Reviews

twists over twists made the story twisted

the starting was so good because i thought she was dreaming herself in an action movie then later i realised no, it’s real. when jang tae ha tried to save her the first thing which hit me was she is definitely his first love. the story was okayish but jang tae ha’s lies were very absurd and obviously will make go ji won doubt him that they are definitely not dating. crazy but the actor played baek seung pil is no doubt versatile. till the end he made sure not to let jang tae ha know about him. maybe jang tae ha could have doubted him but he was clueless. them sharing same muscle memory proved “like father, like son”. lastly, if jang tae ha’s mother was still alive she would definitely not let her son follow his father’s footsteps but the story really showed that baek seung pil saw himself in jang tae ha after he won gold medal. go ji won really played the character well but their chemistry got me off guard, though i expected some more. the fighting scenes genuinely deserves 11/10 score. lastly, i would like to conclude with that i really love stories when they are portrayed in village rather than city coz all the women there was so supportive and lovable. they really cared for go ji won even though she was rude and used different tones with elders. they were like pillars to her and supported her till the end.
i would genuinely recommend y’all to give it a go. i know it depends from person to person if they like it or not but i really loved it!!!

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RUIM

Muito ruim esse drama. Ele um fraco que nao aceitou a amiga ser melhor que ele e usou das informações privilegiadas que ti ha ppr ser amigo para vencer a competicao. Meio machista ate, Porque a menina nao pode ser melhor que o menino nunca? Achei totalmente fora do habitual dos dramas chineses aquela menina que sabotou o tempo todo a formacao da equipe da prota ainda conseguir vencer a competição. Se vc espera aquela historia de crescimento com Romance com quimica, nao é esse drama. Comecei pq vi comentarios que se tratava de drama estilo amor oculto, mas nao tem nada a ver. Apenas as brigas entre a prota e o irmao se parece um pouco, do resto nao tem nada a ver

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Very well-written storyline with great characters! ♡ And the plot twists are really plot twisting!

Kudos to my dear Hou Minghao, for doing a great job being a superb remarkable and excellent multi-talented artist, singing the two of the beautiful OST ("A Promise becomes a River" & "Scorching Light") with his impressive vocals. He's one of the great actors with his expressive acting skills and doing his amazing action scenes himself, which shows his breathtaking martial arts skills! 😍🎶⚔️💯 Even if he gets hurt during the process while filming 🥺

Very well-written storyline with great characters! And the plot twists are really plot twisting until the end, like literally, there's still one last plot twist has been revealed in the last episode lol 😉 Anyway, congrats to my beloved Hou Minghao and Aimi for their outstanding performances and successful series of "Key to the Phoenix Heart" as the main leads, Xiao Wuyi and Xie Jiayu, highly recommended! 10/10 💕👏🏻 For now, they only had forehead kisses, holding hands and hugs here, but it's already enough to show that they have such a great chemistry! 🤗💘 Plus, I wanna highlight the fact that Xiao Wuyi is actually a green flag man—
a whole green forest to be exact, deep inside, especially when you got to know him better.
As a grand general / commander / leader, he's brave, upright, cold, intelligent, a strategic, wise, cunning, skilled and a strong warrior, while he's ruthless and standing on his ground fiercely towards the enemies in the battlefield. But when it comes to the one he loves, he's caring, loving, thoughtful, selfless, loyal and protector. Xiao Wuyi let Xie Jiayu go and let her choose on what she really likes and wants, letting her choose whoever the man she truly loves, even if it hurts him, he let her go to pursue her dream to do her own business with her mechanical crafts. Xie Jiayu indeed successfully fulfilled her dream, and she finally realized her own feelings with Xiao Wuyi, so she chose him and confessed her feelings to him. Overall, he can even sacrifices his own life just to secure the safety of his beloved Xie Jiayu, his family and for the peace of his whole nation 🥹🫶🏻🌳🌿🍃

