Reviews

Human Connection

A very lovely film about human relationships that begins with a chance encounter between a Korean man and a Japanese man in a bar, after which their life stories gradually become intertwined.

What I found particularly interesting was watching the Korean speak Japanese and the Japanese man speak Korean — but even more striking was how each of them fills certain needs in the other’s life, becoming a kind of temporary substitute for what is missing.

The actors are charming, and the characters they portray are somewhat unconventional. In fact, much of what happens in the film feels unusual, and in doing so it gently shows that life still has room for new people and unexpected meetings, and that sometimes we can stand in for one another in place of those who are absent. This is not a comedy, yet it will almost certainly put a smile on viewers’ faces and restore a little faith in the humanity and kindness of the people around us.

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Iguana no musume… ou l’injustice en tranches

Japon 1996 - Iguana no musume… ou l’injustice en tranches (Arrêt au 8° épisode)
Petit drama de 11 épisodes, courts comme les aiment les Japonais. Il date de 1996.
Le récit
Au départ, ça ressemble aux récits psycho-hollywoodiens, à la Hitchcock, ce petit grassouillet anglois dépité, qui rêvait de culbuter toutes les actrices de ses films. Lorsqu’il n’arrivait pas à les tripoter, il les maltraitait en les mettant en danger dans ses films… Ce n’est pas un secret… Un film a même été fait en l’honneur de ses frasques.
Le récit Hitchcockien, thriller psy, plein de suspense surfait, semble ici être cuisiné à la sauce-yoyo-émotionnel coréenne. Sortez les mouchoirs… ou zappez…
Enfin, ce récit est mis en scène par un japonais, très connu de son temps, parait-il.
Psy, !!! « Missa a dites » ? Jar Jar Bing
Vous avez compris, ça se veut « psycho » à donf,… Mais pas un seul psy à l’horizon, pour soigner les frappa-dingues. Les méchants surfent bien, les victimes et les gentils s’en prennent plein la gueule. Pourtant, même ainsi, à l’épisode 8 on en a plein la tronche des lenteurs et des non-dits.
Pas vraiment d’intrigue, mais une compilation de méchants détraqués et leurs actions peu logiques.
Personnage central : une marâtre
Elle se prend pour un iguane et dit avoir perdu la mémoire. Elle semble perdue, mais en réalité c’est une teigne, manipulatrice, une sorte de mante-religieuse qui mange même ses petits.
Le mari et « Father »
Elle trouve un vétérinaire qui se prend pour un « chevalier à l’armure brillante » de pacotille. Il lui jure « protection », à vie, alors qu’il ne sait absolument rien d’elle. Un « cocu de naissance », selon Pagnol
La jeune victime
Quand Dame-Marâtre enfante, c’est douloureux, alors elle va prendre l’enfant en grippe.
Le nouveau-né devient, pour cette folle méchante, un iguane qui porte la poisse et qu’elle est décidé à dézinguer, pour vivre en paix. Mais pour le papounet, ce qu’elle fait, ça va… Circulez, il n’y a rien à voir !!!
Cette marâtre, dès le berceau, va mettre dans la tête de ce bébé, qu’elle est de trop dans ce monde, car c’est un iguane malfaisant : amis amoureux, père mère, études, travail, elle n’a droit à rien. C’est pour le bien de l’humanité ! Ainsi a décidé cette criminelle. La victime, ne parle pas, ne se défend jamais, subit le harcèlement de la mère, de la sœur, des autres élèves, tous des lâches : des adultes qui broient l’enfance et des élèves qui se mettent en meute, pour frapper leur collègue à terre. L’école, aveugle comme la Justice, siffle en baillant aux corneilles. La fillette finit par s’imaginer de trop sur cette terre, avec sa tête d’iguane.
Mister Loyal, curateur des « zanimos », est abject avec sa fillette.
Papinou est au courant des frasques de sa femme. Mais il a juré à cette adulte, une protection sans limites. Alors, c’est à la fillette de na pas garder grief contre sa folle de mère. Il explique inlassablement à la mioche, que tout ça n’est pas si grave... (é_è)
La fillette s’essaye au suicide
Même lorsque, encore au primaire, l’enfant tente de se suicider, dans la mer, cette enflure de géniteur au sourire figé, ne change pas de discours. On se demande s’il est juste une couille-molle, ou s’il est un sadique par procuration. Pas clair tout ça.
La victime-marâtre
