With the popularity of "A Love So Beautiful", I see a lot of people hoping to find a similar drama to fill the void now that it has ended. There are similarities in the two dramas in the sense that they are set in high school for a majority of the run time and take place during the same time period. However, outside of those similarities, the two dramas set out to fulfill different purposes. With "A Love So Beautiful," I feel that it is a love story first and foremost and the life of a student is given secondary focus but "With You" focuses more on a student's life and how those formative years in high school set the foundation on who we become as we grow older. Of course, love is one of the things that students first start to experience in high school but that is just one of the many items that preoccupy a student's time.
For instance, this drama also looked at how students are tasked with huge responsibility at a young age to make a choice that can very well affect the rest of their lives, deciding to focus on liberal arts or STEM. However, instead of leaning one way, it is implied that one should do their best to be well versed in both in order to be a well rounded individual. We come across many different characters (students, teachers and parents) throughout this drama, each with their own hopes, desires, fears and dreams. And just like in real life, they will come and go but there will be those that leave an impression on you or impact you in some way.
What I also liked about this drama is how helpful and supportive everyone was to one another whether they were friends or "only" classmates. There was a real sense that high school is just one of many stops in your life and how it prepares you to learn and grow throughout life.
Next, I will speak about the Romance portion of this drama which is what I think most people are curious about. And once again I will speak on this in relation to ALSB. In ALSB there are more displays of physical affection and because in that drama they have known each other since childhood they are more comfortable with one another right from the start of the drama. However, in "With You," I enjoyed seeing Yu Hai and Geng Geng's relationship develop over time especially with the way they got off on the wrong foot in their initial encounter. It's not to say one drama is better than the other in the way they portray love but that they portray different forms of love. In "With You," I feel that the writer wanted to portray how blissful it is to simply be together with the person you like/love. Whether that means being "desk buddies" and helping each other with math/physics problems or playing video games together. No matter what the activity/event was, as long as they were able to do it together, made it all worthwhile. Similarly, both characters had their own strengths and weaknesses and complemented each other well and were each other's pillar of support when they needed it. This drama is not really about the grand gestures (at least in Yu Hai's case) but about the little ones. For instance, risking the chance of incurring a strict teacher's wrath by asking him to repeat his explanation of a problem that you already understand because you notice that the person you like is having a difficult time catching up but is too afraid to ask.
Ultimately, if you're looking for a drama replacement for ALSB, I suggest you look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for a drama that primarily focuses on youth/school and the growing pains associated with that time period of our lives, I think you would be hard pressed to find a better one than this one.
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So start things of, yes, this is a ridiculous drama so people who are interested in serious dramas with a deep meaning should dodge it. I've seen so many comments saying how unrealistic and dumb the plot and the characters are, but this is the whole point of this series - to sit back, relax and enjoy something called "escaping the reality". First off, the story is kind of like a jumbled up version of both Korean drama and American television cliches: the love-hate relationship, the evil mother, love triangles etc. Somehow, all of these story elements are what make this drama so good and entertaining. Secondly, the characters now to me feel like someone I know already. Not to sound crazy or anything, they feel so real and you actually want to have them in your life. In the first episodes, I didn't really like the female lead, but as the story progressed, I began to see her charms and how talented and pretty the actress is. Also, a huge shout-out to the second lead, who I feel like is so unappreciated. Damn, Jung Jin Woon is smokin' hot and super talented! I don't get why people didn't like his character. I mean, he was like a supportive friend, a super realistic fling, an obnoxious youngster so he definitely deserves my best character award for this drama! Number three is the music. Honestly, this OST is basically made up of unicorns, candy and rainbow sprinkles - so adorable! The songs made me fuzzy and pumped up inside, hence a great sign of a good drama. And last but not least, would I re-watch it? Hell yeah, with a friend or two!
Overall, an amazing drama that let's you pleasantly enjoy the messed up but fun lives of the heroes in this drama! If you're looking for a com-rom that is a must-see classic, this is it!
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Generally generic drama and it was entertaining to watch at times it took way to long to get to the point then in the end it all ended as well as any other family drama. Its funny how these dramas are all about forgiving your enemy but at the end of this drama i didn't feel to hurt about it, don't get me wrong while watching the scenes of the "EVIL b*t$h" spinning her lies and torturing the poor protagonist i found myself thinking just let her root in jail forever but as the end was finally upon us i just felt like meh at least it ended happy enough and had a good moral statement about being happy even if you didn't get everything you wanted. All in all good enough to watch once!
