderfully acted, emotionally powerful, and filled with heart. A memorable journey from beginning to end, and one I'll happily recommend to anyone looking for a historical drama that values both emotional depth and meaningful storytelling.
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Star In My Mind, one of the best soft mellow BL story with touching symbolism :)
I think this is one of the best soft mellow BL story I watched. For those who wanted a soft BL storyline, this series is for you. It is indeed a story of hope and inspiration for love, just as the theme song sung by Louis Thanawin. When Dao stopped loving Kluen because he was gently rejected when they were in high school, which is typical and normal in high school life. Kluen was a cold-hearted guy unable to express freely his emotions, but until the end, the North Star shined and guided them which gave inspiration and hope to both Dao and Kluen. Dao believed in the North Star guidance as a shine of inspiration and hope while Kluen had a change of heart and started loving Dao. What I liked in the story, is when Kluen took care of the sunflower in which Dao gave to Kluen and watered it when he was sick, that is when, Kluen started to open his heart to Dao. Sunflowers symbolize unwavering faith, admiration and unconditional love. Unwavering faith, admiration and unconditional love is always coupled with hope and inspiration, Kluen opened his heart and continued loving Dao just like a blooming sunflower no matter how many times Dao wanted to move on from his past but the North Star shined within Dao's mind and relive the hope of his first love and guided Kluen to open up with his feelings. The story used the North Star and the sunflower which both symbolizes a beacon of inspiration and hope in which this series depicted. It is difficult to include symbolism in a storyline since the flow of story should coincide with the symbolism they used. Dao believed in the North Star while Kluen believed in the sunflower's bloom.For those who said that the series was a waste, storyline was boring, worst and trash BL. I respect their opinion, but for me, I liked the storyline so much, the actors' depiction of the story and the most striking are the symbolism they used.
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Don't Look Back: The Legend of Orpheus
25 people found this review helpful
The presumption of revenge was something attractive and I can say that it was executed quite well in this drama; without doubt this is not the best revenge drama out there but it’s definitely watchable for the revenge theme. The story starts off slow; the first episodes felt like fillers without many events going on, then things started picking up little by little, the plot started building up and the premise began to show up. However, this is not so different from the usual melodramas out there since elements like the scarred past; the troubled family, the typical evil guy as well as the teary female lead were present. What was added here was the little mystery, suspense and some thriller moments that flipped the tables occasionally and created few great twists every now and then which I have to give writers credit for making them happen but still; there weren’t any amazing turns of events that would make you jump of your seat considering the fact that most of them were pretty much predictable.
Do not watch this because of romance; the whole concept wasn’t catching at all even the little moments between the leads were sometimes overdone and not well matched with the story’s development. I believe romance was one of the storyline’s weak points.
Another storyline’s weak point: The ending since it was very strange; let’s stop there. It took me a while to figure out what the writers were thinking and then I concluded that they weren’t thinking at all.
The acting was good; Kim Nam Gil proves once again that he’s very suited for revenge dramas, Son Ye Jin had a nice performance too but I can’t say the same about her character. The rest of the cast were good too; nothing to complain about, only that their characters weren’t captivating enough probably because Yi Soo was always in the spotlight and no one managed to take it away from him.
All in all, this drama had potential to be much better than this. Nonetheless, it’s still very recommendable for revenge dramas lovers but make sure to lower your expectations, expect the unexpected and never forget that you’re about to watch a MELODRAMA.
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A huge disappointment for me...
I was really looking forward to this one — the cast is full of actors I love, and a fantasy storyline (which is rare and one of my favorite genres) had so much potential. But honestly, it ended up being a big miss for me. The plot just kept going in circles, only to focus on a romance I didn’t care about at all. Even the acting wasn’t that great most of the time. Overall, super disappointing — whether it was the story, the acting, or just the vibe. Maybe it’s just me, but yeah... big disappointment. The enemies-to-lovers was done really badly, like it already felt off from the start, and the main character didn’t work for me at all. I was looking forward the return of the real Yoon Gap and it was badly done for me so...Was this review helpful to you?
I'll give it to the writer of Coffee Prince for being able to deal with the topic of homsexuality in such a refreshing manner - especially when one considers how touchy Koreans are about the topic. Choi Han Gyul's struggle was believable and was dealt with much tact. The free and relaxed intimacy between the couples was commendable as well. However, there wasn't much going for the drama plot and execution wise.
The acting was hit or miss. It started off pretty decent, but even Gong Yoo's performance seemed lacklustre by the end of the whole parade. Yoon Eun Hye was clearly worse than she was in Goong, and asides from her crying scenes, she came across as incredibly concious of everything. I generally preferred watching the supporting cast as their performances were small doses of natural entertainment.
