What I liked about this drama:
The story. The way it unfolds, it may seem like a typical one but trust me it's not. The way that all the actors had put their hearts into each character was heartwarming. From the kids/minor cast to the main casts, each role was portrayed beautifully. The leads had great chemistry, even the bro-romance was on spot XD.
This drama seriously gave me friendship goals and left me sated. Instead of being called "Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People" it should be called "Rebel: Thief Who Stole People's Heart" coz Hong Gil Dong surely stole mine!
What I did not like:
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ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
Saranghae Hong Gil Dong, you shall be missed! <3
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So the story is about a famous acupuncture doctor from the past (I forgot which dynasty), he somehow had the ability to travel to the future or go back to the past but he has to be dead first to be able to travel.... In the future, he met a modern girl doctor who happened to have a bad experience with acupuncture treatment (her family actually ran an acupuncture clinic) so his interactions with the girl at the beginning didn't go so well. However, they slowly understand each other and even help each other in crisis and OF COURSE, they slowly started to develop feelings for each other!!! then as usual conflicts happened and you have to watch this to see watch happened!! LOL
Highly recommended!!
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When the movie came to an ending scene I was so satisfied and I could breathe and feel the cold wind of accomplishment (tehee ~_^).
I love the actor, he's still in my heart from Hormones. When it comes to his acting, I didn't see any bigger mistakes.
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- Kim Se Jung is adorable and lovable in this. Very easy to root for her.
- Plot and mystery was intriguing and kept me wanting more.
- The friendships being built or rebuilt in this was heartwarming and gave many feel good scenes.
- The main romance was cute and heartwarming, with simple acts of love that made you feel the love.
Dislikes
- Music was not memorable. I cant remember a single song from the series.
- The motivations of antagonists in this reach super villain level of silliness.
- Too slow of a build up of the main romance in my opinion.
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- Characters and relationships were great and lovable. Easy to care about the characters, and get invested.
- The music really hits you hard at the emotional parts of the series.
- Cinematography is mesmerizing and shot well. Everything is framed great, allowing you to enter their world.
- Jan Di and Ga Eul are both adorable and beautiful throughout.
Dislikes
- Story is a bit stretched. With things happening and not being addressed until and episode or two later.
- Woo Bin wasn't very fleshed out as a character. I wanted to see more of him than what we got.
- Although the music was awesome, the overuse of the main theme got a bit annoying by the end.
- The ridiculous ending arc was unnecessary and did nothing other than make the series a couple episodes longer.
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ACTING/CAST: The guys are cute and they have good chemistry. There are a number of sweet moments and they pull them off nicely.
MUSIC: I only seem to remember a piano in the background. It went well with the show but I remember little else.
REWATCH VALUE: Nah, while it was enjoyable once, no need to see it again.
OVERALL: This is a multilingual movie: Thai, Japanese, English. It was fun to watch. Also it was sweet to watch Toey and Oat draw close to each other. But, as the details section states above, they have to disappointingly "return to the 'real world'." Also, lots of pretty scenery of Japan. Hope you like Natt?!
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This review may contain spoilers
So, I am gonna critique the movie based on the following parameters and justify my low score (No Spoilers)1. Story: So the movie had 2 plots woven into one. The main story (The revenge tale) and then the story of Tae Soo (Lee Min Ki) and his family. It is the second plot is what makes the story worthwhile (Hence the 5.0 Score). The primary story on the other hand is dull as hell
2. Acting: Both Actors did a very good job portraying their respective characters. So, if you are simply a fan of the actors and don't care much of the plot; you are probably going to have a good time
3. Pacing: The movie was edited and cut in a very bizarre manner; and not in a good way. They chose to put in a lot of stuff that should have been left on the editing room. This made that whole movie a mess, and killed it for me
I came out very much disappointing with the movie. To me, this was a very poor showing of a fantastic premise and cast.
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Plot holes due to memory loss
I watched the entire drama of 36 episodes in 1 1/2 weeks. The actors were interesting and good looking. The setting, Lan City, is a perfect, beautiful, clean, spacious city, and the police station is high end. This is a review of the entire drama; Seasons 1, 2 and 3.Story:
The story begins in the current time, with some mysterious reference to five years prior. As the drama moves forward, we learn that the main characters have wide gaps in their memories of five years prior. No surprise! A number of Alphabet Villains are introduced strategically with every new crime in Lan City, and it is obvious that they were involved with those lost memories.
As the drama reaches the last stretch, the scriptwriter takes a flashback (aka time jump backward) to five years prior, to explain the Alphabet Villains’ megalomaniacal master plan. This is spread over five or six episodes needlessly, when we just want to see the conclusion of the drama.
