Reviews

It's Quite Fun to Watch

The World of My 17 is about Oh Nari and her group of friends, consisting of the goddess beauty Nari, the pure and innocent girl Yeji, and the idol trainee Mirae. They experience their first year of high school with many stories, laughter, and tears, but one thing is for sure: their friendship will stay strong.

It's a cute and quite funny web drama. The plot feels more like a montage of events rather than a continuous story to me. Every cast member has a strong character, so it's fun to watch their interactions. The introduction of the cast in the early episodes feels rushed, though, especially for someone like me who hasn't read the webtoon. The pacing and resolution also have some problems. But it's still an enjoyable watch to spend free time on.

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“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

A series written and scripted by women. It deals with the problems and judgments they face. All in a melancholic atmosphere. Zhang Jingyi plays an ordinary, courageous teenager who carries the weight of the world on her shoulders, following her role as an agile and assertive warrior princess in Legend of Zang Hai. She and Zhou Yiran bring great strength to their characters, who are determined in their own way without being exuberant. Their actions speak for themselves. Overall, this is not a hypocritical series that raises issues without really addressing them.

It is clear how devastating it can be to hide the truth from your children. And how essential education about sexual and emotional health is. This should not be up for debate. Lives are at stake.

The two main characters come from different backgrounds and repeatedly give the adults the opportunity to explain themselves, to make amends for their mistakes and their silence, but to no avail. They consider themselves untouchable and well-meaning. It is not a question of means. The parents do not consider their children to be fully-fledged human beings with needs and rights. Sadly commonplace. With their backs against the wall, forced to reveal the truth, the two protagonists are told that the violence comes from them. Family comes first. Suffer in silence.

Bullying, people distancing themselves, unfair rumors... these are difficult moments to deal with. When you've been through it, it's always a challenge. In the world we live in, there is only one solution : to collectively take responsibility for saying stop. Individual courage doesn't make a difference ; it has to be collective. But the thing is, most people see no point in taking action when they're not directly affected. And so the cycle continues. The series shows this very clearly : there is no excuse for people who saw and knew but said nothing. And if the victim rebels against the injustice they suffer, they are punished. Even our death doesn't satisfy our tormentors ; the harassment continues.

Xiao Beiyu went through so many things that could have been avoided. And there's nothing we can do for her ; we can only watch helplessly as her life is pieced together by her little sister. Some parents have children because they can't have dogs, as they say. Beiyu's video testimony does not excuse them for their behavior and how they treated her while she was alive and killed her a second time by hiding the reasons for her death. Being kind for three days does not make up for a lifetime.

Qingyu's father appears unassuming at first, but the more we get to know him, the more we realize his malicious position as the good family man. Always there to maintain the patriarchal order without taking responsibility for it, hiding behind his wife and family decisions. His honor as patriarch takes precedence over the well-being and dignity of his daughters. You can present it however you want, but that's what remains in the end.
And then, when he tries to confide in his daughter, he talks about himself and himself alone. And we're supposed to offer him redemption because he understands that his daughter is dancing in secret and he doesn't say anything instead of forbidding it... Doing nothing is a small price to pay. The men in this series, my God, they make you want to resort to violence... especially cousin Jinrui.
As for the mother, we're in gray territory. It's hard to forgive her, and yet she does what she can to survive. The actress delivers a phenomenal performance.

The little brother and friends, together, supporting each other, helping each other, and listening to each other, they are the light that this world needs and undoubtedly does not deserve. Ming Sheng, always there, ready to do anything for others without expecting anything in return, he has a kind heart.

In short, exceptional character writing.

Ps : The surgeon father is in a relationship with a nurse who is barely ten years older than his son. Let's talk about that.
Ps2 : All those men waiting for Qingyu outside her high school are embarrassing. Do they think they're Jerry Seinfeld ?
Ps3 : Justice for Mumu !
Ps4 : Thanks to this series, I finally understand why Chinese productions associate couples with the moon.

