Reviews

A Must Watch! Don't let the MDL rating fool you.. when majority of the reviews are 10/10!

No Spoilers Here. This was absolutely a wonderful watch! From the beginning i knew this was gonna have some emotional scenes just from watching the FL previous shows.. she always makes me cry.. I love the ML.. he is such a great actor as well. Ok lets talk about the story.. this is a mature storyline. No cutesy stuff. No heavy romance. But when the leads have their scene.. it just pulls on your heart. The story focuses on family ties.. loyalty and perseverance. About overcoming the worst hardships.. learning that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. When they said strong FL.. they meant it. And i loved the way the ML plays off the FL.. both have strong personalities but they allowed each other to be themselves while respecting eachother. I just loved their dynamics. As for the the show itself.. the pacing was perfect it didnt drag or bore me.. it kept me wanting to see what happens next.. the amount of episodes was perfect as well.. no loose ends.. no abrupt ending. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a more mature storyline. And definitely would rewatch this over and over again 💜

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A unique, one of a kind story, diving us deeply into the world of ink

I’ve watched it since day 1, I love Yang Zi, she is one of my favorite actresses, when I started, I’ve already had high hopes for her acting, and she didn’t disappoint me, about this drama, I’ll be straightforward with you, it is ink centered, techniques, heritage, family members dedicating their lives into it, it’s more then just your typical ink making job, it’s their whole reason of existence.

If you expect romance, there will be romance, but it’s not the main plot, so do not expect too much, it’s very slow burn, HOWEVER, it’s still very deep, emotional, and very worth the patience, we’ve still got one of the best couples in drama history with the best chemistry despite it being just a side genre. It’s also not war or court political centered. But you’ll get a touch of it at some point.

It’s about craftsmanship, passionate commitment to being a master and give a dedicated life to your craft, enough to pass it down through generations and making it a big heritage worth passion.
It’s about business, cunning and scheming rivals
It’s about staying resilient and fighting against the whole world just to defend your own belief.

It’s about focusing on your self and trusting your skills, making it your way to win any competition and rivalry.
As 8th grandfather says: “Your focus shall be on producing the ink, not on your rivals”.

It’s about deep friendship, sisterhood, and strong family ties,

You’ll definitely end up shedding so much tears through the episodes most of the time, it touches the heart so deeply, the characters development is great as well, the lack of depth in romance is not a flaw, it is just not the drama’s story main focus, we dived deeply into learning more about historical ink, which I believe the techniques and knowledge shown is indeed real. This drama is not typical, it’s different, it might not suit the tastes of those who expected romance or court politics and war, the lack of those aren’t flaws. It’s simply different and beautiful.

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hot and cold

Overall: needed to focus more on the lead pair and their relationship development. Aired on Shortime app. Episodes 1-5 are free https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94xidyP8QrQ 65 total episodes a couple minutes each. My referral code is oetm5LkjoTOX (all letters except the number 5) and it should get you a bonus.

Content Warnings: homophobia, manipulation, hit, violence, non con kiss, past murder, murder, manhandling, trauma/mental health struggles, drugging, kidnapping, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- premise
- a few cute moments
- perceptive co-worker
- boss was intelligent in episode 50

Room For Improvement
- the nonsense of he stood while a car approached and then the car didn't brake when it could clearly see him???
- episode 13 back hug was odd, the boss was hot and cold
- the non kiss when the other guy was sleeping
- told the plot thru voice overs
- stereotypical villains

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Second chance at love done right

Lighter and princess (03.06.2026)
It is such a shame I finished this drama. I find myself stupid for not watching it earlier but at the same time I felt sad as I watched episodes after episodes. I have seen so many videos, spoilers and unsure if I should give it a try. People called Male lead a red flag so I was about to give up. Watched an episode and abandoned. That was until recently that I finished it. This ruined me, should have expected that (of course in a good way but also I was really emotional). Don’t let the title fool you like crazy. Thankfully I knew the brief summary of the plot so I was prepared to be emotionally tortured. I can only imagine I would go crazy not knowing all of the stuff going to happen. I seriously feel bad for people who came here for cute moments because it tears your heart to pieces like the picture Zhu Yun tore after the break up (or even worse)

Rate of survival: very high if you have already spoiled yourself or if you are as good at hiding your emotions as Li Xun. Very low if you surprise watched or you are an emotional one

I think I should start the reviews with saying how much I appreciate the characters. They are not cardboard cutout characters. When I watch the drama I think to myself “Oh right, he/she is not that kind of person she would never do that” or “That’s so him/her”. Their personality stands out; they don’t do something for the sake of plot but it is because who they are. In my view, they all represent different kinds of people. For example: Zhu Yun – looks fragile and even softhearted but she is deep down very strong, Li Xun seems cold and distant even arrogant but he cares and loves profoundly.