Acting:
The casting is very good. Bai Yu is exceptional as Han Chen, who is a knight in shining armor. Yong Rang is not exceptional as Bai Jin Xi/Su Mian. The character is obnoxious and egocentric, and chatty. She also hits her subordinate throughout the drama, which is a form of violence in the workplace. She stops being obnoxious, but is still egocentric and chatty. The three supporting actors who play the young and handsome supporting Black Shield detectives, are very efficient. The teamwork of the Black Shield members and their supervisor is exceptional.
The supporting actors who play the young and handsome Alphabet Villains are efficient. The teamwork of the villains falls apart. The old adage, “ Too many cooks spoil the broth." comes to mind.
Music:
A very good O.S.T.!
Rewatch value:
Should I forget that I watched the drama, I might end up watching it again (...Lost memory! Muahahahaha!).
Overall:
The drama is praiseworthy. The production values are high, and all the actors deliver very good performances. The plot is clever, but the script is confusing at times, as it randomly jumps backward in time, and the villains keep popping up at the oddest times. The script would have been solid if the drama had started out the gate with the villains hatching their diabolical master plan, the main leads losing their memories, and the time jump to five years later, when the drama originally began.
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With that said, you need to be a person with a certain level of patience to finish this drama. The story is well executed, the actors high caliber and the drama level high... however, it is very slow paced. The focus is on the relationship between the leading ladies, the palace intrigue and the power struggles of the inner palace. There are no gimmicks to entertain the audience. Therefore, if you are someone who needs plot twists and action after every episode to keep you hooked, this drama is not for you.
Personally, I loved watching Zhen Huan. The acting was superb. The costumes so beautiful. It felt like I was watching a Chinese version of a Jane Austin novel played on screen. While Jane Austin's female protagonists can feel a bit vanilla, Zhen Huan was a breath of fresh air. It was a joy watching her change from a doe eyed, somewhat naive yet bright, young girl into a manipulative, jaded and vengeful Queen B. She had the makeup and the acting chops to pull it off. I also learned a lot about Chinese history with this drama. My knowledge of female titles in the inner palace was limited to concubine and empress...who knew there was such a hierarchy?
All in all, this was a very beautifully executed, smart drama that felt real to its time and worth the journey. I highly recommend it.
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Okay.
The plot is not brilliant or super innovative. Didn't floor my chin anywhere, though I do like how everything was laid out. Although I am not complaining, I feel like certain parts can be better fleshed out. The "Capture The Flag" game didn't really worked for me; I feel like there were fillers sometimes (the show kind of stalled) and there were sometimes "drama for the sake of drama". Don't come here expecting to get your mind blown away by the plot, but WHO CARES when you'll be laughing and grinning the whole time :P Besides, there were plenty of sub-plots, symbolism, "circle of events" and etc that more than makes up for when the plot lapses a little.
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I don't know why, but people tend to really enjoy body-swap plots. Perhaps it satiates the common desire to be someone other than yourself. Perhaps it's an attest to the strength of identity and personality, even when the external has changed. Whatever the reason, body-swap plots is a time-tested tool to win over a viewership as can be seen here with Don Quixote.
Throw in side plots about trying to win a yakuza presidency and the different cases that arise at a child welfare centre, and you have an eclectic and colourful drama. I can guarantee you, there is not one boring or static moment. The story is relatively fast paced, dynamic, funny, poignant, and at times, sad.
Takahashi Katsumi and Matsuda Shota have INCREDIBLE chemistry. They play a crass Yakuza boss and a weedy child welfare worker respectively, only to have their roles switched in the first episode - and WOW, I was super impressed by how accurately and smoothly they were able to act out the transition.
Takahashi and Matsuda play off each other, horse around, clash, and generally have a strong bond that's often hard to find in dramaland. I gotta say, their bromance (if you can call it that??) is really what makes the show. Their quips and comedic scenes are my absolute favourite and I often find myself laughing out loud in the early hours of the morning, thus startling my sister in the other room lololol.
The other actors and characters are just as strong in their own way. Another notable relationship portrayed in the drama is the one between the director of the child center and Sachiko, the eldest child at the center. It's a bittersweet and loving relationship well portrayed by the actors. In fact, all of the secondary characters are loveable and you will soon feel like you're being drawn into a strange, large family, all working for similar goals by twist of fate.
And if there's one thing that us Japs do well, it's comedy!! The comedy in this drama is ON POINT, my dudes. It's a very easy and fast watch, and it's INCREDIBLY rewatchable. I've often been drawn back to it when I'm bored or feeling despondent and it's always managed to cheer me up. It's honest to god the drama version of a hot chocolate and a warm blanket. Or maybe a cold beer, if you'd prefer that.
CONCLUSION? JUST. WATCH. IT. You will 100% have NO REGRETS. Who doesn't want to see the willowy Matsuda Shota stomping around, saving children in need, with that terrible scowl, cowboy stride, and filthy mouth of his? And don't forget the stocky, kind-faced Takahashi Katsumi, anxiously (and a little resignedly) pattering alongside, reminisce of the noble Don Quixote and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza.