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Are you serious ? Transgender people don't become transgender because of childhood trauma. What is this nonsense ? And all this talk about gender dysphoria, frankly, I'd rather not say anything... well, actually, yes : psychiatrists are not allies, no one needs their bogus diagnoses to know who they are.
I'm not putting this under a spoiler alert because I'd rather warn about the transphobic clichés that await the comrades concerned.

Other than that, it could have been an interesting crime series. I watched it to the end, so it wasn't that bad. Season 2, however, will be without me. The hero lies to his wife and his team, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him. It irritates me.

Jeong I-Shin/Ko Hyun-Jung did nothing wrong.

"It is the police's job to save lives." Come on, let's all laugh together : hahaha !

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Sets, costumes, music. It's standard for Chinese dramas, meaning very high quality. The fights are superb, with all the swirling fabrics and blades slicing through the air. And then killing by piercing the body with wires is inventive and very beautiful visually. (My God, what am I saying ?) The first two episodes follow a frenetic pace, after which things calm down a bit, but it maintains its framing, slow motion, high-energy inserts, mini-flashbacks, etc. (Long-focus close-ups, on the other hand, are still illegal. Forbidden !) The most frenzied conspiracy in history. And the editing doesn't give you a second's respite. Great art.

There is virtually only one woman in this world, the fierce Zhong Xueman, but on the other hand there are many men obsessed with Xiao Beiming, the “wanted detective”. Men who are extremely devoted or willing to do anything to find him and prove that he is not dead, lost as they are in imagining him gone. Lost to the point of dreaming about him, in a friendly way, of course. These Chinese dramas and their queer baiting are trying; we suspect that they can't do any more, but still, it's trying. Do or do not.

Xiang Hanzhi, aka Xueman, looks very young, and it's quite strange to see a character like hers evolve in this world of men as an equal. That said, the actress is very good in her role as an invincible fighter.

The Mission Impossible-style masks are brilliant ! And very practical. They quickly abandon them, too. You never know what to do with them. Apart from that, the humour is sparse but always effective; we would have liked to see more of these scenes.

There are some minor oddities worth noting, such as Xiao Beiming, who is too ill to move in one episode, then jumps in to save his friends in the next ; and at one point he has to hide or risk being identified and put in prison, but ends up walking around freely among the crowd. Quantum camouflage. Then, when he is taken prisoner, he walks around everywhere with his hands cuffed, but he gives instructions to his former fellow inspectors, which is funny. In France, we have a former president (a scumbag) who was sentenced to wear an electronic tag to avoid rotting in prison like everyone else, but because it annoyed him and he didn't respect any of the restrictions (being at home after 10 p.m.), the courts decided to take it away. Take a leaf out of his book, Xiao Beiming.

It's a shame about the slump in the middle, as episodes 17-18 are more like summaries of the story than anything else. After that, it picks up again, at its own pace, with numerous reminders of where we are in the investigation. So this is not a series to binge-watch, as I did. The series loses momentum towards the end. What a shame. I was a huge fan of the first half.

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(TW: this series deals with sexual assault, alcoholism and domestic violence.)

Jeong-woo's courage and patience, though. Everyone condemned him and no one will ever apologise. Then his ‘friends’ don't help him, cowardly and sneaky. It makes me so angry to see their behaviour. The total lack of guilt on the part of the perpetrators is infuriating. I was drawn to the hero's determination. That's the real crux of this series, his determination to prove his innocence, so much so that the background of the characters who take his side is barely mentioned and not exploited at all.
The first episode is exemplary in its abrupt narration; the rest really takes its time, it's too long, far too long. For example, we get a piece of evidence to understand what happened ten years earlier and for an entire episode, it's just there, nothing is done with it, no one studies it. Eight episodes instead of 14 would have worked much better.

Next: the portrayal of autism. Frankly, I'm fed up with it. We're always reduced to circus freaks in perpetual crisis. Here, on top of that, he's some kind of dangerous madman. I'm really sick of it. Maybe one day we'll get a real, honest portrayal, namely a poor, isolated person, nothing spectacular, which is what most of us are, and not a rich kid with his own little painting studio and a dead body in his basement. Pfff.

