But that's just me. I still think this is a must-watch, wether you like it or not in the end.
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I give the story a 10/10. The story was well-made, full of twists, it constantly gives off the feeling that you have a clue of what’s going on, but then you realise it’s more complicated than what you thought or even exactly the opposite. There are a few slower paced episodes, around the episodes 3-4-5, when you kinda think “I already figured everything that’s going on, so what are you going to fill the next 5-6-7 episodes with?!” Or at least that’s what I thought, but my advice is don’t drop it, they’re just tricking you, after episode 5 the plot pretty much goes “boom”.
The take on the “family” subject is very Japanese-like. I see that many people find the mother character a bit pushover. It certainly is so for us, but unfortunately, that’s the Japanese society for you. And I think this type of dramas are trying to do exactly that: raise awareness of the public. Yes, in Japan the education of the kids is left almost entirely to the mother, and yes, if anything goes wrong with the kids, she is to blame. And yes, she is supposed to handle all the family affairs by herself, because the husband is the one providing for the family, and he thinks he’s entitled to doing nothing else but that, going to work and providing. You will become really frustrated with the relationship husband-wife throughout the series, and you will be surprised how much the wife can actually take without saying a single word. You would probably make your husband sleep on the doormat if he treated you that way, but for the Japanese, it’s totally understandable and acceptable. The wife is to sacrifice herself for the well-being of her kids and home. So instead of thinking how push-over the character of the mother is, take it as a cultural lesson. Personally I’ve become greatful I was born in a different part of the planet ? and also really sad while watching the drama that there are still places in this world where women are being forced by society to go through so much. I do love Japan, but I don’t think I could live in their society. By the end of the drama the Japanese are all like “Yes, you can see some developpment in her character” and you’re like “No, Japan...you don’t get it..she shouldn’t have waited 10 whole episodes to finally open her mouth...She should have punched everyone who deserved it in the face from the very first episode!”
The music was great. I give that a 10/10. They have creepy music, emotional music, suspence music. I still listen to the soundtrack even after I finished the drama, it sticks to you. The music is really fitting every scene and it sets up the mood perfectly. You know something bad is about to happen when the creepy tune kicks in :)
Rewatch value...I would give it a 8/10. I’m not really a rewatcher, I would need at least 5 years to pass before I can rewatch something, but I would definetely rewatch this drama after 5 years, haha. It’s on the rewatchable side.
I started watching this drama because of Kanno Miho-san, I really like her as an actor. I think she did a great job in portraying the mother. The fact that her character gets you, frustrates you, angers you sometimes, is proof that she actually did justice to her character. I don’t know most of the other actors but they did a good job as well. Not amazing, but good. So I would give the acting an overall 8/10.
All in all, I give this drama a 9 because it really got me. I finished it in two days. It was getting so emotional and heavy with each episode but it had me clicking the Next Episode button every time, hoping to eventually get to that one typically Japanese scene, when after the darkest dark, the characters can finally see the sky clearing and the nice emotional music starts playing in the background. Not a clear blue sky though, just a glimpse of sunshine coming through the clouds, to keep it realistic.
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This review may contain spoilers
I will only talk about the BL storyline since I only watched In and Sun’s scenes and because it was mentioned that it’s supposed to be a separate story from Oh and Peach.Is the plot of In and Sun realistic? For the most part, yes. It is not mandatory for the story to be realistic but the series tackles an important real-life dilemma of gay teenagers, that is, falling in love with a straight friend. The charm of In and Sun’s arc relies on a real human problem that many viewers would find relatable.
The spark between In and Sun kicks off with an eye contact scene. It is very cliche but the music, lighting and slow motion effect made it so dreamy. It’s just exquisite. That scene is the very definition of love at first sight. It’s one of the scenes that I will never forget.
Unlike most Thai BL series, this one featured a legitimate gay character in the form of Sun. He’s not necessarily effeminate or feminine but the writers throw the usual stereotypes to his personality like reading gay novels and watching gay movies. He is not portrayed as a boy who likes girls until In entered his life. He is attracted only to boys and, above all, he knows who he really is and he can admit it to himself.
A character like Sun is one of the fundamental elements missing in most boy-to-boy romance nowadays. Mainstream BL series are obsessed with protagonists who are labeled as straight and who are masculine in nature. There is an irrational thrill in watching boys chasing after boys yet still end up being straight. The existence of Sun’s character (among others like Thee in Hormones and Rome in Puppy Honey) is another step forward for me.
On the contrary, we have the typical BL personality in the character of In who at first likes girls, then becomes in denial and then becomes confused. After all what he feels becomes clear to him, he still doesn’t want to be categorized with any label. It’s far from real but it is an appropriate balance to Sun’s character.
In is introduced as a bully. In the middle, he becomes a loner. After that, he is a great friend to Sun. Towards the end, he becomes a heartless, inconsiderate jerk. His character is all over the place. The script has failed to define who In is. As mentioned in the series, he can do anything and be anything he wants to be. He just doesn’t know it yet and that’s exactly what I feel about him. I wish he had more scenes projecting his point of view so that the audience know what he really thinks of Sun and their situation. His strongest moment is when he was talking to Ainam when Sun didn’t show up in the tutorial class because it shows a glimpse of his perspective.
