Reviews

Well, since I had already read the manga a long time ago, I didn't really find Kou's actions irritating because I had already insulted him so much in the manga that I took it out quite a bit on him at the time.

Now that I've grown up and look at it from Kou's perspective. I can understand Kou, let's not forget that he is a teenager so at his age very stupid things are said. Since he was the one who took care of his mother the most in the hospital, it was obvious that her death will cause him trauma. The same thing happened to my father when my grandmother died and he was a 56-year-old person. He was locked in my house for a year so that no neighbor would ask him anything and to this day, every time it is her birthday he brings her flowers and talks to her. Since my grandmother my family has never been the same. We no longer celebrate any celebrations, like Christmas and things like that. Imagine on a teenager what a big impact that must have been.

So he felt obligated to be with Narumi, out of a feeling of guilt because she said she had no friends (that in the manga is a lie, Narumi did have friends) and he used a lot of emotional tack to keep him as long as she could.

But to his surprise, this ended when he realized that he was really losing Futaba, the only one who made him happy. So he himself decided to cut off relations with Narumi. I really liked him when Narumi asks him if he ever liked him and he gives a resounding "no."Ouch, that must have hurt hahaha but she deserved it for being manipulative.

I also really liked Futaba's attitude, with Kou it was always "you rejected me, so don't think about seeing my stupid face again." It was really difficult for Kou to get Futaba back because she was quite reticent towards him.

Futaba tried really hard to make things work out with Kikuchi, she felt guilty and tried not to make Kikuchi feel insecure. But here I want to say that Kikuchi was quite manipulative too, he practically forced Futaba to give him an answer, even though she reiterated that she still had feelings for Kou but he still forced Futaba, to the point that her friends, especially one, he couldn't stop treating herlike a slut, making Futaba feel worse. You know, she was clear to you from the beginning and she never guaranteed anything, what the hell did you expect? lol That's why I didn't feel bad at all when Futaba broke up with him, since he brought this on himself by wanting to force things.

Teenagers are just that, teenagers. They can make mistakes a thousand times and still learn. Meeting new friends that make your life more bearable and a lot of crazy things we do when we are in love, especially if you are a teenager.

Don't expect very mature attitudes, when they are that. Teenagers.

I really enjoyed it, everyone acted well and I really felt like I was watching the manga in real people because they even tried hard to make the actors look as physically similar as possible.

I really enjoyed this drama! I think it gave a good adaptation to the manga compared to the movie.

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Cast teruk

Satu perkara yang aku kesal semasa menonton cerita ini ialah level acting para cast yang menurut aku teruk. Aku jarang komen tentang acting tapi di drama Korea ini level acting para cast utama sangat dangkal dan tidak kuat. Yang membuat aku meneruskan cerita ini hanyalah sekadar aku ingin tahu rahsia FL dan ibu ML. Jika ada novel aku akan lebih suka membaca novel itu berbanding menonton para pelakon kayu. Aku tidak terlalu mengena jauh para para pelakon tetapi anggaplah aku hanya komen sebagai seorang penonton biasa bukan peminat kdrama.
( tapi akhirnya aku dropped apabila dokter sia entah nama itu menukar ubat seniornya selepas kena marah kerana tidak check tekanan dtg pasien. Serius kalian tolong lihat lakonan doktor itu terlalu teruk gile. Lakonan anak yang dibunuh doktor itu bahkan jauh lebih baik dari lakonan pelakon dewasa itu)

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Just one word to describe it all, beautiful!

I really really really like this show. Words are not enough for me to explain how much I love this show. Some aspects I love are listed below, just because I can’t mention all

1. I like the character arcs for all the people involved. All of them show incredible growth, and great backstories that are well-explored, explained and enacted. There is a sense of depth to the characters, even if it is someone like Myung Min whom you just don’t like.
2. I also quite like how they end up covering all their bases. All of the characters see an ending, whether good bad happy or sad, but an ending of sorts. Nothing is up in the air that you’re left wondering at the end as to what happened to them. So, it’s a well-scripted show that both starts and ends strong.
3. I quite liked the story. It was something refreshing and new for me and I’m glad I gave this a chance. I absolutely love mellow and slice-of-life shows with a little romance and this one gave me both of the first along with lots of romance (slow burn or not) and I’m all for it. I also enjoyed all the couples quite a lot and did not skip any parts.
4. My SONE heart was so full watching Soo Young excel at that role. All the actors have done really well, especially Choi Jae Hyun - absolutely loved his character.