As with all shows about females who disguise themselves as males, one has to suspend an element of disbelief and just go with the flow when it comes to believing that Yoon Eun Hye could actually pass for a 24 year old male (she looked more like a pre-pubesecent elementary school boy if you ask me). So, I'm not going to criticise Coffee Prince for such a far-fetched premise; although, I would have much preferred for the big reveal to happen earlier rather than as late as it did, but more on that later.
My primary problem with the show was how the relationship and feelings between the leads developed and progressed. It was clear that Choi Han Gyul was totally, madly, selflessly in love with Go Eun Chan, but I never got the same vibe from Eun Chan herself. I understand that it is difficult to tell someone "Oh, hey, by the way I'm a girl" when they've thought you were a guy for several months, but Eun Chan's refusal to tell Han Gyul she was a girl went on for too long and her reasoning behind not telling him was selfish and self-serving. Her behaviour was unreasonably deceptive and she did nothing to ease Han Gyul's distress, everything she did was for herself and for no one else. It was difficult to believe that she actually loved Han Gyul when she continued to behave in a selfish manner after they were going steady. I get that she's poor and wants to prove her independence, but she never actually gave anything to the relationship and kept leaving Han Gyul hanging. The same thing goes for the other couple in this drama.
The second major flaw of the drama was how easily the men could be reduced to puddles of absolutely worthless misery. ALL of them were incapictated and emsaculated by the women who had them wrapped around their little fingers. Not one of them ever had a relatioship of mutual understanding with the woman that they loved. It was unbearable to watch such an unrealistic and exaggerated portrayal of male love.
Thirdly, the drama was meaninglessly long. I came to love for the fast-forward button on my remote control during the last 6 episodes. Needless exposition, supporting character story arcs that never developed and repetitive scenes where a change in scenery was the only difference all led up to an essentially fruitless finale. What was the point in having a two year time skip if the characters remained in exactly the same position as they had before? (Save for a few.)
I know that many people - especially women - will love this drama, and I can understand why it's considered a K-Drama classic because it has the makings of one (cliché + cliché + timeskip = classic), but I didn't like it as much as I liked other classics such as Goong. In my opinion, Coffee Prince is totally worth skipping. If you want a cross-dressing, reverse harem drama that is a whole lot of fun go you're better off watching Sungkyunkwan Scandal.
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Just a watchable drama
One of the most anticipated kdrama of the year just for the come back of actress Han hye joo, and in the end it's finished with pretty decent watchable drama with nothing in particular. Ongoing watching experience is always different comparing to a binge watch so i don't know how you will feel if you watch now. But even for the ongoing time this drama failed in many factors even though they had all the liberty to bring out an outstanding show.A zombie drama always sound interesting, but here the situation they were facing was not a serious problem at all. Also the screenplay was not so well written it includes many dragging moments and most of them were unwanted. The first episode was very promising but it never continued that promise, after 9 th episode the gear shifted slightly faster but still the dragging feel you boring.
Everything completely scattered, no proper characterisation, no intense situation, they must create a do or die situation inorder to keep the audience on the edge. But it failed. Still it's not a bad drama, it's a watchable drama, there were some thrills also the background score played a big part to minimise the demerits.
Try it if u interested :-)
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Trashy guilty pleasure with a side of good smut
Kinn is the second son of a mafia boss who meets the barfly, Porsche. With no parents and a younger brother to care for, Porsche is willing to do just about anything for money. Following an excellent first episode, he gets recruited to be a bodyguard for Kinn's gangster family. As the two fall in love, they find themselves mired in generic gangster shootouts and a complex family scandal that involves the mystery of Porsche's dead parents.Which is to say, that on paper KinnPorsche sounds like fun. In reality, it's A-grade, rolled-gold trash full of Makjang twists, inconsistent characterisation and a whole lot of sexy boys doing sexy things - most of it non-consensual or involving incest.
KinnPorsche is essentially a fetish drama, with the various fetishes interspersed with something that resembles a plot only in passing: it doesn't stand up to scrutiny, doesn't make much sense and isn't important anyway, frankly.
The show is also a tonal mess, with different direction and production styles clashing (the first episode is surprisingly good, the next two are confusing and contradictory, and the tones clash regularly from there).
But once you get past the idea that this show should be taken in any way seriously - and if you're in the right mood - it could be your latest guilty pleasure watch as it quickly descends into a morass of hot guys boning; sometimes drugged, sometimes drunk, sometimes underage, and sometimes as a result of chained-up basement torture. And nearly always when they're related in some way.
There's a lot of gratuitous sex and mindless violence and the odd, weird, fluffy date episode, which doesn't fit at all. But, I guess, for some people fluffy dating is their fetish so that's here for you as well.