Oh I love them so much! Wishing and hoping for their 2nd collab again as the main lead couple after 3 or 4, or even if I'll wait after 5 yrs! Either modern, wuxia or xanxia for the next one, any of it suits them together as well. Soafer bagay na bagay talaga silang dalawa dito sa story na to 🤭😍 Aimi and Minghao have such a wholesome, sweet and cutieee chemistry with their gorgeous face cards and impressive acting, also with a bit of their playful and funny moments, so they really look so good together in a cdrama fr! 🥰🩷💚 Age gap is not really obvious becoz they both have young looking faces that looks like they're just in same age,
kala mo magkaedad lang yung mga visuals nila parehas eh 😌 Love lots for my faves baobei, #HouMinghao and #Aimi couple pair of this beautiful series, #KeyToThePhoenixHeart, as the main leads, #XiaoWuyi and #XieJiayu, with their happy ending ofc 💖💯 I'll wait for their 2nd collab as the main couple again in the future, either if it's modern, wuxia or xanxia, or maybe the 2nd season of this series if the director confirmed it. I'll definitely gonna wait for Minghao and Aimi again, even after 3 to 5 yrs! 😘🫶🏻

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APT, Apateu... Uh, uh-huh, uh-huh

Well no, Rosé from Blackpink did not make a cameo in the drama, but I think the title of her song with Bruno Mars is quite fitting here, since the story takes place in a huge apartment complex with nearly 9,850 households (yes, that's a lot of people). And the premise is rather original, since dramas set in these large residential complexes, popular with the middle and upper classes, are relatively rare. Because while in Europe our goal is to avoid ending up in these giant "rabbit hutches", in South Korea it is quite the opposite. Indeed, most residents are homeowners, with only around 10% being tenants, along with a similar proportion of social housing integrated into the complex. In addition to the main story, I thought we were going to explore the everyday problems faced by this population. This world is vast, but it represents a microcosm in which several themes unfortunately weren't explored in enough depth. The Apartment Job is a mix of comedy-drama, crime and thriller. This balance works reasonably well, except at times when it starts to wobble.

Park Hae-Kang**(Ji Sung)** is a former gang boss who has gone into managing an illegal gambling den and debt collection. But one day he gets caught up in a scheme and has to find 10 billion won to get his seriously ill spiritual father out of prison. Thanks to Hwang In-Sik, aka "The Lizard" (*Kim Won-Hae), a con man who owes him money, he learns that a huge reserve fund intended for repairs to a massive residential complex, amounting to around 18 billion won, could be recovered. Using In-Sik's apartment as their HQ, he hopes to first get elected as the representative of his district, and then as chairman of the residents' council. This is the perfect opportunity to empty the complex's bank accounts. To carry out his plan, in addition to his four accomplices, he calls on a broke legal assistant he had already crossed paths with, Kang Ha-Ri(Ha Yoon-Kyung). But Lee Chung-Won**(Park Byung-Eun)**, the CEO who built the complex, stands in their way, as he is also part of a gangsters' club. The local "concierge", Jang Suk-Jin(Moon So-Ri), who knows everything as the neighborhood gossip, could prove to be a valuable ally.

What I liked about the series is the concept of infiltrating this complex: the residential setting allows for a fairly original blend of comedy, social drama, thriller, crime and a sprinkling of action. Overall, it works quite well, even if it becomes a little shaky in the second half. We get a basic but also entertaining look at how a Korean apartment complex is organized and managed. So, contrary to what the French title suggests, there is no property manager in the usual sense, and the complex is represented by a chairman who represents all the residents and sets the budget to be administered. The little gang gives it their all and sometimes manages to make up for the script's shortcomings. The little boy is genuinely convincing and adorable. This "family" is the most likeable part of the series. There are also some funny twists, even if they are often predictable, good character dynamics, small action scenes, and memorable moments thanks to the inimitable Kim Won-Hae. Especially at the beginning, the atmosphere and pacing are quite good. The potential is definitely there, with concrete examples of recurring problems affecting neighborly relations.