When I write reviews I lose track very often but it is because I’m too excited to write out my thoughts. My thoughts are quicker than my hands. Drama reviews usually help me move on from after-drama sadness. This one is harder to move on from, I think. It just overwhelmed me with wave of emotions (again in a good way). I enjoy dramas that make me “feel” feel.

Short summary:
Typical bad boy and a good girl trope until it is not. Li Xun and Zhu Yun are collage students that happen to have a rivalry between them but we gotta follow the trope. The “bad boy” is annoying at first then starts to tease the FL, teasing turns to flirting until he realizes he is completely head over heels. The story doesn’t end here because us viewers weren’t tortured enough so we welcome the 2nd chance at love trope thanks to the main lead being imprisoned.

I think this drama has lots of psychological sides and so many life teaching. Also it teacher consequences of your actions. Let’s take Li Xun he is very closed off and aloof but if you pay attention to his past, you can clearly see why he is like that. He simply has no time to waste but at the same time he cares for everyone even if it appears like he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to be burden to anyone because he learned to be that way when his father passed away early, his mother got sick and his sister, as a brother or a son he felt the responsibility. I really admire his character. One moment you think he doesn’t care but it always turns out he has found a solution for your trouble. He also appears very mature compared to his peers also due to his past. He was forced to be mature. He seemingly appears to have solution for everything but when Zhu Yun appears in his life, he sees her as light of his life (aka Princess). He only tries to treat her like a princess. I can imagine the first time he saw her in her birthday party, he knew she was fragile and grew up in a loving family without a trouble so he always wanted to give her that environment and not let her suffer. As he also mentions that she does the worrying and he will solve it for her. He loves her enough to let her go. He knew he gonna get in trouble and I know he didn’t make the decision of hurting a person on impulse. He already made up his mind and planned to break up with her where there are no ties left. If he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t get justice for his sister but if he does, his princess has to stay safe and have no ties to a “criminal.”. How he does, yes, hurts the female lead but after some thinking you will understand he left a bad impression on her parents, pretended to cheat on purpose. That way Zhu Yun wouldn’t come back after a break compared to a regular break up. I can’t totally justify what he did as he is bit of a jerk after coming out of prison. In short he just wanted to treat her like a princess (as cheesy as it sounds). That was who he saw her for the first time ever. He knew how much things would hurt her so he wanted her to stay away from ruining her future. I also feel bad for him because when they were in a base, he wanted to help everyone out but everyone just turned away. The only 2 people he trusted his plans with, one betrayed him.

Zhu Yun is the most likable character. It is true that she is gentle, fragile and soft hearted but behind this image is a Zhu Yun who is capable of standing up for herself and others. Where there is injustice, she fights. In their college and office era she was a heart of the group. She wouldn’t let people misunderstand each other , keeping them in harmony. I really love her character so much. She can be delicate but also strong in a time of difficulty. She is also very admirable. She works hard to achieve her goals and end what she started. I especially admire her part in reviving the relationship. She always understood Li Xun even if he kept most things to himself. She wanted to know more. Even when he was betrayed, she stood by him because she understood he had his reasons. He appeared unreasonable to everyone but she knew things weren’t like that. She was against her family for him, dropped her career for him because she believed in him so much. She was the most important person in his life as I said a light in his life. Li Xun at the end of the episodes imagines what life would be like if time stopped when they first met and says that all people close to him are here thanks to her. She opened him up because of that he was no longer alone. She dealt with depression while still putting on a smile. Zhu Yun the woman you are! I don’t think not many can be as strong or as faithful as her. When she said she would never betray him, she wasn’t lying. She kept that promise for lifetime

Li Xun and Zhu Yun complement each other so much. She was very much lost about what she should do and was being indecisive and Li Xun taught her to be brave and “bold” and to take things seriously when they were in a base. Zhu Yun truly understood him and knew what he needed. In a way, they both grew together because they are only right for each other
I talked so much about their romance but it wasn’t for the sake of romance, they are admirable and realistic couple. They give you a sense of safety. They teach not be afraid of making mistakes and to keep learning. This drama motivates me so much. I also really like that people can’t escape consequences of their actions. Li Xun was imprisoned and he doesn’t get a pass because he is the male lead. Fang Zhijing gets arrested for things he has done though I find that Li Xun was the one who got justice and gave a proper punishment for his heinous actions. Gao Jian Hong, dare I say he is the biggest asshole? Even worse than Fang in every aspect because he caused Li Xun’s sister’s death, wasn’t a good husband (beating her wife and even using her and saying she has to get close to a man she used to like? Pathetic). Was a terrible friend. His pride couldn’t handle. He always thought they were trying to one up him when they were reaching out their hands to help. He was blinded and took everything for competition even when they were the same group. It just doesn’t make sense how he tries to compete his own team. That said Fang caused 2 people’s death, that was his worst aspect but Gao checked every single possible asshole behavior. The time when he faced Li Xun to say he was the one who told his sister’s location, the one who took the company too. I think after all that he still got happy ending but he wasn’t very worthy. He is the character that makes me think of “what if” questions. What if he never betrayed him? Would he be enjoying success with Li Xun? Would Li Xun not be in prison? Maybe the trio (Zhu Yun, Gao and Li Xun) would be as strong as it was in the past. However I also think that the events that happened taught him something important which is jealousy ruins the person who is jealous not the person you are jealous of and that competition is not worth it, everyone has their own way.

