Ding Yuxi Shines Despite Cut Scenes
Wei Yun makes this drama. Ding Yuxi is incredible in every role, and this is no exception. His scenes, especially in the beginning of the show, are what kept me watching. While it falls off a bit a little over halfway through, there are some incredibly impactful moments and scenes. If you are a Ryan Ding fan, you won’t regret watching. Though it could have been better if they didn’t cut so many of his scenes. Had the potential to be a 10/10 but they squandered it in favor of extended side plots that lower his run time.Was this review helpful to you?
The Baddest of Bitches Award Goes to....
FAN CHANGYU.Okay, I haven't read the novel or anything, but I could tell that there was a lot more density to the story than what made it in this adaptation.
That being said, I think the storytelling was there. The acting was there. And most importantly... Fan Changyu was there.
I am seated and living for HER. We love a woman who's an absolute Bad Bitch!!!! Xie Zheng knows it and it is delicious.
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Prepare to rip your hair out
HOLY MOLYYYY!!!!!If you’ve been waiting for this season since the first one released…then you must know the feeling of not being fully satisfied, because thats how this season left me.
Although that doesn’t mean it was bad but it definitely frustrated the shit out of me.
Not only did it feel like dumbed down every damn police officer and character this season, but somehow it seemed like our main characters along with side characters who fight, got weaker instead of stronger? They gave us a 4 year timeskip and during that time Gunwoo focused on getting the championship title but didn’t get stronger even though he was praised for being incredibly strong and intelligent when it came to fighting throughout the first season. It seemed redundant because in season 2 bothe Gunwoo and Woojin got their asses beat throughout the episodes and only in the last ep did Gunwoo do his kumbaya ritual and won, it was exactly similar to what season 1 did but with higher steaks and more brutality. The villain in season 2 was genuinely terrifying…like i felt his terror so they did an amazing job at making Rain the villain!
It just felt so so frustrating watching him beat everyone…! Especially Gunwoo!!! Each fighting sequence had me so mad I stopped looking forward to them because I knew to expect our good guys to get their shit rocked, I mean wow! Literally almost every episode they would lose a fight. It was anti climactic considering this show started off by showing off Woojin and Gunwoo’s fighting skills.
Regardless of that, season 2 was incredibly entertaining and it kept me on my toes each episode. I binged all 7 episodes in one day, it was easy to be curious about what the next episode held. The frustration you have builds up to hope and you saying “Come on!!! Beat his ass!!!!!!” throughout the episodes LOL.
But this season was such a nostalgia fest, so many characters from season 1 came back and flashbacks of the ones who passed away made me cry, it was a bummer that Kim Saeron’s character wasn’t mentioned at all or given information on what or where she is. In any case I hope atleast her character got to live on atleast in that universe.♥️
Incredibly frustrating, yet satisfying in the end. Still a crazy plotwist in the end which makes me all the more frustrated because now I need a season 3!!!!!!SMH!!!!!!
But yeah, so many things were left unanswered, now all I can hope for is that it gets renewed.
Great bromance, so many new relationships formed, so many older bonds which grew stronger. It healed something inside of me while it also made me leave unsatisfied, all in all. Season 1 is unmatched but season 2 heals you a little bit before beating you to a pulp and then only then gives you a little break and a kiss on the forehead in the last episode.
Not a bad season 2, frustating as hell…but not bad! Hope a season 3 will happen though!
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This review may contain spoilers
2 only for the panel
Things I loved1 The panel. I think Dex is a great add to the panel and I enjoy their interactions more than ever. I could watch them every time I feel blue and my mood would improve right away. Their chemistry is off the charts.
Things I liked
1 The premise although I think it can be greatly improved. But if you want to shut off your neurons and just enjoy something silly and without any depth, this is for you.
Things I disliked
1 Again. Why on earth do you focus on one person every time and deprive the rest of the cast from screen time? We are there to watch all of them, not only one woman or one man and three idiots who fall for her/him. So once again a disappointment and the main female player went from my favorite on the first episode to my least favorite on the last. Also I didn't see the appeal of the main male player, Jun Seo, so yes, count me out as this was one of the worst seasons.
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Pursuit of jade was an interesting premise
Percentage is an interesting premise of a butcher and a noble fallen in love I appreciate how raising pigs and butchering an pig is portrayed in the show have a person reacts to seeing that for the first time I also enjoy the budding romance I find the chemistry with all the characters really nice I did find the intimate scenes a little odd not a big fan I definitely will rewatch this on and off for many yearsWas this review helpful to you?
