Reviews

i made an mdl account just to review this because i’m actually baffled by how poor the writing is. for such a promising foundation it fell so flat and was so messy, i got bored halfway through. i can give my flowers to the production and costume team, but wow i’m actually sad that it was this bad. beautiful film aesthetically, but my god the writing.. you could take a shot every time there was a plot hole and you’d probably be black out by the time the movie was over, doesn’t matter how well you can carry alcohol.

however, koji and win are such phenomenal actors, i am so in love with how far koji has come as an actor, and his performance in love song was incredible. i enjoyed him in dating game and i enjoyed him even more here, it’s just such a shame that the writing did neither actor justice. i really do hope we can see them back together in a film or show, because they really do compliment each other well.

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Potential wasted

It's odd to read other reviews and realize how differently people of all ages and backgrounds see the same story.....I loved things others hated, for example, in this story. First, the costumes and sets were stunning. Second, the most intriguing part of the story (to me) was the court intrigue and plotting between the 3 main Bad Guys - watching them trying to maneuver around each other and jockey for position through sheer cold-blooded sociopathic tactics was fascinating, and watching our heroes responses was equally enjoyable. I liked the slow reveal of certain back-story plot elements. The FL was, in my opinion, at her best when ruthless. She was otherwise annoyingly bland (I blame the writing, not the actress). The ML was stunningly gorgeous and I could watch him anywhere, any time -- but I felt the script did not do the actor justice in the slightest. He was not much more than an ornament and their 'love scenes' of tender regard were overly drawn out and boring. His potential, his role was truly wasted here, regardless of how handsome he was. He only really came alive in the very final scene, which was refreshing. I wanted to really love this, and it had a complexity to it that could've been compelling had it not been so garbled in the telling. Great sets, great costumes, great time period, great court intrigue but lost amid the poor pacing, one-dimensional characterization of some roles and a very rushed final ploy in the end (redeemed by a satisfyingly happy ending),

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From Promising to Disappointing

It started off with such good chemistry and a really interesting storyline. The drama had so much potential to explore a range of themes—from solving crime cases together and dealing with ghosts to the progress of their romance. Instead, the last four episodes focused way too much on the hotel and JiHwan storyline, which honestly felt like a missed opportunity.

It was so intriguing to watch Yeo Ri solve ghost mysteries and I wanted to see more mysteries solved by Yeo Ri and Gang Uk together. I really wish we had gotten more episodes like that, because the whole ghost-mystery-solving aspect was so much more engaging. There was so much potential to explore different cases while naturally building their relationship and romance.

And a special mention to the defibrillator scene, the unnecessary breakup which added nothing to the plot—and the truck scene, which honestly made the story even more frustrating and unlikable for me. The drama started with so much promise, but the further it went, the more potential it seemed to waste. It genuinely had enough potential to carry a full 16 episodes, but unfortunately, it felt like that potential was never fully explored even in 12 eps

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Exquisite FL!

The script is good though some of the preoccupations seem overdone. Yes, salt was important in its days but some of the details seem rather incredulous. Salt as snow ......then salt into brine ...salt from the cliffs to salt in the capital....yet there is not much details into the actual salt operations.

There is much emphasis on propriety where even a glimpse of undergarments (not worn) can give rise to a scandal. However the ML and FL chooses to remain unmarried for 5 years and yet spend much time in close proximity.

The FL is a statement in grace. There is no need for grand standing. Her glances are enough to shoot arrows into hearts. Minimal motions required. just a roll of her eyes does more than the usual fluttering antics of lesser beings. Ancy Deng truly impresses with her exquisite grace and elegance. In anger or in tears, her expressions are measured yet conveys the full measure of her emotions. She is the best reason to watch this drama.

The ML struts and poses. He likes to fold his arms akimbo and kicks his friends yet his friends love him. Initially, as a salt smuggler, he was a trifle irritating. When he morphed into the soldier attempting to earn credits, he had more lipstick than the FL. He only came into his own in the later stages as a favoured imperial official when he sprouted a goatee but still lacks the dignity of high office and age. Maybe because his clothes were oversized.

Wen ZR as Mdm Yu brings her repertoire as the consummate mother another level up from "Love's Ambition", where she was brilliant as the domineering mother. Every mannerism and every nuance in her speech carries forth another twist.

Cinematography is excellent esp the autumn scenery in Ganlin. Amazing colors and details of the leaves much appreciated. The desert scenes were magnificent. The Capital shots were a little weird. There are people when there are crowds. At times, its just the protagonists by themselves. I can't believe an execution can be carried in private by one person. And often the streets can be totally empty. Whoever did costumes had strange taste. I wonder what were the soldiers' head gear made of and where the inspiration came from? And it certainly is a little strange when the soldiers' had more make up than the maids. The ML certainly had more heavily slathered on lipstick as a soldier than the FL in Ganlin.