After so much depressing topics I would like to discuss the romance (I admit I was here for romance but got something so much deeper instead). I kind of did that in the heading above discussing the dynamic between Li Xun and Zhu Yun. I very much appreciate the eye contact. You can see love pouring from their eyes (that wasn’t the best way to describe it). You can see they care for one another even when they are concealing their feelings sometimes. The small things they did for each other (like giving umbrella, caring for him when he is sick, putting on a coat when they are sleeping). Best doggy and piggy couple. There is one line in the OST “My princess will not be sad anymore” I can’t express how much I love this line as well. The time when she repaired his lighter, the time when she gave piggy USB flash drive (so cute!!) The scene right after they broke up broke me too. When she was on the rooftop crying while he was watching her cry. You can see in his face how much he wants go to her, hug her, comfort her but he is restrained. It was so hurtful in that scene. Poor couple suffer too much. At last Zhu Yun’s dream of marrying her first love comes true

I have so much to complain or talk about but I don’t think I can write this long. There are many other characters I wanted to talk about but I just decided to take two best character and two worst characters in one place.
I regret starting this drama because it led me to finish it. I would love to watch it and still have the “first time watch” feelings, so upsetting this won’t happen . (This review was kind of all over the place but it was also first time I expressed myself more clearly and with a bit of humor)

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An ok watch

This was fine, an easy binge, with some kind of we can do it feel to it teaching viewers yet again to watch out and avoid working for corporations in Korea.

The leads are cute, their story is not bad. The friendships are interesting and the sides may be a bit confusing at times but do their job and had me wanting more for them as eell as to see more of the. Honestly the most interesting character in this is the secretary, they did her bad but she was definitely more interesting than the leads. there is not to much over the top and side characters are not annoying and I believe there were several scenes where we got to see the result of the work our male lead had put in to chiseling his abs and back muscles more than once.

However the pacing was off, story was not wrapped upp well and I do believe there are a few plot holes here and there.


But other than that this was ok.

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interesting premise

Overall: I enjoyed the premise but the execution was lacking. First 5 episodes free on Shortime, 59 episodes total about 2 hrs total runtime. My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) and it should get you a bonus.

Content Warnings: manhandling, punch, intimate partner violence and abuse, slap, dub con

What I Liked
- premise
- visuals

Room For Improvement
- too much of a nice guy getting dumped on
- evil women cliche and too much time spent on it
- love rival
- gay for you trope
- that they didn't show something right at the very end
- unless I missed it, he never talked to his dad after the initial "I'll take care of it" scene

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Ji Hun - you can do better!

Overall: follows a couple who dated for 5 years and then broke up. Aired on Shortime as part 1 with 3 episodes about 8 minutes each. My referral link is https://playground.shortime.en/invite/NKNIWI (all letters) which should get you a bonus.

Content Warning: vomiting in episode 3

What I Liked
- visuals
- acting

Room For Improvement
- Ji Hun needs to leave his ex in the dust and get with a nice boyfriend. When he ex filmed them having sex and then left right afterwards it was so gross. His ex couldn't even say "I love you" when he knew it was important to Ji Hun? Trash behavior. Really hope in part 2 Ji Hun ends up with a boyfriend who expresses his love.

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First Review cause need to bump up the score!

These days I have been watching a lot of the k-drama at 1.5 speed, just so that I can get to the good part quickly, or sometimes so that I can finish it and move on. However, I am so pleasantly surprised that these drama is so entertaining, funny, believable, heart warming, soul wrenching, beautifully shot, kept me on the edge, and everything else good all at the same time!

Been a long time that I wanted each episode of a series to be as long as possible and that the show can continue forever.

Give it a try, it could definitely be one of your fav k-drama

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Let's Be Friends

Who would have thought that a movie called "People and Meat" would be this good? This is indeed a gem of a movie about the unlikely friendship between three elderly people with good balance between drama, humor and social commentary. Try avoiding the synopsis if possible, as it reveals too much of the story. While the plot revolves around eating meat, the main focus is on portraying the issues elderly people often face in Korean society.

The movie makes you instantly like the characters, largely thanks to the veteran actors who all delivered perfect performances. It feels like watching your own grandparents. In fact, after watching this movie, you should go and treat your older family members to a dish they like. This film gives us a lesson on how to live an authentic life. We might not always agree with the characters or fully understand them, but we have to respect them.