On nous suggère que Dame Marâtre a été, un jour, une victime dans son enfance. Et alors ?
2/3 des enfants victimes font résilience. 1/3 devient bourreau à son tour. Pourquoi ? Si les uns font résilience, les autres tombent dans les abysses de la haine. Tout est choix dans cette vie. Le bien et le mal, c’’est binaire, les gars.. Souvent, ceux qui deviennent bourreaux, voudraient quand même, qu’on les traite en victimes. Le beurre et l’argent du beurre. Mais en devenant bourreaux, ces anciennes victimes, justifient comme une normalité la maltraitance de leurs bourreaux, à leur encontre. Ils perdent de ce fait le droit de se plaindre.
La petite sœur
Marâtre a fait un autre enfant. Une fille qu’elle va gâter, manipuler et utiliser pour qu’elle maltraite sa grande sœur. Le rôle lui va à ravir, pendant très longtemps. Elle devient frivole et aime se mettre en danger avec tous les garçons du lycée en même temps. Un jour, sa grande sœur lui évite un viol, mais se fait quand même insulter par la mère. Prise de conscience de l’écervelée, qui dès lors, va contrer les méchancetés et injustices de sa mère, Maman ose jouer la déprime, tout en redoublant de coups contre sa fille souffre-douleur. C’est que cette cadette attaque les actions de sa mère sans filtre, à l’arrache, avec la gouaille que cette mère lui a léguée pour qu’elle blesse sa grande sœur
Pete l’Indécis et la Pouf
Ajoutez-y un copain depuis la maternelle, amoureux depuis l’enfance, qui a sauvé l’héroïne de la noyade, qui l’aime et qu’elle aime, Mais ce Pete l’Indécis se laisse tirer de force par une pouf haineuse, qui a décidé de faire de lui, sa chose. Cette grenade dégoupillée veut en découdre et maltraiter tout le monde. Elle a la haine contre le genre humain. Une haine épaisse, large et aux profondeurs abyssales. Tout ça, parce que, lycéenne, ses parents lui ont demandé de surveiller son petit frère. Elle n’y a mis ni zèle, ni application. Frérot est sorti du jardin et s’est fait faucher par une voiture. Les parents ont fini par divorcer et elle a demandé à habiter seule. Aucun des parents ne voulant d’elle, ils acceptent. C’est le Japon très riche des 90’s. Depuis, égoïste et manipulatrice, elle fait payer son karma, à tout passant à portée de sa rage. Entre cet Indécis et le Father, on nous donne une bien piètre image de l’homme japonais
La Princesse Iguane
A l’épisode 8, notre pauvre Princesse Iguane, perd sa seule amie, une fille à l’âme belle et généreuse. La victime plonge en apnée, toujours aidée en cela par sa marâtre qu’on a envie de faire enfermer dans un nid de coucous avec ses congénères. Princesse iguane finit enfermée dans sa chambre, prisonnière docile d’une maison sans aucun barreau, si ce n’est celui de la dépression profonde. Ce que la mère a toujours voulu. ! Vraiment ? Elle se met à l’insulter pour qu’elle se bouge le train et sorte de la maison. (°_0)’
Pas vraiment envie de voir la fin de ce navet, grandiloquent et à la musique d’ascenseur omniprésente, certainement pour faire baisser l’ennui et le ras-le bol des parts-belles faites aux tordus.
Post-Scriptum : Oille !
Quelqu’un vient de me dire que l’Iguane et le Vétérinaire est un remake de notre idiotie de la Princesse et la Grenouille !!! Croa ! Croa ! Mais on ne raconte ces bêtises qu’aux mômes, pour les faire marcher et pour faire parler les petits curieux, ! Tout de même…. Faut pas fumer la moquette, les gars ! Il faut se contenter du tapis de laine ! Sinon, gaffe aux résidus de produits chimiques… Ça fait dire n’importe quoi, ces cochonneries-là !
Passe encore qu’on invente que la radioactivité transforme Tite Iguane en Godzilla. Du moment qu’ils ne viennent pas pondre des œufs et casser les ponts chez nous …. 😉 La radioactivité dézingue le vivant et ne le transforme pas !
Très sérieusement. Même si ça veut aborder le problème du métissage, un lézard et un humain est too much !
Et un lézard pour étranger c’est encore pire.
On a passé l’âge des contes de fées, Monsieur le scénariste. Compte sur moi pour dire que c’est une perte de temps pour le citoyen…! Majette et Saperlipopette ! Maintenant, que dire de ces âneries ?
Que « lama est fâché et quand lama fâché, lui toujours cracher ainsi ? » Tintin et le Temple du Soleil
Que « Y a plus de mots pour vous définir, Monsieur Ramirez » ! Papi fait de la résistance.
Merci d’avoir zieuté (ô_ô) – LNA-BB Jiao
ieuté (ô_ô) – LNA-BB Jiao