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This review may contain spoilers
I am not fond on writing reviews and seeing most people doing detailed ones is very satisfying yet I thought I should try putting it in words with no spoilers.Story 10/10
Can you believe this? Story is epic. Honestly I thought the year 2017 will come with great kdramas, many came and many passed by, most of them were awesome but you still wouldn't really think about it too much once you watched. I will tell you, this one is not that type of drama. I thought Mad Dog was the best show of the year (and I have watched A LOT kdramas of this year) but then as waiting for new eps of some shows I rememered seeing this one mentioned in comments since actors here were famous and in other dramas I was watching as well. I can tell you it's rare to keep me on toes the WHOLE FULL EPISODES without giving it short skip trough and here I couldn't lift my hand to do it. I watched this in 24hours as I couldn't stop clicking next episode. Sorry no life but it is THAT WORTH IT. The plot is really mindblowing. Basic things villain, good guy and the true colors of the reality, how it actually is coming around rich and poor, in power and not.
Acting/Cast 10/10
Everyone did so well even children. The Bad guys are great at being jerks and all, and like no complaints. The dorks there are so cute I can't the friendships look so real and makes you feel so warm inside I can't put it in words even. And Ji Sung, he never disappoints NEVER. Kill Me/Heal Me seeing what kind of many different actors he can pull off even crazy type as he did in Secret, I didn't thought I will see him as father figure and here I did and he nailed it. I swear I am not biased, he is THAT good as an actor. And everyone did great.
Music 10/10
I like how it wasn't overfilled with the soundtracks and osts or so. Music made everything look cool and intense, it fit every second in there and wasn't late nor early to play just perfect timing.
Rewatch Value 10/10
Shame on me if I don't rewatch it. I have this bad habit of rewatching my top10 kdramas and guess what. It's on it. So far it is Number one I wonder what drama will be able to race it though.
Overall 10/10
It earned it!? <--even put heart
my review isn't the top one but it is worth it and just don't want to put spoilers as I watched it without reading anything just seeing the cover and that the main actor Ji Sung, knowing that he was on left me with no doubt that it will be at least watchable and it ended up as more than that. Directors and Writters did great job as well I am so blessed. I watched this three months after release so didn't have to wait for new episodes THANK GOD because I was vibrating in excitement by clicking next episode everytime. It felt like I was part of movie and couldn't miss any second.
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As far as stories go, it's likely one of the most cliche ones in dramaland- rich, spoilt boy is forced to work as an assistant of an assistant in his dad's company to learn the ropes of management. No surprise there.
What really hits you is Chiu Roy's acting, which can only be described as absolutely delightful. Through him, you're able to see a SUBSTANTIAL difference in his character from the first episode to the last. The dynamic between Chiu Roy's character and the manager character show is another brilliant additional, which isn't surprising considering how hilarious the manager's antics are!
Alice Ke as the female lead is decent, though not particularly memorable. Nonetheless, her close friendship with Yao Yao's Yu Le is very sweet and makes you wish you had such an understanding, caring and loyal best friend (that is, if you don't already have one.)
What disappointed me the most was Li Tia's Zheng Kai Er. I recently watched her in Jojo's World, and I found her more than decent there. Over here, on the other hand, her acting was incredibly dull; her lack of reactions, coupled with no facial expressions, made what could have been a good, evil female lead a sort of pity party of one. Whelp, on a positive note, it makes you appreciate just how far Li Tia has grown as an actress.
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I'll start with the cast , and there are a lot of important characters to consider. Song Seung Hun is the most noteworthy, especially with such a complicated role. He's a hilarious anti-hero/butt-kicking action hero/hot leading man, and handled all that his character demanded well. Of course saying too much about him will lead to spoilers, but I thought his awkwardness was part of his appeal, and he certainly wears all black well. He is partnered with Go Ara in super emo mode as Ha Ram. At first I liked Ha Ram, her impetuous nature, her dark personality, and her fierce attitude. The issue I had with her performance is that the more complicated the plot became the more one-note she seemed. I thought Seung Hun rose to the occasion, but Ara fell flat. Ha Ram doesn't evolve much through the show. She basically has 3 modes - bitter and isolated, in stubborn pursuit of justice, and feeling sorry for herself. It wasn't bad enough to make me dislike her performance completely, but it certainly made her too predictable. As a team of leads they weren't in the same league, and that honestly killed any real chemistry, so the small amount of romance (which becomes a significant plot point) felt forced and was the least interesting part of the story to me. Part of that may be the writers fault, but I've seen good actors make chemistry work with much worse.
Other actors worth noting are Kim Dong Jun, who was too cute to be so underutilized, Lee El, who was at times much more interesting than the female lead, Lee Kwan Hoon who was the best character with the least amount of screen time (I heart villains), and Kim Won Hae, who is a scene stealer in every drama I've seen him in. Of course that's only a few of the important characters in this drama. I couldn't possibly mention every suspect, victim, assassin, reaper, prostitute, politician, officer, parent, child version... and yes they all are important to the story. Most of the performances are great, and make the world seem real. Some of the roles however are forgettable (like that creepy dr), which makes it much harder to follow so many complicated character connections. That's why I gave the acting an 8 instead of a 10.