There is too much convenience in the story. I can't believe anyone can kidnap a "Second Ranked" lady and then allow her maid free to inform everyone of this most heinous crime. Is it that easy to just grab anyone to be a concubine, especially if the victim is one of the most prominent lady of the Capital? Towards the end, it seems like the story ran out of twists and there is literally more than half an episode dedicated to many little happy endings.

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feelings

- chắc mọi người sẽ thắc mắc tại sao mình đánh giá 10 hết nhưng phần tổng thể thì cho 9.5. Lý do là vì phim hay, nhưng sẽ hay hơn nếu không có nội dung bỏ 2 bà nic để đến với nhau, dù cho hai người khi có tình cảm là cũng nói thẳng với 2 bà kia biết rồi nhưng mình vẫn không thích, nó vẫn giống cái kiểu không chung thuỷ, có mới quên cũ sao ấy… nên mình không ủng hộ về chi tiết này , nhưng còn lại thì ổn

- Cái mình thích ở phim là kiểu phim trong phim á =)) vừa coi 1 câu chuyện này rồi lại thêm 1 câu chuyện khác nữa, như kiểu được coi 2 bộ cùng 1 lúc, mình thấy khá thú vị

- Mình có lời khen về diễn xuất của cả 2 diễn viên chính, nó cuốn mà nó nhập vai kinh khủng lun

- Lời thoại trong phim cũng khá hay, có một số lời thoại càng nghe càng thấm

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Decepcionante

Um filme de 2021 que foi assistido em 2026, se a resenha te interessar segue abaixo;

Normalmente quando assisto adaptações de mangas já espero grandes mudanças e cenas diferentes, mas com este aqui foi um choque e tanto.

Eu sou uma grande fã da obra original, e bem, Honey Lemon Soda é uma obra bem simples sobre uma garota tímida que não sabe nada sobre o mundo que sofre bullying e o garoto popular que ajuda ela a superar seus problemas, não tem como errar. Pois bem, de alguma forma o filme conseguiu.
Cenas marcantes para quem assistiu o anime ou leu o manga foram completamente removidas, e as cenas todas foram aceleradas, ao ponto de existirem falas que não condizem com a cena em questão. Por exemplo, a cena da Uka levando um tapa no rosto ao defender a Serina e depois a Serina a agradece, no filme a cena ficou desconexa foi o confronto ocorre de forma diferente. Serina aparece em duas cenas e então ela e Uka já são muito próximas e falam dos sentimentos pelo Kai. Entendo que existe pouco tempo para adaptar a obra, mas podiam ter escolhido melhor as cenas. Sem contar de situações envolvendo as meninas que faziam o bullying com a Uka, elas tem um impacto muito forte pois (na cena da praia que foi excluída) demonstra o quanto a Uka cresceu.

A atuação foi algo que me pegou desprevenida, não senti emoção assistindo ao ponto de nem mesmo conseguir focar nas cenas, isso até o final, nos últimos minutos do filme ou por ter me apegado aos atores no decorrer da obra ou apenas pela cinematografia, consegui sentir um pouco. Quero deixar claro que não tenho nada contra os atores, provavelmente foi uma escolha da direção que afetou a atuação deles... E nisso vemos ao ponto que me incomodou o filme inteiro, o tom de voz que o Raul usou na interpretação do Kai. Aquele NÃO é o tom de voz natural dele e desde sua primeira fala, mesmo quem não o conhece, consegue perceber que está sendo forçado, e genuinamente não sei se foi escolha dele ou da direção.

Pelo Raul estar no filme imaginei que teríamos pelo menos duas músicas decentes e/ou do Snow Man em si... Mas me deparo com músicas em inglês que usam "componentes" da obra na letra, por exemplo o nome da obra, e a parte das pedras relacionadas à Uka e por ai vai, ao menos a música final ficou com o Snow Man, mas a que custo, não é mesmo.

Ou seja, recomendo para quem quiser ter uma experiencias diferente, mas para quem quer algo relacionado à Honey Lemon Soda vai acabar se decepcionando, não que o filme seja totalmente ruim, ele só não é bom.

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Overhyped

I really wanted to like this drama since I love both Chen Yi and Liu Xue Yi, but boy did this disappoint.
I skimmed through episodes and then finally gave up completely after about episode 23.
What a waste of time.