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This is like a breath of fresh air
I quite liked the story and execution, it feels fresh...also, easily the least 'challenging', low-trauma, Chinese (Hong Kong) BL that I liked in the recent times..🥰BL-needle Score: 8. Reasonably high BL-ness
Yu Lei is so crushing on Chen Ke....and its cute to see him confusing that attraction with rivalry.........so Yu Lei crushing on Chen Ke, Yu Lei's friend Ouyang Han is crushing on Yu Lei, and Chen Ke is slowly waking up to his attraction to Yu Lei....at times I also get this feeling that Yu Lei's cousin sister is also borderline crushing on Chen Ke...so a lot of confusing scenarios will probably emerge soon.. I'm also expecting major heartbreaks up ahead....
The quiet and insecure student is giving me a bad feeling, reminds me of that jealous classmate from The On1y One...I get a feeling that our duo will have something bad happen to them and this guy will be somehow involved
While it borderline reminded me of The On1y One at the beginning, beyond being a school life drama with a hint of rivalry and the whole boy-dorm thing, this is very different from that one
The story is quite engaging ..also liked how it is narrated in the flashback by the leads in turn, it gives you the feel right away that these people are probably estranged, or away from each other now and thinking back on the old days, how they met and got close to each other....
The production values are good, so is the acting, script, and music... I got hooked right from the start and felt compelled to write a review after quite some time.
Go watch!
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Powerful and beautiful
This would make a close-to-perfect film.It was slow in the beginning and it had some plot holes. It's not clear how or why the leads fell in love with each other. It's cold and weary and then half-way they lit a spark that we aren't sure where it came from. They were too subtle on developing such an intense love. I believe that's my biggest criticism of this drama.
I do believe this drama is worth it just for the last three episodes. It would have been great with an optimised storyline for film. I'm giving it a high score just for the last part of the drama.
I knew this could never have a happy ending but I'm still left profoundly heartbroken. It took me a long time to finish this drama because of the theme, in the current political affairs, and because I was feeling the pain of the protagonists a little too intensely.
Overall, the drama is great. It talks about important topics, the cinematography is insanely beautiful and the soundtrack matches the visual and the theme. They all work perfectly together with the acting and most of the story.
I like the way the Soul Reaper confronted his abuser. While he was talking about transcendence and deity, the Soul Reaper brought him back to earth. The ones who do evil do it because they are evil or are ok with the suffering of others and there's usually a societal and political structure which allows them to do this level of evil. He put him in his place and it was an act of justice. Those who commit these acts are people, no matter their social or political status. They need to be treated as such and need to be served the people's justice. I found this very relevant in all of society so often controlled and propagandised by religion and power.
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The boys are back!! With big muscles and even bigger hearts.
The basic plot of season 2 is that Rain's Im Baek-Jung goes on an unhinged crime spree to get Woo Do Hwan's Kim Gun-Woo to join his underground fight club. On the one hand, this doesn't make a ton of sense because surely there are lots of other boxers who would be happy to participate willingly and it seems like a pretty bad business model to host fights when you keep killing your opponents?? On the other hand, Gun-Woo is THE babygirl himbo, so honestly it's kind of understandable for Baek-Jung to be so obsessed with him.Gun-Woo spends most of the season on the verge of tears and Woo-Jin gets his ass kicked multiple times and together, they are truly one of my favorite dumb and dumber duos. They are big of heart, dumb of ass, and they share one single braincell that is devoted entirely to boxing. They still can't agree on how long it should take to properly grill meat. I love them so much.
The villains are legitimately terrifying while lacking all subtlety and they are so fun to watch and root against. Rain's performance is electrifying - he's an absolute psycho and ruthlessly violent and it's impossible to look away when he's on screen. Tae Won Seok also returns as Kang In-Beom and he matches Rain's crazy toe for toe.
The fights scenes are excellent with great choreography and there are some really fun cameos as well. And shoutout to Chansung and Choi Siwon for completing the trio of idol turned actors and giving great performances. Honestly the amount of charisma and star power on display in this show is almost criminal. This is my Avengers.
The final episode is pretty rushed and the ending feels more like setup for a future season than a conclusion of this story, but the season as a whole is entertaining nonetheless. I am shocked but pleasantly surprised that Gun-Woo's mom survived and I hope they send her abroad so she can no longer be used as leverage against the boys.