There are dialogues in the series that are really precious. The confessions are genuine. The rejections are harsh but honest. The arguments presented by the characters are truthful yet sincere. The meaningful conversations are mostly driven by Ainam. She is portrayed as a level-headed and logical person but at the same time she is compassionate. Instead of being the hindrance that the viewers expect her to be, she turns out to be instrumental to In and Sun’s relationship.
Throughout the show, Pluem has fared well in terms of acting but he wasn’t given much opportunities to explore his emotions deeply. On the other hand, I thought Chimon is excellent. His acting is subtle but you can feel the inner pain and struggle. That tear falling after he got rejected is heartbreaking. He has a certain depth on the way he interprets the emotions without being exaggerated.
Despite the plot’s weakness, it is very evident that their chemistry is extraordinary. They are the only BL couple that I can think of who can pull off matching outfits. It’s just effortless. They are so cute and adorable that you want their relationship to succeed.
Is it a happy ending? Yes and no. I can say that the story of In and Sun in the series finishes on a high note but the process to get there is emotionally exhausting. Sun’s point of view is very clear. I love how he tried so hard to keep a distance from In. Falling in love with a straight friend is a dead end. It is a losing battle. For me, this is where the moral of the story lies. No matter how much it hurts, walking away is the most rational and bravest move you could ever do when you fall for a straight friend. There is no other escape but to accept that some things are not meant to be and I applaud Sun for having the strength and courage to do that at such a young age.
The deciding factor whether it is a happy or sad ending depends on In. After getting confused and realizing that it is Sun who truly makes him happy, he has decided to give in and do whatever it takes to keep Sun by his side even if that meant being in a relationship with him. What falls short for me is how the resolution was executed. In’s character development is the weakest point because it was done abruptly. I wish his confusion was given more focus. It’s a bit scattered. The resolution felt like forced. As a result, there is no solid conclusion.
In the end, what matters most is Sun’s happiness because that’s what we all want. I see a great deal of myself in Sun. I found myself in his situation more than once in my life. That is why I’m rooting for him. Seeing him happy is a good enough ending for me.
Is the ending sustainable? In and Sun are still young. They are at the edge of 17. So far, what was established is a strong emotional connection between the two of them. We have yet to find out what will happen when their hormones start to kick in. If the writers stick to what is realistic, anything could happen. I had issues on how GMMTV heavily advertised In and Sun but I hope they will not put the new ship to waste. Pluem and Chimon’s chemistry is undeniable. Indeed, the ship is sailing. We need a season 2.
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There is more drama in this romance than in all Brazilian soap operas put together.
I was prepared for ups and downs... but I wasn't prepared for last 2 episodes ^^
This story is like a rollercoaster. It slowly climbs up to highest point just to suddenly fall down. During this ride you will laugh, you will cry, you will get angry and you will regret you decided for this BUT IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE! You have to withstand to the end! You can only hope it will end well... Thats all you got.. hope. Because whoever wrote this story must be some fuckin sadist ^^ But I definitely recommend it!
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But, when you start Kill Me Heal Me, you can't stop. Truly, that's what I felt. This drama is one of the best I've seen and I'm really difficult about movies, tv shows and dramas. But KMHM is the mix of all of the things I like. I'll explain my enthusiasm for this drama by using the 3 previous rating topics.
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STORY : I was really afraid to watch a drama who's talking about the hard disease that is schizophrenia, cause it's a difficult topic who is often badly represented. But actually, the story gains you and you just want to know what will happen for every character. Even the supporting roles have an interesting story and, you can't help but be interested in their own life. You're just there watching the episodes and falling in love with every characters. I cried a lot, at the beginning and at the end. You understand the meaning of everything bit by bit and that's why the drama is amazing. There are puzzle pieces everywhere, and you have to stick them together to understand the full story, the how and the why.
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ACTING/CAST : I'll just detail my feelings toward the main cast but, the back cast did an amazing work too. Truly, I rarely saw that kind of cast who just leave you speechless. Ji Sung was the PERFECT actor to personify DoHyun. Every personnality is amazingly played and you just fall in love with each of them. Actually, my favorite was Perry Park. He was so extra but you finally understand that he's so broken.
Let's talk about Hwang Jung-Eum too ! She slayed the role of RiJin and was, for me, an amazing choice of the casting director. That actress always surprises me, and I think she will in the future too. (update : she did in Lucky Romance oh my god)
Park Seo Joon did an amazing job on his role too. We saw him less than the main actors but when he appeared, it was full of meaning and emotionnal/funny, there was not happy medium.
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MUSIC : Auditory Hallucination took my heart. The meaning, the instrumental, the voices. I can't stop listening and singing this song since 2015. I've never liked a song that much. All the noises and the ambience sounds were amazingly choosen for all the situations. The other music I loved is Unspeakable Secret, performed by Moon Myung Jin. His voice is so deep, and the lyrics are so.. Like, you can recognize yourself in them. Park Seo Joon's song is kinda beautiful too, and I was really surprised by his voice.