The only place where I struggled was with the movie references. As someone who’s not into movies, I was not able to relate to many of the movie-talk. But it was not a bummer or anything. This part might be even more fun for people who like to watch movies.

A must-watch show that I hope brings you as much happiness, joy and feels as it did to me. A very easy, emotional and engaging watch! 💜

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**My existence for your death**

GOSH! This drama was a rollercoaster ride of emotions, I even thought it would have a happy ending during the last 30+ episodes but boy was I robbed!! 😭 This drama has got to be my favourite so far, and I would have loved it even more if it didn't have disappointing plots that could have been handled better. ( Like the misunderstanding scene where Ye Xiwu was controlled by Tantai Jin because he thought she wanted to poison him, IF ONLY they communicated better on that part man 😭 that's prolly why it led to such a disaster ) However, all and all, great story that is quite different from most which I really really enjoyed, I've rewatched this a few times already and I'm planning on watching it every year on my Birthday so this memory won't erase from my mind. 💓

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Started strong but what an annoying and stupid ending, can't even

This was a show that was going pretty strong for me - both in terms of the story and the acting and then suddenly the story did a whole 180-degree turn in the last 30 minutes and fucked the entire thing up.

1. The story while nice and engaging, did have many loopholes. However, the engaging aspects of it were good enough to keep me fascinated throughout that I could easily overlook the irregularities. There were many issues of consistency like Hwi’s brother often mentioned but nobody really knows what happened to him and then you suddenly see him for like 2 minutes without any context whatsoever. Similarly, in the entire arc of Hwi’s parents, god knows what happened to them.

2. I quite enjoyed the acting of everyone. Have always liked Ong Seong Wu and he totally did not disappoint. I have not seen the FL much and hence was not expecting much going into it, but even she was good. But my favourite people have to be Kang Ki Young, Moon Bin (miss him so much, so many feelings while watching this show, I definitely cried watching him) and Lee Seung Min. This show has some stellar acting and the actors have done justice to the script. What is lacking is the story, not the acting.

3. What I did like was that other than the last episode, we saw stories for all the characters and it was fun. There were lots of cliches, just like you would expect from a school romance, but the overarching subplot of cheating and the teacher was enthralling. I have to say that Oh has been my favourite character in the entire show and I absolutely loved Kang Ki Young’s acting. He is absolutely brilliant and that seems to be a theme for most of his work. He is such a stellar actor.

4. I loved the bond between Oh and Jun Woo but come on, I was expecting him to be more involved with the other students too. In that sense, when he supported Hwi in his own way, that was some redemption for me, which is why this is one character I loved to absolute bits.

5. My frustration lies with just how SHITTY OF AN ENDING the show has. First of all, however emotional the character arc of Jun Woo’s mother is, it was unnecessary, the move was not needed and the ending does not make any sense whatsoever. Did he not take the bus? Did he eventually leave? Did he stay? Do the leads end up together? Like, you need to give me some sense of closure. There are open endings, but this seemed incomplete to me, not even open. In open endings, there is still some closure where things are clear but here all I’m left with is confusion. It is all imagination, which is where I have major issues. This has affected most of my viewing experience greatly.

Good one-time watch, though!

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Beautiful, realistic romance story of an adulthood

Damn, I think this is the best Japanese romance movie that I ever watch. The plot was really good, portrayed the reality faced of many couples that faced the transition from university romantic life to fully responsible adults. The dilemma between career vs love isn't uncommon, and this movie shows them in a very beautiful way. There is also no apparent plot hole and strange introduction between characters (which I often find in many Japanese romance movies). I also like how this movie uses real-life references like Brazil vs Germany in WC 2014 to show "I'm still pretty lucky compared to them" and random online strolling on Google Street View (which I personally did many times).

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Sentimental drama

During her first relationship, I observed that she wanted to control all her boyfriend’s activities. As a result, he lied to her about being overworked when he was actually at a bar. When she found out he was going to Paris without informing her, she created a scene. While it was wrong of him not to tell her about the trip—anyone in her place would have been angry—she should have listened when he said he had a solution. Her brother communicated with him in a calm and composed manner, showing a different approach.