Spoilers ahead
The female lead is so badly written. She's at times super childish and doesn't understand anything, and then at times behaves as if she does have emotions and understanding of human interactions. She's super dumb, but what does intelligence have to do with lack of emotional understanding? Why is she so dumb? She's supposed to lack empathy, not intelect.
Example: is it so hard to understand you're not supposed to take his mask off the second time, and then AGAIN forget where you've put it, when there was the whole drama the first time you took it off and forgot? Why are you clinging to this man if you have no emotions? Why are you persistent at throwing yourself at danger when you know this only gets others killed? How can a character be so badly written?
I started cheering halfway for her to get killed, she's so annoyingly written.

And the bad guy, with the "evil" laughter? Don't get me started on that, it was so cringe in every scene.
And her sister, arguing with the spirit snake like a five year old child? Why? You're an accomplished cultivator, presumably you learned some self control.
So many examples of just really poor writing.
So many situations happen just to move the plot along, whether they suit the character or not. So many decisions made just to make the story go forward, regardless of the inconsistencies this creates in the drama characters.

The actors gave their best, but the writing was terrible. One of rare Chen Yi dramas I just couldn't watch until the end. Still have no idea why this mess got 8.6 stars. It certainly fooled me into starting it.

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More Twisted Than Terrifying

Seriously, there's going to be lots of spoiler. Hopefully, I avoid the major one.

I went into *The Stain* expecting a horror movie. The trailer looked promising, and the premise of a mysterious woman, a troubled past, an apartment complex, and a supernatural presence sounded like exactly my kind of thing. I also noticed its relatively low 6.7 rating on MyDramaList, so I wasn't expecting a masterpiece. What I wasn't prepared for was how much the movie is actually a psychological relationship drama with horror slowly creeping into the background.

About halfway through, I'm still undecided whether this is a good horror movie, but I am definitely interested in the story.

The strongest part so far is the relationship between the characters. Pran and Malee knew each other since childhood, and their history is much darker and more complicated.

Pran is probably the most interesting character to me so far. He initially comes across as quiet and caring, especially because he falls for Malee first and clearly carries feelings for her from childhood. But there are warning signs everywhere. His childhood relationship with violence, his tendency to immediately want to eliminate problems, his reaction to the cat, his beating of Kim, and the moment he nearly hits Malee all suggest that there is something deeply wrong underneath his calm exterior.

What makes him more interesting is that he seems to know it himself. He openly tells Namsai that he's afraid he might hurt Malee. That self-awareness doesn't necessarily make him less dangerous; if anything, it makes the character more complicated.

Asanai is another character I can't quite figure out. At first, he seems like Pran's loyal friend who can calm him down when his temper gets out of control. But the more he talks to Malee and Pran, the more manipulative he seems. He tells Malee that Pran could eventually hurt her, tells her that he could give her more than Pran, and later encourages Pran to think that Malee could leave him just as easily as she left Kim.

Then there's Namsai. She's probably the biggest contrast to Malee. Malee feels like someone who has already been damaged by life, while Namsai initially feels almost untouched by it. She's cheerful, vibrant, easy-going and brings a completely different atmosphere whenever she appears. I can understand why Pran is drawn to her, even though his attachment to Malee is much deeper.

However, I can understand why people describe this movie as more of a psychological/relationship drama than straight horror. The horror isn't constant. A lot of the runtime is spent on relationships, jealousy, trauma, manipulation and sexual tension. If you're expecting something like *Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum* or *Siccin*, this isn't that kind of horror.

So far, I'd describe *The Stain* as **a psychological relationship drama that slowly mutates into supernatural horror**, rather than a pure horror movie.

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Misunderstood mess

This could have been such an amazing drama.....
And honestly, it *was*... until the first crush crashed.🫩🫩🫩
The moment she appeared, the story suddenly did three backflips and landed directly on its head. I am genuinely convinced the person writing this drama before her arrival and the person writing it afterwards were two completely different people.
Because how else do we explain this?
How can one contestant force another contestant to choose her by threatening to destroy the entire reality show? Forget contracts, legal paper work, confidentiality agreements, production authority and every other piece of reality-show logic. Apparently, all you need is enough audacity and suddenly the contestant has more power than the people running the production.......
"Make it make sense."

But honestly, I'm even more disappointed by how badly the drama wasted the ML's Pinocchio syndrome. That premise had SO much potential.
But Instead of exploring the consequences of a protagonist who literally cannot lie, the story keeps wandering into side plots and characters the audience barely cares about. And then we get ML's bother flirting with the director/captain... Sure, she was great. But ML's brother? .... Really?
While SML is sitting there drowning in his own emotional agony, these people suddenly become the second couple ......No!!! Nobody asked.



The two things that genuinely saved this drama for me were the **acting and the music**.