Another "character" in this drama would be the town of Mujin itself. The town should be infamous, and clearly the worst place to live ever... especially if you are a kid. It deserves a Twin Peaks level of notariety in KDramaland.
Now I will get to the plot... have I mentioned that its complicated? It was much easier when I binge watched the first half, but waiting a week for the next episodes made it hard not to lose track. Just know that the show is very dark, and the subject matter is rough. If you are sensitive to certain topics, especially involving sex and violence, assume they will come up and skip this drama. If you appreciate the term "trigger warning", consider this whole drama one big trigger warning. However, nothing is gratuitous. Every harsh moment adds to the bigger picture.
Every episode is also filled with revelations, and plot twists, so even the parts that you may have seen coming, have their own sub-plots that you likely would never suspect. There are moments when the episodes may seem to drag, but there is probably something happening that you should be paying close attention to. Sometimes the plot twists seem excessive, but they always (or mostly) make complete sense. The story is highly entertaining as a thriller, and impressive because of how ambitious the plot is overall, but there is one unforgivable flaw that almost made me give this drama an even worse rating... that's the ending.
The final minutes of this drama are insulting and should not exist. It's the equivalent of watching someone create intricate sand art only to blow it away as soon as it is completed and replace it with some child's crayon doodles on the floor. This ending teaches the lesson of why sometimes it's better to have a heartbreaking ending than some BS you think will make the audience happy. It turned the few plot holes into plot craters, and made me want to laugh and rage for all of the wrong reasons. In fact, the only parts that made me tear up at all involved side characters, not the main leads. Still, all of the important questions are answered, and with a story this ambitious, that is definitely impressive. I can only imagine how furious the writer must have been, because it's obvious this was a last minute change. I hope everyone involved learned a lesson. I would have been much happier with an open ending, so if you stop watching before it ends, your opinion of the show will probably be much better.
So why is my rewatch score 10? I would love to binge watch this again (skipping the final minutes of course), to catch everything I missed the first time. I'm convinced that knowing what really happened and watching it unfold would be just as entertaining as being surprised by it all. I am very likely to binge watch this again at some point, without watching other dramas with similar plots in between (certain controversial topics were very popular this season), which also made things more confusing than they would have been otherwise.
Overall, this is an intense drama, that's good for people who are tired of shallow stories and predictable plots. If you enjoy roller coaster thrillers this is a must see, just be forewarned about the unnecessary tagged on ending. The reaper world is also awesome for fans of realistic supernatural stories, and was really interesting. If you think Korean dramas are often too tame, this one includes a lot of taboo subjects that add to the story, instead of just being thrown in for shock value. You can't be a lazy viewer with this one, because the story only gets more complicated over time. Be patient with the story and your questions will probably all be answered. I also loved the cinematic feel of the episodes, which are very long (1hr 20), but captivating enough to be worth the time. All this to say that I was unexpectedly impressed yet disappointed by this drama, which is why my review is all over the place. Consider this my strong recommendation to watch this, but with a viewer advisory warning attached. I also recommend watching it with the lights off, for a greater effect.
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I disagree with a lot of the things that were being tweeted, or asked in the first few episodes regarding sexuality, gender, etc. but I do understand that there's a big cultural barrier, and the perception of MOGII in Thailand is very different to that of a first world country like the one that I live in. I think if you're prepared to overlook that sort of thing, then this is a great show to watch!
Also, as I'm sure many people will likely watch it for the BL element- the leading straight couple are actually really great as well!!
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Give it a try!
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Story: 7,5
Ajin is a fast-paced movie. The main plot for this live action was the same as the manga & anime, but there were some minor and major differences too. Fortunately, those major changes actually made the movie focused more on the main plot. I think the scriptwriter did a good job, that's why even if you are a picky manga/anime fan like me, I think you'll still able to enjoy this movie.
Action scenes take a big part in this movie, which probably about 90% of this movie. The action choreography is amazing. I was really impressed the whole time. Since most of the movie is about fighting, there is no big character development, especially for the main character. Though it was expected, since movie has limited time. There are not enough scenes and dialogues for us to understand the characters' personality, except for Satou. Also, there is some plot-holes that left unanswered. This movie also ended in an open ending that probably make a chance for a sequel. But I still give 7.5, because I personally enjoyed this movie a lot, and I think the writers succeeded to keep the intense atmosphere from the beginning until near the end.