Although her questioning of his activities was justified, the manner in which she did it was problematic and came across as overly possessive. Despite her behavior, he tried his best not to lose her. He struggled in France to get permanent residence, and when she came to visit him, he was over the moon. However, after seeing his office circle and social group, she felt ambivalent about her feelings, as if something was eating her up inside.Her brother was a very understanding character and tried to encourage both of them to compromise. However, both were focused on their career goals and unwilling to back down.

In hindsight, it seems they started their relationship in haste and became deeply involved with each other, leading to emotional challenges for both.She made a unilateral decision to leave him, return to Beijing, and cut off all communication. She stopped receiving his calls, stopped replying to his messages, and messed up the room he rented. Silently freaking out, she caused him immense distress with her avoidance. I believe she was wrong in how she handled the situation.Since then, she has never talked to him, moved on, and started a new life.

To broaden her horizons, she went to Shanghai. Two years have passed, and she has taken admission to an art college in Shanghai, applying to the psychology department.From the day she started her new life, a boy who was also studying at her college began following her—not with any wrong intentions, but because he was genuinely interested in her and was looking for the right occasion to start a conversation. Gradually, they started their relationship.After spending a few months with this new boy, she married him and was living a happy life. However, her husband's nature, which seemed meticulous, innocent, silent, helpful, kind, and honest before marriage, began to change after they wed. His true colors started showing—he became over-possessive, and if others did not understand him, he perceived them as insulting him and not respecting his decisions. This led to bitterness in their married life. Despite this, she tried her best to understand him and address his thoughts and concerns, showing a significant change in her approach compared to her previous relationship.

To make matters worse, his mother constantly spoke against his wife and interfered excessively in their lives. Despite this, Rose, for the sake of her marriage, endured all the negativity and tried to maintain peace in her married life.Then they had a daughter, and everything seemed to be going great until she had an interview for a job. Due to her pregnancy, her husband made her quit her job. He didn't like her working and always wanted a housewife, displaying small-minded and immature thinking. He started tracking her every activity and wanted to control her life, which ultimately led to her decision to divorce him. She took the right step to regain control of her life.

The one who played the role of her husband is one of my favorite actors, and seeing him portray an arrogant, over-possessive, and obsessed husband felt disheartening. His character's actions were wrong, and it was difficult to see bad things happening to him.

One year passed after their divorce, and her ex-boyfriend started seeing her again. However, she saw him only as a friend. Despite their past and his renewed interest, her feelings for him had changed, and she maintained a platonic relationship with him.

At the same time, a new man entered her life—a musician, singer, and composer. She felt a connection with him because he gave her art a new meaning. His passion for music and art resonated deeply with her, and she found herself falling in love with him. This new relationship brought a sense of fulfillment and joy that she had not experienced before, helping her move forward in her life with renewed purpose and happiness.After so many hardships, she finally saw hope in someone. Unfortunately, it was the calm before the storm. The man who entered her life after her divorce died unexpectedly. This loss was devastating, but time made her strong.

She started living life to the fullest for the sake of her daughter, finding strength and resilience in the face of adversity.


My favorite character in the drama is her brother. He is such an understanding person. He took every step cautiously and always listened to his partner. He never let go of his relationship, tightly holding onto it. He cleared all misunderstandings and, though he sometimes hid things from his partner, he never lied to her. He proved to be the best husband, best son, best son-in-law, and best father.

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Beautiful romance with great chemistry

PROS:
◇The romance (There is an age gap and they are both adults)
◇The chemistry
◇The writing very slice of life
◇The main couple
◇The friendships
◇The realistic characters.
◇The married couple that own the restaurant. What lovely green flags 💚


CONS:
◇The Meolodrama work senses dragged a little in the 2nd half.

Overall glad I watched it. Honestly a really nice watch when it was on.
If your a fan of slice of life's with a side of Meolodrama and 100% a happy endings? Then I recommend checking this one out. ♡

CONTENT WARNING:
◇Same language
♡ Romance ♡
◇A fade to black scene and kissing

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"Memories don't disappear. They are smeared into your soul."

This drama fully entertained me. It has some very good looking actors, lots of laugh out loud moments, an interesting storyline and all of the characters have different quirks which makes it a very enjoyable watch.