Unfortunately, this enormous social potential is underused, quite simply because the drama doesn't have the budget to match its ambitions, nor the well-developed script to go with them. Everything is only skimmed over: homeowners versus tenants, social housing, construction defects, dilapidation, neighborhood disputes, real-estate interests, etc. The Apartment Job could have been an extremely original social comedy. But most of these elements remain in the background. We are shown the problem, and then the story quickly moves on to something else. It's a real shame. The complex is enormous (several thousand apartments), but visually it feels small: whenever there are protests or meetings, it feels like we're in a small neighborhood. This is a major problem because the complex is supposed to be at the heart of the drama. In short, it desperately lacks life; the streets are almost deserted, so the impact of this supposed anthill completely falls flat. The discussions always revolve around the same people, who represent the archetypes and stereotypes we see in K-dramas: everyone has their neatly defined role and sticks to it. The only character who actually evolves and brings some life to this stagnant environment is Jang Suk-Jin; that's not enough.

The writing is too simplistic: the story moves forward through little nudges and elements that always happen to arrive at exactly the right moment. Don't expect any major surprises; everything is predictable and formulaic once the thriller aspect takes over. The residents' reactions are also problematic and stupid: when Hae-Gang and his team are involved, everything is either completely black or completely white. It's like the "Sheep Club Association." It's funny at first, but by the end, it becomes tiresome. But the real false good idea (FBI) was introducing an overly caricatured main antagonist: Lee Chung-Won starts out as a potentially interesting character, a powerful construction chaebol with interests of his own. But as time goes on, he just seems like a spoiled child suffering from paranoia: "I'm evil because I'm evil." The further the series progresses, the more inconsistent his behavior becomes. Park Byung-Eun is a great actor, but they really make him look like a clown because he constantly overacts. In short, everything often lacks credibility because the story gets lost in pointless convoluted schemes. The direction keeps trying to tease us with a future relationship between Hae-Gang and Ha-Ri, but another romance eventually develops at the end.

Like an old gimmick, we get the usual PPL for Subway and pain-relief patches, followed by the inevitable "X years later" 15 minutes before the end. This could have suggested that we were going to get something more authentic and unconventional... And nope. This series leaves me with a strange and paradoxical feeling: the actors give a lot and know how to entertain us when necessary, and we grow fond of them; the atmosphere is good, the few secondary characters are likeable, and the basic idea is nice, because we are sold the concept of a thug who gradually gets caught up in the game and starts investing himself in the well-being of the residential complex. Some scenes are genuinely funny and others touching, but... the script doesn't always keep up, and inconsistencies and writing shortcuts rain down, especially after the halfway point. The drop in pace is obvious toward the end, with far too many scenes that feel completely disconnected from the story, as if they were only there to fill time. And that's usually not a good sign. In conclusion, I am left with an unfinished feeling, because with an idea like this, a quality cast, and a setting that could have been teeming with life and sincerity, we could have had a great drama instead of a very average one.

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A spooky love that isn't even a little bit scary.

Spooky in Love, based on the 2011 film Chilling Romance, introduces us to Cheon Yeo-ri, the heiress of a chaebol family (owners of a business conglomerate) and CEO of a hotel, who has the ability to see ghosts and is tormented every night by the spirits of people who died unjustly. Ma Gang-uk is a prosecutor investigating cold cases. After joining forces to solve paranormal cases, they develop romantic feelings for each other.

This drama presents a fun and chaotic couple with a ghost story; it's so addictive, and I like that it's something new and not like the rest. The chaotic and comical situations are the best part, although some of the ghost situations feel a bit superficial since they aren't explored in depth. It may seem perfect, but it has some minor flaws, such as some episodes becoming a little boring because they focus too much on Yeo-ri's family feud and leave the ghost plot aside, which has been dragging on in these last few episodes. Our main couple has amazing chemistry, and they make a very adorable pair. I must say that Park Eun-bin never disappoints in a drama; she manages to pull off that role of a chebol woman, and her outfits are so beautiful. Yang Se-jeong also manages to act well as a prosecutor and as a clumsy protagonist. The OST has good songs; among the best for me are Tunnel, Stay With Me, Promise Rings, and LOVE & GHOST. They made a Beautiful work with them!

Thanks for reading!