Acting/Cast: 10
One of the reason why I was excited for this movie was the cast. This movie has a star-studded cast. For me, all the actors and actresses did an incredible performance in this movie. But the one that really stood out from the rest was Ayano Go. His portrayal of Satou was amazing. Every gesture, expression, and speech was perfect. I think he succeeded to bring Satou into life. His acting felt so real to the point that I forgot that Satou is just a fictional character. Shirota Yu also did a great job as Tanaka. His sharp gaze was perfect. On the other hand, I think Sato Takeru under-performed in this. His acting was good but I think he could do better. I blame it to the script that made his character seems dull. Despite that, I'm still giving the perfect score because the other casts was amazing.
Music: 8
I think the music was suitable for the movie. Especially on those fighting scenes, the background music actually made the scenes more intense. Also, I love the ending song.
Rewatch Value: 9.5
Yes, I would like to watch this movie again. The cinematography was great. The CGI was perfectly done, the IBM looks so good and real. The action choreography was really detailed, intense, and amazing. So I don't think I will get bored from watching this many times.
Overall: 9
As I stated above, Ajin - Demi Human was one of the best manga-to-live-action movie in my opinion. Even though some part were changed, the movie still followed the original story. The casts' acting was good. I love the action scenes. My only disappointment with this movie was the main character's lack of personality depth. I hope if a sequel is planned, they can explore his personality more. But overall I really enjoyed this movie from the start until the end.
(sorry for my English)
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- Interesting characters with a diverse set of personalities.
- Unique animation that communicates ideas, and sentiments well.
- Nice blend of dark and light drama in the first two-thirds of the series. I found that the way the two major plot points of the story were transitioned between suggested a sort of "life as it is". At the same time that, say, a major romantic relationship milestone was met, a dark, immoral act was committed concurrently, and these scenes would follow one another. It was really good at keeping the darker elements from becoming uncomfortable and created a more realistic and not-to-scary lens to witness the darker sides of the drama from.
Cons/ Overall:
- The drama had a great start, the characters were interesting, to say the least. Even when some characters became unrelatable, and unrealistic, the personalities of the others would redeem the overall impression of the show. I feel that this series suffered from the usual trend that I find with Kdramas: It starts off with an engrossing cast of characters, a compelling storyline, and great progression, but by episode 12/13 the characters behave in a way that seems inconsistent with how they were initially portrayed. There is an argument with no directed intention, which felt contrived, relationship problems that could have been avoided by simply communicating the problem, and responding in earnest, the female lead becomes incredibly passive in the relationship. The characters begin to react very emotionally to their circumstances and the drama no longer feels true to itself. The sense of immersion is lost because the initial draw of believable and even relatable characters is lost, and now you, if you're like me, just have to finish because you started. Personally, I thought the outfits were nice, so that also motivated me to stick around. ^_^
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Bad Drama of the Year Award
The drama has two actors of interest, Hu Ge and Chen Long. They dressed well, and looked handsome in their business suits. Chen Long's character, Lin Bai, was my favorite character.This is the story of the survival of the underdog, Qiu Dong; his fall from grace, and his climb out of the hole, with a few female companions along the way, to keep his company. I was intrigued by the trailer, but the intrigue thinned out over the duration of the drama. The actors did a good job, but their characters had no spark, and the plot stretched into oblivion.
The incidental music was pretty but monotonous, and a disruption during the dramatic moments. The last arc about the widow Yan was nonsensical filler. The director should have ended the drama at episode 44, with the lovers' reunion, and time jumped to Qiu Dong's success with his headhunting empire. This drama should have been 24 episodes only. Half of the content was drivel. The budget was wasted on this drama. Hu Ge and Chen Long must have taken the acting assignment as a favor; a bad decision on their part!
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Cast: Wasn't too fond of the male lead but he considering his character, it suited him. Female lead did well. However, honestly speaking I think it supporting cast was what made the drama all the more better and interesting. Love the side characters, their stories and struggles.
Music: Music was good but not memorable. Usually if a song is good and catchy, it sticks with you.
Rewatch Value: I think I'd only rewatch some of the kissing scenes.
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The main couple are so awkward, but that makes their interactions even even more adorable
The other other couples are cure af too sometimes weird, but still funny lol
The best thing was that there wasn’t a third person or wavering feelings which is daebak
Don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, but I guess good because in a way this shows, show that someone may seem nice but nah they ain’t. Like don’t judge someone to quickly cause y’all there are lots of plot twist for the characters in here.
Overall a 10/10 definitely
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It have a realistic vibe and I loved the first part of the drama with their friendship , school struggles & one sided love ... but the later part when they were about to graduated I got bored I did not like the story line at that point & also I did not like the leads character development .
It had a really high potential at the beginning , I only gave the 7.0 because I liked the first part of the drama .
Even if this drama was not that bad but I wont rewatch it !!!! someone gave a recommendation to watch this after I've finished " A Love So Beautiful " telling me it have similar vibe , after watching it I disagree it is so different and I totally prefer " A Love So Beautiful " over this one ! .
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