The acting is actually pretty good, especially for a Thai BL, and the sex scenes are genuinely steamy as long as you handwave the rape, incest, torture, murder and creepy borderline paedophilia.
Kinn rapes Porsche, gaslights him, abuses him, manipulates him and yet the relationship somehow seems the most healthy when compared to the other ones in the show. Especially Vegas/Pete ["Nobody can hurt you but me!"] and the super creepy Kim/Porschay ["You're my underage cousin but I'm going to manipulate you into kissing me anyway"].
Anyway, put your brain on hold and enjoy the abuse trainwreck. Otherwise, steer clear.
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Reminded me of old rom-coms
It's been so long since I watched a good K-Romcom, this reminded me of how this genre used to feel. Delightful from beginning to end, with charismatic characters, super cute and sexy moments, and the right amount of angst. I laughed and clapped through it the way I used to. 10 points.I didn't know the cast and was blown away by the ML, hoping he gets more main roles as he knocked it out of the park (plus he has younger Hyun Bin vibes all over, which got me double excited). This proves we don't need huge productions with well-known names, but good storylines filled with chemistry.
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Weak writing and surface-level characterizations
I enjoy deep, meaningful slice of life interactions such as those in When The Camellia Blooms, Hospital Playlist, and Because This Is My First Life. In comparison, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha was a failed attempt. The script was written without the use of metaphors or stories, only direct, curt lines that are delivered as if spoken by an immature teen. There is zero wit, description, or complexity, which is the whole point of character-driven dramas. The only breath of fresh air was the backdrop of the beautiful seaside town of Pohang, which provided a light, airy feeling to each camera shot.The directing and writing suffers from flawed execution. Either the cheese factor is overdone and cringey, or an unnatural indifference washes over the characters. For instance, when someone is in tears and pain, the other character just watches them in silence for five seconds before any kind of touch happens and even then, it's the type of pat you give someone who dropped their ice cream, not when there is actual trauma. Characters respond with trivial lines that sound something like, "It will be OK," and that's it. There are no further connections, words of wisdom, or stories shared in those meaningful moments. Characters are robbed of the chance to show how they are feeling, how they have grown, or how they are affected by what is going on. We are left to wonder what else they are thinking in their heads.
The lack of characterization also affects the story itself. The plot challenges in the first 3/4 of the show feel trivial because of the lack of follow-through on character growth and reflection. Even serious issues are glossed over and cut short. It isn't until the last few episodes that the writer suddenly decides to explore dramatic back stories and character development. The time in the first part of the show is wasted.
The actors try hard, but I bet even they were cringing at the script. Shin Min Ah plays Hye Jin as your classic cool-but-conceited woman, which could have worked had we actually been shown her inner thoughts and transformations. However, I like that in this role and others, she plays a smart person as opposed to a damsel in distress. Kim Seon Ho as Doo Shik comes across as overly breezy, hollow, and idealistic for far too much of the story, until the end bits. When we finally learn about his past, the weak script and characterization lets us down once again with more meaningless, "It will be OK,"*pat*pat* lines. I enjoyed Lee Sang Yi as the TV producer. He brought charisma and energy to his flat character. I liked that both male leads were good people. Finally, a shout-out goes to supporting actors In Gyo Jin as the bumbling District Head, and his strong, kind ex-wife played by Lee Bong Ryun. Of all the characters, they had the greatest number of heartfelt, meaningful interactions. The rest of the townspeople were one dimensional or just plain annoying. What a shame that this was the case.
In the end, Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha paints with hollow, cringey, sepia-sweet colors to create nothing more than a postcard with no message. Although the actors tried to deliver, the writing, directing, and lack of characterization ruined its potential.
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Gripping storyline with lots of twists
I am loving the show. The storyline is filled with interesting twists and turns. It is a bit fast-paced. I had to rewind a few times. Because the relationship tree is complex, I had to take notes. Almost every relationship is different than what is shown outside.There are pretty interesting female characters in the show. The way FL's mother deals with situations is different. She is not sitting idly in the backseat but is proactive. Her mother's attitude, pride, dignity, a lot of self-respect, and her going against the wind are so refreshing to watch.
Also, Peter Ho, as her father, is amazing too. The change in his attitude as the story progressed was spectacular.
Relations are changing so frequently… like, who is whose biological child?
FL is also clever and not exactly a damsel in distress. I liked that. I have liked AiMi in Double and Fangs of Fortune. I am impressed with her acting as the lead here.
And what can I say about the ML..Hou Minghao is brilliant as usual...