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Cute start, starts to lag & illogical thinking

The beginning starts off good, then it started to frustrate me because the storyline doesn't make sense anymore. It really isn't real life, unless Mu Jin & Gyurim aren't stupid people. The audience knows Gyeol is Mujin's son. We're not stupid and obviously we know they (ML/FL) are still interested in each other but because of their pride or whatever it may be, they choose to be selfish and decide to ask the supporting leads to date even though they have no feelings for them not caring that they may hurt them in the long run. W e know they are going to gravitajte back to each other. The other storylines in this drama seem more realistic, ex: sister's & brother's situations. I'm a bit disappointed right now. I'll drop it for several weeks then pick it up again to see where they are.

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Extremely surprised

I am extremely and I mean extremely surprised by how much I liked this drama. Normally, like I've mentioned thousands of times, I really dislike K-BL. With the main reason of the representation being absolute shit. Every time I am about to watch one I get scared and I had the same with Jazz for two. I actually really liked this wayyy more than I expected. I am just surprised about everything. The acting, the shots and even the story.

The visuals in this BL are crazy and I mean basically the whole cast. Everyone is sooo handsome. I didn't even know members of Omega X played in this until I watched edits of it. Like is this my sign to start stanning Omega X?? Apparently there's a rumour that one of the actors, I believe Ji Ho Geun. I am just confused because there is 0 prove?? I mean many BL actors do it for money and they use us, lgbtq+ people as income but no matter what there is 0 prove I could find? I feel like Ji Ho Geun and Kim Jin Kwon reallyyyy suit each other's visuals and I love it.

I feel like this show has done an amazing job in showing mental illnesses and my main reason for my high review. From the outside Tae I seems very rude but In reality he is just going through a lot. One of the thing Jazz for two got hated for was the manipulation that Song Ju Ha did to Se Heon. Although I agree that Ju Ha was extremely wrong and I don't like him, I still think this was insanely realistic. It's actual good representation especially with Se Heon acting like he was comfortable without actually being so. I'm gonna be honest at first I thought that like Tae I's brother, Tae Jun, was his ex lover who died lmaooo.

Shots aren't ugly either and feel like an actual surrounding with side characters and no empty places. One of the problems I haver often is complete spaces being empty and yes, I've seen empty schools in certain drama's. While watching I realised there is this weird filter on the voices that are often used in podcasts but I really like it. But maybe I just noticed that wrong. FINALLY a kd bl that actually got me hooked for once, and I mean, hooked hooked.

My reviews are normally much longer but trust me, this series is GOOD. I absolutely loved it!! Big recommendation.

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Comedy, Chaos & Thrills Done Right!

As a 24-year-old guy who has been watching K-dramas for a long time, The Apartment Job was such an unexpectedly fun ride for me. I absolutely loved how it mixes comedy, crime, mystery, and thriller elements into one incredibly entertaining story without losing its personality. The whole concept of an apartment complex becoming the center of schemes, corruption, secrets, and chaos is so wonderfully ridiculous in the best possible way. The pacing kept me hooked, and every episode gave me another reason to keep watching. This is honestly ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE COMEDY THRILLERS THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. The 12-episode drama knew exactly how to balance its serious moments with hilarious situations.

And of course, Ji Sung once again proves why he is one of my most favorite Korean actors. He was absolutely fantastic as Park Hae-gang, bringing so much charisma, humor, attitude, and emotional depth to the character. Also, let me just say it: Ji Sung is ridiculously handsome and somehow gets more charismatic with every drama. 😂 His expressions and comedic timing were perfect, while he still managed to make the more serious moments feel convincing. Ha Yoon-kyung was equally wonderful as Kang Ha-ri, and she is absolutely beautiful. Her performance had so much personality and energy, and I loved watching her character grow throughout the story.

The chemistry between Ji Sung and Ha Yoon-kyung was one of my favorite parts of the entire drama. Their interactions felt natural, entertaining, and full of personality, and I genuinely loved watching them work together. I also really enjoyed the chemistry between the different couples and relationships throughout the story. The supporting cast deserves a lot of credit too because everyone brought something memorable to this wonderfully chaotic apartment world. Park Byung-eun, Moon So-ri, Kim Won-hae, and the rest of the cast fit perfectly into the drama and helped make even the strangest situations incredibly entertaining.