This was also the first time when the OST didn't bother me. Most of the time if an OST is repeated several times I just get bored and it soon starts to annoy me, but in this drama (even though I don't remember the name of the song) it made me happy every time I heard it.

The story itself was really good, although I feel like some moments need a little more work on them, like for example, when Im Sol went back in time and she could walk again, she only acknowledged it for an episode and moved on. I think that if a character truly spent over 5 years (and most likely more) in a wheelchair, they would need more time to readjust.
Also, I feel like this drama could have been a tad bit shorter. The time travelling kind of reset all of the progress that Im Sol made and it frustrated me at times, but the ending truly won me over and I couldn't care less anymore, they were happy and so was I.

Also, it is never explained how every time Im Sol went back in time, her grandmother hinted that she knew about it and didn't tell us further.

Besides a few characters that need a bit more development and a few story loop holes, it's an entertaining watch that finally got me out of my drama slump. If you want to watch it, go for it.
Side note: don't form your opinion based on a random persons review. Whether I liked it or hated it, you need to watch it for yourself and form your own opinion.

Happy watching!
Thanks for reading and have a good day.

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Not the story I was expecting - uninteresting, unrealistic, illogical

I thought I would be watching a drama about a bunch of young cadets learning and being groomed to become future policemen/women at a police university. But it turned out to be different than what I had expected. The majority of the drama is about a crime investigation into illegal gambling sites and most of this happened at the National Police University, thus the title of the drama.

Usually, it’s not a big deal if the plot was different than expected. But there are all kinds of wrong in the logic of this plot. The drama never explained how Kang Sun Ho became such a skilled hacker, especially when he doesn’t come from a well-off family. Where and how did he learn these skills? Yoo Dong Man as the investigator using unconventional approaches and ways to catch criminals doesn’t make a lot of sense either. I cannot imagine him still having a job by being such an irresponsible and reckless cop. I would have fired him a long time ago. Involving a group of freshmen to help with the investigation and exposing them to danger? Yeah right. They’re so green and can barely throw someone over their shoulder during judo practice (yet they all have black belts!). How could the two other professors join in an unofficial investigation and be as reckless as Yoo Dong Man? Everyone should be fired.

There’s a lot of talk and not a lot of action. I was enjoying this drama in the beginning when the students were still being students and not wannabe investigators. But once the focus is on the illegal gambling sites, the drama runs in circles and becomes repetitive. The last 5-6 episodes are incredibly slow and draggy, and full of fillers of nothingness. I was falling asleep and want to drop this drama so bad (but can't because of a watch challenge).

Romance and love triangles are boring. Kang Sun Ho and Oh Kang Hee were somewhat cute in the beginning but once they get together, the sparks are gone.

Overall, the acting is average. The veterans are definitely better than the younger cast. No one is horrible or exceptional. I do like a couple upbeat songs. Krystal Jung seems to be the sole responsible actor for all product placements - Samsung phones, Subway, Food ordering app, makeup/concealer, etc.

The one thing I like about the drama is the character development of Kang Sun Ho. It was heartwarming to see how his relationship with his adoptive father has changed. I like how he comes out of his shell, and throughout the drama has grown, learned his mistakes, not running away and become a confident person. He’s not the lost puppy who worries about his adoptive father disappearing, or always on egg shells when fighting with his brother/best friend.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this drama. It’s not a good drama about cadets and nor a good crime drama. Unless you are a fan of the actors, I would stay away. Jung Jin Young (though skinny) looks really good in uniform. If you are his fan, you can watch the drama for him.


Completed: 7/2/2024 - Review #455

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Interesting story line & Friendship

High School Return of a Gangster tells the story of a gangster who 'wants to go to college' and possesses the body of a 19 year old outcast high school student
It certainly has interesting characters and exciting storyline.

Awesome characters, great story, great balance between drama and action, love the humour in the series.

In My opinion it must watch drama

All actor play as role beautifully,its catch in the eye.
Once you start watching drama you will get excited as well as curiosity what will happen next .
There is little bit of flirty .
It's show Friendship between boys
There will be mother's love .
Gang member loyalty

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Finally, get a hand in this movie. Really hard to find, usually when I search for The Beauty Inside, the majority it’s all linked to the drama, not the movie.