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So I love all the actors and the story is alright if not a little banal...but wow what a fkn trainwreck. I had such high hopes for this - Matsuda Shota, one of my all time favourite actors and Taemin (I am a big Taemin fan) in a drama together?! I was so excited. But...whether or not it was the director's decisions or the production company's decision or whoever - the drama felt lazy and engorged. The flashy film-student-esque cinematography and casting of the massively popular Taemin does little to hide the immensely awkward self-indulgence and at many points, the drama - and the actors - come across as painfully self-aware (and not in the good way).
Here are some of the GOOD POINTS:
-Actors: They had some big veteran actors come on board and Matsuda Shota was definitely one of my favourite aspects of the drama.
-Cinematography: Though I hated the over stylised, MV-like cinematography, there were a few shots and sequences that were beautifully shot. Also, some of the cuts were interesting choices to make on the director's behalf. I mean, I'll give kudos where it's deserved. I'm not entirely unfair haha.
-Potential bromance: Taemin and Shota's characters could potentially have had a fantastic bromance/friendship. However, it was let down a bit by the lack of chemistry between the actors. Needless to say, this is my opinion. You might read it differently.
-Music: Music is A+.
-Violence: I LOVE violence and gore and action and this drama does a great job of throwing out unexpected, sudden violence.
BAD POINTS:
-Actors: You can tell Taemin is a little uncomfortable in this role. Maybe it's the language or maybe it's the writing or the directing. I just think he's been totally underutilised here. I really hope he's able to show his true potential in his next acting role. I was disappointed here.
-Plot: Bleurgh. It's very slow-paced and it didn't hold my interest very long.
-Cinematography: Seriously, wtf. It reminds me of the kind of style that the overcompensating hipster film students would utilise for their projects (you know the type - the ones who would list Tarantino, avant garde french films, and vintage Belarus fashion as their creative inspirations). It's uninspired, confused, awkward, flash with no depth, and a little too forced. Also, the lighting proved to be distracting a lot of the time.
-Pace: Just.........wow. I watched a few episodes at 2x speed and it was still slow.
-Obligatory MV Time: Like the surety of ad-breaks when watching your favourite drama on Viki, Obligatory MV Time rolled around like clockwork. It's essentially a random 30 second music video thrown into the middle of several episodes. It's quite jarring when it happens actually. One moment, you're watching a drama and the next you're watching a Taemin MV. They did little to push the plot forward and what little plot they did tell - I just found it to be a lazy technique of doing so. I personally skipped past these bits.
In fact, I skipped past a lot of bits because I couldn't stand the cringe. I guess some people would love it, some people would hate it. I just think there needs to be more consideration before hitting the 10-rating because Taemin and Shota are starring in the drama (though yes, they are super pretty and pretty super).
IDK what you'd take from this. Watch if you will I guess?
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*The actors are (*GOSH*) the BEST! I can feel the emotions: anger, frustrations, jealousy, worries, happiness, curiosities, emptiness etc. The direction and production is also PERFECT. I commend the director and producers for a job well done. THANK YOU!
*Musical scores are perfect and fits every scene that add more in portraying emotions to the viewers.
*No exaggeration. I can no longer count how many times I watched the entire series. ^o^ Hahahaha And tell you I still have plan to rewatch. Hehehehe
OVERALL: I LOVE THIS SERIES so please make your viewers happy again by announcing that you are gonna make part 3 of this wonderful TV series. Make us hopeful and in love again, please. ^_^ <3 <3 <3 WE LOVE YOU Together With Me TEAM. <3 <3 <3
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I've watch the 20 episodes in a couple of days, I was so hooked to this serie that I couldn't stop for a day.
The acting was really good, there was a great chemistry between the main couple, and I really liked that Chae Yeong Shin was a character with a strong personality (and to see her dancing :-D). I hadn't see Ji Chang Wook before this show, and I loved him doing different roles, overall as a shy and clumsy journalist.
I didn't rate a 10/10 because I think than even if the show is really great, there are some things I would have liked they'd have a better conclusive ending. For example, what did happen with Kim Moon Hoo brother? Did his wife do something about him lying all the time? I'd have liked to see a bit more of the main coupe life after everything is resolved... So, I know they're minor things, but it would have been wonderful to see them.
The OST was ok, I really liked the main song Eternal Love.
Rewatch value: I don't usually rematch a show, except if I liked it very much (like Goblin and Strong woman Do Bong Soon), so there's a really high possibility I'll watch this show again in the future.
Overall: you should watch it... if you don't drop it before episode 3 or 4, after that it's impossible not to want to see what's going to happen.
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