Overall, I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE APARTMENT JOB. The storyline was clever, unpredictable, funny, and suspenseful enough to keep me invested from beginning to end. I went into this expecting a fun crime comedy, but it became something I genuinely enjoyed far more than I expected. Ji Sung and Ha Yoon-kyung were fantastic together, the entire cast delivered, and the combination of comedy, thriller, mystery, crime, and romance worked incredibly well for me. After watching K-dramas for so long, I always appreciate when something feels fresh and different, and The Apartment Job absolutely delivered that for me. One of my favorite comedy thrillers, and definitely a drama I will remember for a long time.

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Better than Future at least

I don't understand why so much of the dialogue between the characters has to be teasing or flirting. Do they have a quota they have to meet with each series or something?

Gun & Bar have no chemistry & despite the pacing of the relationship being alright, it wasn't believable. What would have been believable was Bar telling Gun to fuck off. No one who gets peer-pressured into letting someone hit on them is actually going to let the person hit on them. And the confession? Worst part of the show, in my opinion. It wasn't cute. It was a public sob story that anyone would have been an ass to say no to & it went on way too long. And I'm normally a big sucker for size differences & cuddles, but they did nothing for me this time.

Going in, I was expecting great acting from Yin and War (sadly, we got very little of War), but I was pleasantly surprised that the acting was alright overall. Folk especially surprised me both in his acting & with how much he reminds me of Nunew, looks-wise. The only person's acting I didn't like was, unfortunately, Win's (Gun). No character had any personality, but I feel like the main characters should be the exception. Folk did a decent job of making his character a tsundere, while Win's character only thought of or cared about Bar. I don't know anything about him that didn't revolve around Bar. War (Mark) was on screen for less than 5 minutes & his character had more personality.

I preferred this over Future, but it's only better because the acting was much better.

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Atypical Family — A Good Story with a Bittersweet Ending

I really liked the story, and I also enjoyed the OST.

Usually, when a drama deals with the past or time travel, some details tend to be forgotten or overlooked, which can eventually leave you with the feeling that something is missing. I think this was handled really well here. I also thought the difference in color tones between the present and the past was a great idea and worked very well visually.

As I said, I liked the story overall and found it sweet and enjoyable. However, there were some things that I didn’t find completely believable.

As for the ending, it was quite obvious to me that it had been cut short when there could have been room for a few more scenes. Because of that, I felt like something was missing by the end.

Overall, I would recommend this drama. It’s a good and enjoyable, although some aspects might leave you with a slightly bittersweet feeling.

My final rating: 8/10.

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They had a Good Idea, but failed to present it properly

Y'all, I'm just here because of Sun Qian to be honest. If not for her i would've dropped this in a heartbeat.

The story would've been better if this was directed properly. They definitely had some good ideas, but they weren't well tied together. I can't say i dislike it because the story wasn't written properly, but overall, everything about this drama isn't that great. It's just more like good story beats, but lacking when it comes to filling in the gaps to flesh out the story properly. Some scenes don't even make sense, like why is it happening in such a setting? It's not appropriate time and mood wise.

The romance felt forced in my opinion. They could've thought of something better for the romance progression. Even the 2nd Couple, they are definitely super forced, like really? It's not even about playing hard to get. It's just a badly written couple.

The acting is super whacked out, which is very fitting for a full on comedy show, but this is supposed to be a Rom-Com, so they could've at least toned it down. Though looking back, I can see why they chose to instruct the cast in that way, so that they would be able to mask their lack of experience when it comes to acting. It didn't look bad. I was more entertained by it, seeing how wacky the interactions are. I couldn't even feel any chemistry between the characters, but i like the back and forth banters from time to time.

Like it says in the title, Sweet "Tai Chi". Though i like that they're tryna promote such old culture, I shouldn't have expected that I'm gonna be seeing more of that. Most of the Tai Chi scenes were in the later parts of the drama, and the audacity to say "Let's go train Tai Chi" during the earlier parts, but then show standard exercises, baffles me.

Music? ehh, it's just there. I did notice it, but not enough for me to fall in love with it. I'm sure I'll forget it within the following days.

Overall, everything about this drama is very fitting on its own. It's a good entry title to recommend if you haven't watched that many well-written shows yet.

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