I'm not the biggest fan of the recent trend of kdramas having multiple seasons but I will happily watch 20 more seasons of Gun-Woo and Woo-Jin teaming up to take down bad guys armed only with their fists and the kindness in their hearts. ACK!
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A bit disappointing
Before I go negative on this, I gotta say Jin Young was great as always. This role of Tae Seo was made for him and he did an outstanding job playing it.It seemed like this drama started out strong, giving us a good story that was going to take off ... but it really had trouble getting off the ground. I really couldn't tolerate the two characters of Eun A & Seong Chan for so many reasons. She had a good thing waiting for her in Tae Seo, but for some reason she really had no idea what she wanted in a relationship. I never saw a character keep showing up and then leaving ... and showing up again and leaving. It became so frustrating and exhausting to follow. Why Tae Seo kept trying to make this work without any success, it was just a complete mystery to me.
The character I had so much empathy for was A Sol. She when out of her way so many times for the chance of a relationship with Tae Seo, but he just couldn't give it a try. Instead he kept ending up in front of Eun A saying "goodbye" ... and goodbye, and goodbye. They said goodbye to each other so many times you lose count.
Again, thumbs up to Jin Young. He made a bad script work well enough to keep me watching till the end ... but there was only so much he could do.
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Dylan Wang nailed it
What I liked:1. Dylan Wang as Dongfang Qingcang completely nailed it. In the beginning he's robotic and unfeeling. Later he's depressed and angry. Finally he's loving and self-sacrificing. Wang delivers the many comic scenes with impeccable timing-and even plays a woman in a man's body without missing a beat. Added later: I just found out that a “line actor” dubbed Dylan’s voice in this series, so maybe not as great an acting job as I thought. But his visuals and expressions are still quite good.
2. Other actors also do a stellar job: Yu Shuxin as Orchid was warm, loving and believable as Dongfang's love interest. Although I agree that her nasal, whining voice almost made me change the channel in the beginning. Another great performance was that of Charles Lin who played ShangQue, Dongfang's faithful servant who is sometimes a man and sometimes a dragon-mobile. His facial expressions and general cluelessness were a wonder. Also Hong Xiao added feminine guile and energy along with a good dollop of humor. And I have to mention Zhang Linghe who goes from earnest to dissipated and back again--and is as charming as they come.
3. Costuming, CGI, and set design were gorgeous and magical. While the story got a little tedious with all the misunderstandings and downright deceit, plus the breakups and reconciliations between Dongfang and Orchid--the pace never slowed.
4. This is the first Chinese series I've seen that was genuinely both touching and funny. The humor worked seamlessly, which is rare with international dramas. Yes, it got a little sentimental in places, but otherwise-- not many missteps.
Things that could have been better:
1. A few blunders. I love the mournful flute solo that Rong Hao plays intermittently throughout the series. There's one scene where he's playing his song and then puts the instrument down-and the flute melody (at least on my screen) keeps playing. What happened to the spikes in Dongfang's body? They're supposed to cause him excruciating agony every night. We see them once, and then suddenly they're gone. Also some plot devices got recycled a bit too often. Repetitive ordeals of pain and suffering start losing their impact after the third time.
2. The music, in general, was OK, although some of the songs got a little tiresome by the end.
3. Speaking of the ending--there were a few dangling threads. For example, what happened with the romance between ShangQue and JieLi? They seemed happy, but were they dating? Were they married? Get with it, guys. It's been 500 years. Also, one of the main characters is supposedly gone forever, but then abruptly comes back. Why? How? Enquiring minds want to know.
Overall very enjoyable.
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A Touching Drama
All in all, this was a very solid series.What I didn't like:
1. The music was intrusive and sometimes schmaltzy and sentimental.
2. The plot had touches of Hallmark hokiness.
3. At times, the writers pounded the message home with a lack of subtlety.
But what I did like far outweighs the negatives:
1. Convincing acting featuring likeable characters. The secondary characters were appealing and had interesting stories of their own, more than just placeholders.
2. This series showcased different kinds of human love-not just romantic or parental love-but love between friends, love between student and teacher, or siblings-and even love of craft.
3. In spite of a few false notes, this story was extremely effective. No easy answers to life's problems here. Just flawed human beings doing their best in an indifferent world. Touching but realistic
4. Unusual subject matter-how many ballet movies or series focus on male dancers? And the theme was an important one and worthy of the lengthy treatment it got here.