Kim Bo-ra gives yet another good performance, still with a slight resemblance to Shelley Duval. In episode 7, one inspector asks another if the actress (he calls her by her real acting name, not her character's name) is more popular than Choi Na-gyeom, a character in the series; a strange joke, even sexist... it must have been improvised, I imagine.

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It's not impossible that all the lights in my flat were on and that my cat ended up in my arms during the first two episodes. Me ? scared ? Not at all. When faced with this kind of story, you have to tell yourself one thing : if ghosts existed, there would be hundreds of thousands of them per square meter. We'd spend all our time getting rid of them.

The “ignore them, don't talk to them” thing reminded me of King's The Dark Tower, the Vaadasch, the journey from one world to another. The people around us don't know we're there, but they sense us and can become threatening or even deadly if they spot us. Things are going to go badly.
Anyway.

The discreet, cold music reinforces the emotional impact and this rather original vision of the afterlife. A terribly sad atmosphere. In the bus episode, we know what's going to happen, which makes it even more depressing to watch. Silence also plays a major role.

A very beautiful series, admirably well written, particularly thanks to its twist on fear. The ending is heartbreaking. And the poor dog, we can say, was a good girl.

“You must find the light.”

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Highly improbable situations, but it's always good to steal from the rich, steal from these thieves. In reality, their little game doesn't work for a second because these rich people already talk to each other, and because their tiny world works by co-optation, it's impossible to integrate into it. Comrades, you will never be rich.

Park Min Young plays her character in such a chaotic way, because she is so devilishly manipulative, that you never know what to expect, and that's what keeps you watching the series despite its grotesque plot twists. She stresses me out a little with her frozen smile that says "checkmate".

Why isn't actress Kim Bo-ra playing the character named Kim Bo-ra ? If it was a reference, I didn't get it.

A "IQ of 167" is still not proof of intelligence. IQ has no scientific basis. Screenwriters : stop. Or else do your little IQ tests among yourselves. The fault lies with the Japanese author, obviously, because 'Confidence Queen' is a remake of 'The Confidence Man JP'. I didn't know that. It's the opposite of Park Min-young's previous K-drama, 'Marry My Husband'. (not seen)

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Before being a story about letters traveling through time, it is above all a love story between two young people whom life has not spared. They find refuge together. And... no spoilers. It's the saddest of happy endings. I didn't know it would go in that direction. It hits you like a punch in the gut.

However, my little lovebirds (allow me to call you that), you're waiting for a rotten cat to take care of your letters, so of course it's not working out the way you want it to. That filthy beast. Pfft !
It takes a hell of a lot of commitment to a relationship to send love letters from the future. His declaration, "I want to be your family, if you allow me" and her simple, obvious reaction... I'm melting. They're perfect for each other. And the two actors play their characters on the brink of disaster admirably. Wang Yinglu is completely immersed in her role, deeply moving.

When she is the first person in the world to celebrate his birthday and he cries silently... and he eats his cake while crying his eyes out. It's hard not to shed a tear. Don't make sad stories like that, you don't realise, we watch them afterwards ! Besides, the two are ageing in Veer-Zaara years, it's terrible, this disease. A little-known side effect is that it makes the audience burst into tears, and we don't do enough to prevent that.

"If I ever bring you misfortune, you must leave me."

Ps : Why include a chubby character named ‘fat dog’ who eats all the time ? We'll never know. Even if he served a purpose in the story (he doesn't), there was no need for this fatphobia. Chinese productions have a real problem with this.

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We should all be entitled to an Arthur Chen and his big snake watching over us. (it's ok if you don't get it)

It's hard to ignore the limited special effects, to put it diplomatically.
You have to be really into celestial palace intrigues between millennial beings in an bad RPG landscape. I lasted until halfway through. 17 out of 33 episodes, no less. The cardboard sets, the ridiculous superpowers, the scheming between clans I didn't know existed five minutes ago, death but actually no I'm coming back as a spirit and I'm alive again (are you elves, actually ?), all of that got the better of my patience.