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I found out that I love Republican Drama!

I stumbled upon this drama after several people told me that the reason I didn't enjoy Overdo was because Republican-era dramas simply weren't my genre.

Well... this completely proved me wrong.

I absolutely loved it.

The story is engaging from the very beginning, with excellent pacing that introduces the world naturally without overwhelming you with too many characters or names in the first few episodes. The script strikes a wonderful balance between angst, romance, comedy, and conflict, so none of the elements ever overstays its welcome.

I also appreciated how grounded the production feels. The dialogue is natural, the cinematography avoids excessive zoom-ins, overdramatic music, or the telenovela-style editing that often pulls me out of the story. Instead, it lets the characters and emotions speak for themselves.

The character development is fantastic, and the cast delivers wonderful performances across the board. ❤️❤️

I'm so glad I gave this drama a chance—it reminded me that it's never the genre itself, but the quality of the storytelling that makes all the difference.

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A Comfort Series That Gets Better With Each Episode

This is a full-on comedy series. It's silly, fun, and over-the-top. And that's exactly where the tone lives. It doesn't ever take itself seriously, yet manages to tackle some serious topics like self-love, bullying, and forgiveness in the midst of the ridiculous.
Boss's "clown" against Noeul's "straight man" is absolutely brilliant. Their commitment to letting their characters' emotions take over, regardless of how they may look, is exactly why their chemistry is so powerful. All scenes, whether chaotic or romantic, are delivered with their full commitment.
In fact, the acting is the most outstanding part of this show. Every single actor, even the newcomer Effect, is able to create a full-fledged character and give vitality to a lackluster plot. There are very little awkward pauses, stiff or unconvincing acting. It is a joy to watch a BL with genuinely good acting.
The weakest aspect of this series is the plot, not the script. The script delivers punchy, hilarious, and outrageous scenes that are paired with a great eye for direction. The framing of many scenes help make the scene funnier and elevate the irony and comedy, for example the flashback scene at the beginning of episode 10. The framing, paired with great use of sound editing, really elevates the hilarity and absurdity of the situation. Unfortunately, the sound editing also falls short on many other scenes, where the emotion is lost because of awkward pauses, lack of background sound, or audio mixing.
Though the plot is weak and somewhat unimaginative, the series is still quite enjoyable. It is not meant to be a serious romance for the ages and it sticks to it's Rom-Com vibes throughout, staring with the opening song. In fact, if you're familiar with 90's Hollywood Rom-Coms, this series is exactly in the same category. It delivers exactly what it promises: A silly time that will put a smile on your face and make you believe true love exists somewhere in this world.

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A Romance comedy that doesn’t fade or lose vibrancy with time

Interestingly saw a lot of mixed reviews of the drama. To be honest I only watch this recently in yr 2026 as I trust Seven Tan acting skills but this show was before Go Ahead where she then has become widely famous internationally, so was thinking if I should attempt to watch.

Love her ability to portray and bring the female character alive and also able to deliver the sad moments (especially when she was being the scapegoat to the marriage to the villain). For male lead, no one that I would go for but fortunately his acting is not too shabby when carrying out the child like age characters in one of the storylines. Other than that seems like he is always in dead starring mode (maybe because it is only this way then he will look more firm and with autonomy). Overall, I would prefer this drama than the Sword and the Brocade though the digital effects especially under the water is unbearable to watch (can do they swim breast stroke with hands and legs moving at the same time… and not breathing under the water for so long).