Almost every actor did a great job, from the leads all the way to FL's African assistant. Everyone brought something to their roles.
ML especially impressed me. It's my first time watching Ko Kyung-pyo step so far outside the comfort zone I've seen from him, and he delivered such a refined performance. His expressions and body language were absolutely hilarious, and a lot of the character's charm came from how naturally he played those moments.

And then there's the music. Definitely one of the highlights of the drama. The background tracks were fun.

Overall, I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid this drama completely. Give the first few episodes a shot. They were genuinely enjoyable, and the premise had enough potential to make you curious about where things were going.Just don't ask me how long you should stay. That depends entirely on how much patience you have left when the writing decides to take a vacation. 😭

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Fake family....chaotic neighborhood....big money...and a brillian antagonist.

The Apartment Job is a surprisingly fun and entertaining watch that delivers a great mix of crime, comedy, and heart. The unique premise sets it apart from typical K-dramas, taking the concept of an apartment complex scheme and turning it into a chaotic, thrilling ride.

The biggest strength of the series lies in its characters and their relationships. What starts as an unusual setup between strangers gradually evolves into a touching found-family dynamic. Watching the group navigate ridiculous situations together gives the show a lot of warmth. The neighborhood setting feels alive, and the supporting residents add plenty of humor and personality to every episode.

The performances are fantastic across the board. Ji Sung once again shows off his immense charisma, balancing funny, lighthearted moments with intense emotional depth effortlessly. Ha Yoon-kyung matches his energy brilliantly, making their on-screen dynamic one of the drama's best highlights. Park Byung-eun also delivers a standout performance, bringing real tension to the story as a compelling antagonist.

While the pacing slows down slightly in the later stretch and the romance takes more of a subtle back seat (I wish they would have focused on that lead romance atleast at the end), the series makes up for it with solid comedy, clever twists, and a satisfying wrap-up. If you want a fresh, easy-to-watch comedy thriller with great chemistry and a big heart, drama is well worth your time.

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A very cute Esport Drama

Since a long time i'have this drama in my MDL Recs so i tried it yesterday and damn, it's was so good.

I'm not a big watcher of modern dramas but i used to be a big games player so i said "why not" and i started Falling into your smile and it's was a very good décision.

Xu Kai and Cheng Xiao are so cute together, i think almost every review can tell you that. There almost no toxicity in this drama, its all about Esport, Romance and cutiness. I really liked how, throughout some of the episodes, they explained the difficulties of being a professional esports player, especially the somewhat lonely side of it and how difficult it can be to have a private life.
I also like that they highlight the possibility for a woman to join an esports team, even though in reality there are hardly any mixed gender teams in games like League of Legends, for example.

The team with them as support roles are very good too, very fast we become a part of their team, i laughed many times with them, The supporting characters deserved to have more developed storylines. Of course, there are quite a few stereotypes and caricatures. The characters are all good looking, the FL’s best friend could easily be a model, and the obsession with beauty is still very much present.

Overall it's a very great drama, you watch it with a cup of hot chocolate and that it.

Disclaimer: For the people who after watching this drama want to play the game, you have to know some details:

-The name of the game is Onmyoji Arena
- Almost everything you see for the game part on the drama is fake, it's a mobile only game even for the Esport part, there no keyboard or things like that, it's here only for the drama.
-The game is way more slow than what you see in the drama

Falling into your smile is a collaboration with NetEase Games for this game.

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Promised Ghosts and Mystery, delivered generic Rom-com

It's always intriguing to watch Park Eun-bin in a fresh drama. Her acting prowess is unique and hence I decided to give Spooky In Love a chance.
The story follows the main FL, who can see ghosts and that alone is enough to make an intriguing story. However, what I witnessed is a story that moves from supernatural to rom-com abruptly.

The first half of the show is well-written, with suspense and drama surrounding the dead. The backstory of each character sounds interesting, even though everything is predictable. The FL and ML does get their chemistry right while solving the mysteries together.

The second half is where the show gets completely off the track. The whole 'seeing ghosts' aspect is totally forgotten and it becomes a generic rom-com. The chemistry between the leads starts to feel forced and poorly developed. The pacing becomes sluggish and few scenes felt way too overstretched. There is even half an episode that plays like a Singapore tourism campaign, with the leads running around famous landmarks for reasons the script itself does not seem especially interested in explaining.

Many of the conflicts feel unnecessary, the climax feels unearned, and the whole thing never gives viewers much reason to care. It keeps insisting things are important without doing the difficult part of making them feel important. The character of Park Eun Bin felt underutilized and underdeveloped, given the actress's catalogue.

Overall, Spooky In Love begins with ghosts and mystery, but turns into recycled, generic rom-com that delivers nothing substantial and becomes forgettable by all means. I hope Park Eun Bin bounces back with another strong drama.


My Rating : 3/5

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