There were a few special moments during the movie when my heart just opened wide. Since I am already over 40, maybe this movie touched me more than it would younger viewers, but still, I would sincerely recommend it to everyone.

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When criticism stops being fair: My thoughts on Perfect Crown

I just finished watching Perfect Crown, and honestly, I need to say this because some of the discourse surrounding this drama has been driving me crazy.
Before watching it, I saw countless comments criticizing the drama, the actors, and practically everything associated with it. Some people were acting as though it was one of the worst productions ever made. After finally watching it for myself, I can confidently say that I do not understand the level of hostility directed at this series.
Was it perfect? No. No drama is. But the amount of criticism it received feels wildly disproportionate to its actual flaws.
The acting was excellent. The story kept me engaged from beginning to end. For the first time in a long while, I found myself genuinely eager to know what would happen next. Every episode left me wanting more, and that is something many dramas fail to accomplish. No drama has made me feel this invested in a while. Since watching The Manipulated and King the Land, very few Korean dramas have kept me constantly wondering what was going to happen next. Perfect Crown had me looking forward to every episode and wanting answers as the story unfolded.
What frustrates me most is seeing people attack the actors' abilities. Criticizing a storyline is one thing. Disliking a character is another. But claiming that talented actors suddenly cannot act simply because you dislike a drama is where criticism starts to lose credibility.
I have seen people dismiss performances that were clearly emotional, convincing, and well-executed. At some point, it stops being an honest review and starts feeling like people have already decided they want to hate something regardless of what is actually on screen.
The historical complaints are another issue. This is a fictional drama. It is not a documentary, a history textbook, or a government record. Viewers are free to dislike the creative choices, but acting as though every fictional deviation completely destroys the value of the entire production feels excessive.
What I find particularly frustrating is how selective some people are when it comes to outrage. A fictional drama changes a historical detail, uses one term instead of another, or changes a ceremonial element, and suddenly people act as though the entire production should be condemned.
Yet for years, viewers around the world have watched films and dramas rely on stereotypes without seeing this same level of backlash.
As an international viewer, one thing that has always bothered me is how casually people use "Africa" as though it is a single country. Africa is a continent. It is made up of dozens of countries, cultures, languages, and histories. Nigeria is not Kenya. Kenya is not South Africa. South Africa is not Ghana. Ghana is not Mozambique. Yet many films and television shows still talk about "Africa" as though it is one place with one culture and one experience.
I have also watched countless productions where Africa is portrayed almost exclusively through poverty, suffering, and hardship. Likewise, I have seen dramas use "America" as a convenient explanation for rude behavior, rebellion, smoking, drinking, or disrespect, as though these things are uniquely tied to one place. These portrayals are often exaggerated stereotypes, yet they rarely generate the same level of outrage.
That inconsistency is what stands out to me.
If we are going to have conversations about accuracy and representation, then those conversations should be applied fairly across the board. It seems strange to ignore countless stereotypes and oversimplifications in entertainment, only to become intensely focused on a few details in a fictional drama.
At some point, it begins to feel less like constructive criticism and more like people searching for reasons to be angry.
One thing I have always believed is that not everything is meant for everyone. If a drama is not your taste, that is perfectly fine. Watch something else. Move on. But there is a difference between saying, "This wasn't for me," and trying to convince everyone that it has no value whatsoever.
For me, Perfect Crown was engaging, emotional, well-acted, and memorable. The cast put in tremendous effort, and it shows. You do not have to love the drama. You do not even have to like it. But some of the reactions surrounding it feel completely disproportionate to what was actually shown on screen.

At the end of the day, I am glad I watched it and formed my own opinion instead of relying on the loudest voices online. Sometimes the best thing a viewer can do is ignore the noise, watch the drama for themselves, and decide what they think. After doing exactly that, I can honestly say that much of the backlash says more about online outrage culture than it does about the actual quality of the drama

SECONDLY
Another thing that crossed my mind while watching the reactions to this drama is how differently people treat actors once they become successful.
When an actor is struggling to gain recognition, many people cheer for them and want them to succeed. But once they finally break through and reach a new level of popularity, it sometimes feels as though people start waiting for them to fail.
I cannot help but wonder whether some of the hostility directed at the cast comes from the fact that they have become more visible and more successful. The larger an actor's profile becomes, the more intense the criticism seems to get.
That is part of why some of the comments about the acting feel so strange to me. You can dislike a drama. You can disagree with creative decisions. But acting as though talented performers suddenly have no acting ability simply does not make sense.
At times, it feels less like an honest evaluation of their performances and more like resentment toward their success. Whether people want to admit it or not, there are moments when criticism begins to sound less like constructive feedback and more like a refusal to acknowledge that someone has earned their place through hard work and talent.

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