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Not a "dream life" at all.... too realistic

My viewing preferences keep me away from the “slice of life” dramas because they tend to be too realistic. Entertainment is what I want, not a living reminder of 3 decades in the corporate world.

This drama was a deep dive into the sociological and psychological complexities of one fifty-something old man named Mr. Kim. It was neither dreamy, nor light and unencumbered as the title suggests. The screenplay is well written, and Mr. Kim’s personality did not entice my sympathy. Instead, I felt compassion for his wife and son who stood in stark contrast to the ML.
To be honest, I was halfway through episode 10 but decided to finish watch ONLY to see how Mr. Kim’s wife and son fared after facing so many difficulties. IT WAS WORTH finishing! This story was much more to my liking for the resolution and outcome than for the long, difficult (sad and uncomfortable) life choices Mr. Kim made. He could be a study for several psychological complexes: Inferiority or Megalomania.

Although I recommend The Dream Life of Mr. Kim as a very good drama to watch, don’t be fooled by the title chosen. It could have been more accurately titled Mr. Kim's Megalomania.

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Didn't expect much and got what i expected...

I didn't expect much from this and my expectations came true, this was just as horrible as Tide of love.
It had a lot of production faults like open/closed shirt ep. 1, switching positions leads at start ep. 2, police officers have plain shirt and with other angle shot they have labels on their shirts.
The sound effects were too excessive ad fake, like cutting his hand and you hear blood splashing...
The music did't make any sense.
The story was so bad and had way too many holes in it, and so many things that happened that were just too unbelievable and weird.
The only good things were the visuals and the acting of Kim Seong Hyuk, he is the only good actor of the 4 and i can't understand why he agreed to participate in such rubbish...
The kisses between Jung Myeong Cheol and Kim Hyeon Seo are the worst because Kim Hyeon Seo refuses to kiss and just keeps his lips still and shut tight.

Please save yourself some time and skip this one...

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Algumas considerações

Contém spoilers e opiniões/dúvidas
Achei muito cativante, me fez ficar pensando portanto achei bom.
Tenho algumas questões que ficaram no ar, desde o começo algumas cenas dão a entender que o Zhen Xin já tinha interesse no Zhang Zhun antes, principalmente na cena pós crédito do primeiro episódio e na parte onde ele está selecionado o currículo. Ele escolher o Zhang Zhun, não me parece aleatório e no decorrer da série fica muito claro que ele lembrava muito bem de ter trabalhado com ele, e é claro que o que mais comprova isso é ele ter guardado aquele guarda chuva. Enfim não vi ninguém falando sobre isso e queria dar meus centavos a respeito.
No geral achei interessante e arrisco dizer que na parte sobre o filme, as vezes a linha entre terapeuta e paciente pode sim ficar borrada... Mas ali ficou mais que borrada... Enfim muito bom

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Every character felt real

Story telling was the best I've seen. Every detail was carefully placed and accounted for. The pace was exceptional, it never dragged out a scene just to drag it out, the timing was perfect, and the background music was well chosen even if most of the music was not Korean, it was very effective to highlight this was a historically inspired melodramatic story with classical themes. The cast of actors brought out ALL that helped tell the story all the way to the end. But the end felt disoriented after so much perfection.
Yee Jin Goo a veteran actor did a spectacular job presenting his dual roles. Lee Se Young likewise drew a perfect picture of her character. Other roles from the Chief Secretary, Left State Minister & son, Queen Dowanger, Queens handmaid, Personal guard, and Eunuch Jo....I was sorry to say goodbye to them.