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OK...but not my favorite
The actors and characters are appealing, and I like that they feature a strong middle-aged woman as one of the leads. She even occasionally gets a few good lines, although basically she's there to play den mother to the rest of them. This series started as an interesting fantasy that turned into (yet another) variation on a police procedural. Too much school bullying and endless fighting scenes. The vision of the afterlife is unimaginative and ludicrous. Everything is white, including the file cabinets and there are some crazy rules: "We want you to catch the evil spirits who are embedded in bad, bad human beings, but, hey, don't get involved in human affairs." And what is all this stuff about the "territory" boundaries moving around. Nonsensical twaddle. I know the tousled, disheveled look is in, but it's not working for Ga Mo Tak. He needs a better hairdo.Was this review helpful to you?
Great idea, frustrating execution
The concept of Extracurricular is really interesting. But I'm seriously struggling to keep watching.The female lead is so annoying that I can barely stand her. I could overlook that if the male lead made up for it—but he doesn't. He's supposed to be the top student at school, smart and calculating. Yet he acts like a complete loser and can't solve the simplest problems that come up.
This drama makes me angry, but not in the satisfying way. It's just frustrating to watch. I don't think I can continue. I'm dropping it.
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Mr. Magic is a stud muffin...
I prefer series with a bit more depth than this one. It was a bit saccharine and sentimental, but for what it was - it worked. Even the sound track was enjoyable. I'm a sucker for magical special effects, so I was able to excuse the simplistic message and just enjoy the visuals. I know the poor kid didn't have a mother, but someone needed to tell Ah-Yi to keep her mouth closed and trim her bangs. For 4/5ths of the series she could have done with a personality transplant. She was a little too bland and vapid for my taste. On the other hand, Ji Chang-Wook more than made up for it. When he says, "Do you...believe...in...magic?" it's to die for.Was this review helpful to you?
Emotions can make you overlook untouched potential
I rated this drama higher than it deserved if you look at facts only. It had a way of understanding disabilities and everything that comes with it that it sometimes was able to pick me up right from where I stand.But it didn't lead me far in that regard. Because all those messages lacked soil to grow roots into and a sky to rise up to. All it was was a fresh summer breeze in rustling green leaves, the sweet smell of ice cream and the sound of nostalgia wrapping you in a blanket that's oddly heavy to wear.
I feel like this drama doesn't have a pacing problem that so many critical voices mentioned. I'm fine with all nostalgia vibes and taking it slow because I liked them.
I just feel they placed a spotlight and turned it brighter and brighter when there shouldn't be any spotlights to begin with. I wanted this to be a story about all the characters, not just the mains. Instead of setting background and depth in the beginning and stumbling from event to event in the romance plot later, I wish they were interwoven more skillfully. With so much screentime available and such a great foundation, they didn't make use of everything they set up for it.
ML and 2FL were the most interesting characters by far, not only in background but also in their relationship dynamics. ML and his family's dynamics in general were a huge selling point along with the disability for me. And it all had to take a step back for FL, whose story, in comparison, felt rather mid. It feels like she was only put into the story because they needed a romantic interest for ML when there was never really space for her to begin with. Now, don't get me wrong, I also liked that the disabilities weren't the sole focus in this drama because, well, life goes on, and while disabilities shape a lot of our paths, they don't define who we are as a person entirely. But even without FL there would have been plenty to tell.
The whole plot got wrapped up in the typical Kdrama way: rushed, glossed over and with a ton of open questions. That ending just proves that they would have needed screentime to wrap up their strings and messages nicely but wasted it elsewhere instead and it is leaving an aftertaste I am not sure ruins the drama or is mild enough to overlook.
That being said, I binged this drama whenever I had a chance to. The nostalgia, the music, the friendships, the happy moments together, seeing them all deal with hardships differently were addicting. I was happy for the characters when they were and cried when they did. Despite the focus still not being exactly where I would have wanted it, I liked that the romance didn't have the main role here either. I love that I didn't like Han I Chan yet still was able to care about him deeply. Because you can't like everyone, not even if they're the "good" main characters. But you can feel for them.
It's a mood-based drama that lives off the atmosphere it creates and the hopes and dreams it dangles in front of you. I'm fine with dramas like that. It was a fun and emotional ride. But it also could have been so much more. Instead of serving the typical clichés, I wish the drama had dared to stay a bit more unique. Because whenever it did, it did so well.
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