Wang Yinglu is exceptional, naturally. In 'Twelve Letters', that same year, she played a completely different character with great intensity. She's a superb actress. And she undoubtedly deserves better roles than that of a servant to a capricious god.

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(Service message : Not a binge-watching series, there's too little action. You can even skip an episode or two without any problem)

I'm not sure I agree with the whole parallel between being a fan of an idol and being a lesbian. If you want to talk about coming out, do it, for real. What's with these jokes about colleagues judging her for being a fan of this singer ? I imagine it's well-intentioned, but it doesn't have the right effect at all. Anyway, let's move on. At least the character who 'discovers' it, Ryan Gold, has no problem with two women being in a relationship. (Thank goodness. Expectations are so low, we're easily satisfied.)

Other than that, it's funny and cute, thanks to Park Min-young. How could it be otherwise ? But everyone is adorable. Kim Bo-ra and her little surprised grimaces, her futile pouts, her sweetness. The judo brother at the beginning embodies a gentle and benevolent masculinity, which we love here at the editorial office. (me) But he becomes unbearable and jealous after. I choose to ignore this whole "we're not family" thing, which I don't understand. The editorial team approves of the shots of him in the shower, even if their usefulness in the story remains to be seen. Well done, judo.
Kim Jae-wook, always too handsome to be honest. I'm wary of men like him. He kisses his girlfriend on the nose, just look at how indecent this man is !
Cha Si-an, what a shame, such a kind character, it's scandalous. A pure, innocent little kitten. I am outraged. His place is in a museum among the Greco-Roman sculptures.

Every episode I watched was under codeine, due to the frequency of my migraines. It passes the time. In the dark with the sound turned down low, religiously, tinnitus at its worst. Occasional dizziness.

PS: The fortune teller who speaks French, as a good French person who respects himself (and therefore hates other French people), I can say that this person is talking nonsense. Random words.

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"For the rich, mistakes are just bad memories. For us, they're our downfall."

At first, it's hard to warm to this erratic inspector... one minute he's threatening a forensic colleague with a knife, the next he's being attentive to a victim. A truly detestable cop, in other words. (pleonasm)
Then, the cop and the judge agree to sentence a starving man to death, justice in action.
Anyway, what an incredible coincidence that all these people find themselves 20 years later in the same place, at the same trial. Chance works in mysterious ways. Chance, of course. *wink wink* Like the fact that everyone is wearing exactly the same black raincoat. (at least six different people !)

Despite this incredible start, the suspense in this series is phenomenal. You just can't stop watching ; you want to know what happens next. It's really well done. But as usual, it's pure police propaganda and a plea to abolish laws that supposedly protect criminals too much. Classic right-wing scam.

More than once I thought I had figured out who did what (no spoilers), but no ! my immense cosmic brain did not foresee that right after that, they would do the magical twist of these Korean series. And then another. And another. Hold on tight, it's going to twist. The more obvious it seems, the more it will be turned upside down. Like in Mouse, it throws out bits and pieces of events, continues, then comes back, adds an element, and calls everything into question. Only evil geniuses write scripts like this.

It may sound amusing when put like that, but ultimately it isn't. There is suspense, but not for our amusement. It is a terrible story that echoes many true stories about adoption, orphanages and abuse. It is notable that revenge is not glorified. No one emerges victorious from this plot. Strangely the series ends on a hopeful note : caring for the victims before punishing the perpetrators.

Ps : Memories that come back after being repressed by the subconscious are certainly very useful when telling a story with multiple layers, but they are above all scientifically questionable. First of all, the so called subconscious is psy nonsense. Secondly, memory is not a hard drive with videos ready to play ; it is information that we gather and organise according to our personal logic, constantly reconstructing or forgetting. That's my nitpicky or annoying side, sorry.

In no particular order :
-Taecyeon can wear a cap and a mask, but his big protruding ears will always give him away. Poor guy.
-All the phone conversations sound like a voiceover from heaven, which is a disturbing choice.
-Let's salute the work of Park Ji-bin, the vampire who manages to pass himself off as a K-drama actor with brio. Anne Rice has gone too far.
-The little song during the flashbacks : very annoying. Never again.

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