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Começo intrigante, meio tedioso e final sem carisma

O drama inicia com um excelente potencial e uma premissa intrigante, mas perde o fôlego na metade final, tornando-se arrastado e monótono.
A estrutura da série pode ser dividida claramente em três fases distintas:

Primeira Fase: O casamento falso e a amnésia
Nesta etapa introdutória, a protagonista feminina perde a memória e é induzida a acreditar que está em um casamento real com o protagonista masculino. O roteiro equilibra bem o romance e a comédia, destacando o carisma da heroína: uma mulher gentil, inteligente e independente em seus negócios. Paralelamente, o protagonista a manipula para desestruturar seu maior rival militar, sem perceber que a própria esposa desmemoriada é a inimiga que ele procura.
Contudo, essa fase falha na construção do passado do casal. Embora abuse de flashbacks, a relação prévia deles permanece obscura e inconsistente. Falta clareza, principalmente, sobre as motivações reais que levaram a protagonista a tentar assassinar o herói antes de perder a memória.

Segunda Fase: A revelação e a incoerência de tom
O ritmo decai significativamente assim que a verdade vem à tona. Ao recuperar a memória e romper a farsa do casamento, a protagonista sofre uma mudança brusca de personalidade, deixando a dúvida de qual realmente é sua personalidade: Gentil e atenciosa ou malvada e dissimulada. O roteiro recorre a clichês desgastados, colocando o outrora imponente Duque em situações cômicas e bobas de perseguição amorosa, que minam sua dignidade e o realismo do cargo que ocupa.
Embora a protagonista se apresente agora como uma mulher sarcástica e impiedosa, sua ambição comercial é gradualmente deixada de lado para abrir caminho para um perdão precoce. Vale notar que, embora o casamento falso tenha sido uma grave traição, a culpa é mútua: ela tentou matá-lo no início da história. Esse ponto de equilíbrio moral — onde ambos erraram — acaba sendo mal explorado e resolvido de forma rasa.

Terceira Fase: A resolução apressada e a perda de identidade
O desfecho entrega uma reconciliação abrupta e um casamento sem qualquer transição orgânica do ódio ao amor, assemelhando-se a um corte seco e apressado no roteiro. A faceta empreendedora e genial da protagonista simplesmente desaparece, como se nunca tivesse existido, e ela retorna ao papel de mulher doce e passiva.
Essa regressão anula o desenvolvimento anterior da personagem. Antes, ela defendia sua autonomia, argumentando que a disparidade de poder e influência de um Duque inviabilizaria a união. Embora ele prometesse respeitar sua independência, o roteiro ignora esse conflito ideológico e resolve a trama de forma simplista, esvaziando o sentido da jornada dela.

Quanto ao subenredos de políticos e coadjuvantes subaproveitados: A construção do cenário de guerra e das conspirações na corte é extremamente superficial. Esses conflitos políticos servem apenas de pano de fundo genérico para um romance principal que já perdeu o brilho. Da mesma forma, o casal secundário é conduzido de maneira fracassada, sem química ou atrativo para o espectador.

Com uma escrita preguiçosa e mal estruturada, o drama falha em desenvolver seus três pilares: a guerra, as intrigas políticas e o romance. Nenhum desses elementos é explorado de forma convincente, e os personagens coadjuvantes funcionam apenas como meros recursos de roteiro para preencher o tempo de tela, sem apresentar qualquer crescimento ou relevância real para a história.

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W stands for WASTE of potential

Such an legendary concept that touches upon a popular fictional character coming to the real-world, falling in love with his creator's daughter while they fight against pre-destined fate to avoid a multidimensional killer AND somehow it became a static, boring drama that dragged relentlessly.

I watched this drama twice and I was still confused. There were so many things that happened that were left unanswered. All the characters were also so one-dimensional. Yeah they were serving some serious face cards, especially the ML but they had nothing else going for them. They had no chemistry and honestly, the FL was very annoying.

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Only watched for the second leads

It's criminal for the second lead couple to not only have the better chemistry and dynamic, but to have the better storyline compared to main leads is crazy work.

I can barely recall what happened to the main leads. They just couldn't compare. They were just so static, I had a hard time believing they like, let alone love each other. The classic reincarnated damsel, sacrificial FL x overpowered, cold ML trope who constantly has to save her helpless ass is also so overplayed.

The second leads however were just magnetic. We got the naive, energetic, adorable second FL x scary, dangerous second ML who's just so so soft for the one he loves. They were literally circling each other the entire drama and to discover they had their own hidden trauma with each other, IM SICKKK. I'm praying they reunite again as the main leads, it's what they deserve.

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