What intrigues me to watch this movie, of course the summary. What would you do if you woke up with a new face every day? This happens to Woo Jin (WJ), a man who designs furniture, who has lived with this condition since his 16th birthday. WJ changes his body everyday to an elderly man, a little boy, a chubby woman, a foreigner, etc… The only people that know of his illness are his mother and his best friend, Sang Baek.

One day, WJ meets Yi Soo (YS), a girl who works for a furniture store and instantly falls in love with her. Since his physical identity changes frequently, he continues to visit her daily, acting as a customer that she has never seen before. When the perfect day with the ‘perfect face’ comes, WJ finally musters up the courage to talk to her and ask her out on a date. WJ knowing that his face will change once he falls asleep, attempts to stay awake for as long as he can. WJ managed to stay awake for three consecutive days and made YS fall in love with him. However, at the end of the 3rd day, WJ can no longer fight sleep, he passes out and wakes up with a new face. What will happen to WJ & YS story? Will WJ tell YS about his condition? What will Yi Soo think?

What’s best about this movie, besides the interesting plot, is the realistic portrayal of what would happen if we were as YS & WJ. I can put myself in their shoes…

What I don't too like is the stupid decision YS made in the end.

That’s overall the story… Overall this one unique movie you can check it out…

Below I'll write a little bit SPOILER. So read it at your own risk!!!












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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For you who want to know… Yes, WJ finally tell YS about his condition & they started dating. YS tried her best to overcome WJ's condition, but eventually it all came at the cost of YS mental health. You imagine your man changing his whole body into someone new. At first maybe it’s gonna be fun, but later you'll have trust issues & everything else… Like what YS experienced, it’s quite realistic, I can imagine myself in YS’s shoes.

After YS starts to have mental problems, WJ consult his mom & find out that it turns out his dad also had the same condition with WJ, and it concluded his condition is genetic. WJ’s mom tell him YS will be OK as soon she separated from WJ, cause that’s turned out happen to herself & WJ’s dad. Hearing his mom's experience, WJ decided to leave YS.

What would you do if you were YS or WJ? If I were WJ, I'd also make the same decision with WJ. And if I were YS I’d also gonna leave WJ, especially cause WJ first already left me.

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I liked it, despite its issues

Things I liked:
- Pacing was overall well done, I didn't feel like any part dragged particularly or got too rushed (except the ending but what is new in cdramas)
- The fight scenes were *chef's kiss*, choreography was on point and it was really exciting to watch
- I thought the acting was really consistent and everyone casted was giving it their all... Everyone cries so prettily in this haha
- I personally thought it had some artistic shots that were really beautiful
- It got a few laughs out of me, and I didn't find the comedy too intrusive... Though it could kinda goofy, it didn't detract from serious scenes.
- The original soundtrack is sung beautifully, though I thought they sometimes cycled too much too fast through the songs... Yes, I understand it's an emotional scene.
- I quite enjoyed the ending as it was filmed... Reading the book's ending, I think it was rather more dramatic and it would've extended the series too far if they hand't changed it. Though I'd hoped for more lovey-dovey married couple stuff :(

Things I didn't like:
- Chinese screenwriters have a vendetta against ending TV series... This was rather on point with it, with the last couple episodes feeling like an overstuffed burrito just spilling pseudo character development everywhere. No, I don't care about the Jiang family. No, I don't care about Consort Li and the Emperor's relationship. Etc,etc.
- The narration was lame. It reminded me of those lifetime movies based on real events... It was telling not showing. Literally.
- When it wasn't artistic, there was a real feeling of being hit on the head with everything they wanted me to pay attention to, and yes the CGI guqin competition was the pinnacle of this. I think they could've done it better and with more subtlety. Specially compared to a similar scene - XFF playing a song to rattle SYR during the princess' birthday. Beautiful, emotional... NO CGI.
- There was a lot of standing around gaping whenever XFF began her monologues.
- I cringe hard everytime I remember XH's laughter and goofy grin in the last episode... It seemed wildely out of character to me

Honorary mentions to:
- Xiao Heng's fan, which I'm convinced is the root of every dramatic thought he has ever had (he's very dramatic)
- The forever full moon MC that appears every single night, really auspicious
- The rain is also an important MC that appears often, especially whenever the scene has to have dramatic or artistic value
- The absolutely unhinged porn BG music that plays sometimes in XFF and XH romantic scenes, most unfortunately
- The main couple's double power to destroy any and all side characters... RIP everyone!

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