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After watching a disappointing Princess Agent I was skeptical about this drama because the main characters are not that good looking but after reading postive reviews about this drama I thought I would give it a try. And wow am I blown away it's completely hilarious and very light hearted. The last time I have laughed this hard was go princess go! The female main characters double personality is hilarious and she pulls it off so well. It's very believable and hilarious. The love between the 2 main characters are so sweet and keeps me completely interested in the series. Everything else is mediocre and repetitive in storyline about palace drama. I also have never seen any Chinese drama focus ofnmental illness too. This is a first time that a mental illness like dissociative identity disorder had been used in such a big part of a Chinese drama. Great job! Was this review helpful to you?
No matter how hard I tried, I didn't like it and I don't know why it encountered such a success.
I have problems with the plot, the characters and the ultimate meaning of this drama.
I found the plot highly un-original. Change a couple of names and the setting, and you're left with a déjà-vu: arrogant successful man is changed by simple, goodhearted woman, there's a second female who enters the picture, the hero's got some unresolved issues with his personal life, a lot of running around the city - for lack of any transport, I suppose - and there's the ever-present shilly-shally which goes on till the very end (accompanied by my yawning).
Fine, a plot doesn't need to be original to be well told. More often than not, the lack of suspense is successfully replaced by a strong characterization. And here comes the true sore spot for me: the characters.
Toru Hyuga is quite the obnoxious "genius", a pity he doesn't compensate his bad temper with any particularly charming trait. He changes, inasmuch as he becomes a little humbler towards the end, but I fail to be attracted to him even by a little.
Which makes it even harder for me to empathize with Makoto, who seems to be bewitched by his creativity and his success-driven nature more than anything related to him as a man. The result, in my eyes, is a badly matched couple of disagreeable people with no love chemistry at all.
What bugged me the most is the way Makoto's character is depicted. By what absurd criteria can a young woman who is good at her studies, has a formidable memory, can compile the income tax return of a little business in one night be called "stupid"? Yes, she isn't a computer genius, so what? Are our IQ defined by how good we are at computer programming? Instead of creating a character who could truly complement Toru's glaring shortcomings with her own talent, they gave us a woman who either laughs hysterically when embarrassed and blurts out the first thing that comes to her mind, or apologizes for... being stupid, of all things! As for character development: none whatsoever.
Asahina? One episode he's black, the next he's blue. Disquieting.
The only consistent, pleasing character is Yoko, but we all know from minute one what her role in this story will be.
On the good side of the charts are acting and music. They all acted their part very well and did their best with what they were given. I'm also ready to grant the drama a couple of intense, heartfelt moments, which manage to raise the overall score by a little.
Needless to say, I'm not going to re-watch this. I'm sure there's more to say about it, but I'm honestly tired of thinking this thing over when in fact I should simply borrow a good MDL friend's definition, call this drama "harmless" and forget about it.
°°°°
Edit: someone rightly pointed out my wrong use of the word shizoid. I apologize and edited to correct the mistake. :)
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When Charisma Gets Replaced by Scheming
Can we say… kinda? I mean, in the first season, the winner was way ahead of all the other contestants. You could see their superiority from the very first episodes. They won purely through the power of their charisma and intelligence.The new winner… how can I put it… ended up winning because his BFF dropped out at the last minute. He used her all the way through to the end. Maybe he's more in line with the theme of the show, but honestly, I would’ve preferred a winner who made it to the finale thanks to actual skills, not tricks and manipulation. Sorry not sorry.
I hope the next season focuses more on individual play. I know drama always works, but this season had way too many alliances that ruined the chances of some really interesting potential finalists.
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Yai the lost son of Khun Baisan comes back to his farm to get his inheritance and revenges his father's death from his stepmother...he appears as cave man with non-modernized behavior...scares everyone and pretends to be a gangster...he enjoys tormenting the beautiful young maid Pin...and forces her to be his wife...but he turns out to be a loving prince charming!
A very interesting plot...with one crazy villain...nice supporting characters...a mixture of Action, Drama, Romance, humor...that kept me hooked throughout the long 22 eps...it was smartly written that there was always something going on...no place for speed watching...I expected it to drag a lot but surprisingly it didn't...it also has many cliffhangers that will make you keep watching and it was filmed during airing which somehow made the drama quality even better!
The male lead character was smart, strong, dependable, playful, and very warm...a real prince charming...and Weir played this character perfectly...it's hard to imagine any other actor in his place...
But the female lead character was quit annoying - too good to be true - she was also very naive (he even used to call her stupid child) but she wised up a little at the end!
The N'ek and P'ek chemistry was very good...their scenes would always make me smile!
The music puts you in good mode...and I'm glad the main songs were sang by our leads!
I don't usually re-watch dramas but maybe in a couple of years when I forget it enough!
In short if you guys want a well-written Lakorn with lots of twists and turns with a cast that has a good chemistry and a refreshingly charming male lead character...I highly recommend this one!
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