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In short, KMHM is that kind of drama you like easily especially if you're, like me, sensitive with ease. The acting is so touching and the end is satisfying, really satisfying, even if there are sad moments, everything goes well and yes, that's the kind of dramas I love. I recommend it to everyone !
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But after seeing the first two episodes I was expecting lot of love scenes from them. Disappointed after the four episodes bcoz of very less romantic scenes. But if u like stories with lot of other emotions then u will like it.
Chanon is very dedicated in his work and we can see it perfectly with Push's acting. Esther is very Feminine with this role as Antika. Chanon's sis and Dao are perfectly casted for this role. I like Dao so much and her sacrifice for her love. She loves chanon onesided.
Story is typical Thai drama and casting is best. Push pulled this role with his emotions. And Esther nailed it with her acting. Music is nothing new. But used properly in their place. I don't like dramas with lot of other emotional scenes rather than love and romantic or sad scenes within the main leads. So I don't like to rewatch it. If u like this type of story's then try to rewatch it again. Nothing new. Only good is push and Esther and their simple but beautiful love scenes
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What a wonderfully shot drama with a winning cast and tight knit storyline.
Story: Every episode builds upon the last. I was never bored. The use of humor in this drama is also on point. Instead of the common "trolling" often employed by writers in dramas these days, the humor is unique and refreshing. The way the past life story is unraveled also fits very well with the character and story developments. In all, a very well executed drama.
Music: AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL OST. One of the songs is in English, which made it all the easier to relate to as a English-speaking viewer. A great choice of the songs used in this drama. Made the drama so beautiful and easy to be immersed in.
Acting: Yoo Ah In is in this. Need I say more? All 3 of the leads were able to infuse layered acting into this so that the characters embodied their roles perfectly, whether that was helplessness, confusion, paranoid, etc. The ending was perfect and poignant, and only because the leads' acting was able to pull it off. Some people criticized that the main lead was too insensitive and a jerk, but as you keep watching the drama reveals why he is that way, so have some patience.
I cannot say enough good things about this drama. While Legend of the Blue Seas (which is also about past and current reincarnated lives) is a romance story, Chicago Typewriter is instead a story about patriotism and friendship. The past life motif is strong this year (i.e., Goblin, Legend of the Blue Seas) but Chicago Typewriter has the best story.
This drama is so underrated, I honestly don't understand why this drama doesn't have as many viewers as the other two above. Don't be put off by the "literary-ness" which put me off initially but instead expect a very intriguing period drama x fantasy/supernatural aspects. The bromance is strong in this one. Instead of rooting for the love line, I rooted for the bromance all the way.
Definitely worth the watch! (and perhaps staying up late for!)
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This review may contain spoilers
Another time travel movie. I just have enough of those time travel themed movie and drama but this one is need a try. Let's put aside Kentaro despite I watch this one because of him.Plot: (sorry I couldn't make a resume even I wanted to)
Interesting. Kinda different from other time travel movie. The absurdity of time travel themed movie is 'the way' / how they can go back in time. But what makes this movie interesting is how the characters solving their problem.
From the middle until the end of the movie, I was thinking that it wasn't Riku who saved Aoi from the accident but otherwise.
Acting:
It's kinda break my heart watching Kentaro Sakaguchi shed the tears :( Your acting has improved! Yeah, you know, he can convince me that he was truly sad, he tried desperately to turn back time again and again for 100 times (for real?) to spend more time with Aoi. To fall in love again and again with Aoi. (how sweet!)
As for Miwa, she's a novice when it comes to acting. Her singing skill save her from disaster hehe. Actually, Kentaro saves the day, I mean the entire movie :D As if he acts solely.
Aside from Miwa, the acting of the rest actors is good.
I must admit that this movie is created with good intention. :D The script is good and the cinematography is so good. Visually beautiful.
Only the promotional poster is so so -ordinary.
Worth to watch
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So does anyone know when is season 2 coming on?
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This is a romance/mystery drama about people who have to deal with mental ilnesses, which is pretty interesting to watch, since this serie deals with this in a pretty mature way.The acting of this drama is really great, unlike other drama the characters feel more realistic in their behaviour and acting. Music is nice and the general story and theme is pretty interesting.
Yet there are still some problems with this drama, if you are like me, having the second lead syndrome, wanting to watch this because you think you will finally get a less sexist, mature romance, then you might be a bit dissapointed. If you liked coffee prince or hana yori dango, then don't read any further, you'll definitly like this one, just go and watch it! : ), but if you are the kind of person who got red flag reactions when watching them, then you might also find this serie problematic.
One of the problems I had with this serie is that it still has the dominating male, while he is not as abusive as other male leads, there will be some scenes in it that gave me wtf reactions. There is also a side romance story,in which the male finally seems to get a spine, but then turns also in the typical dominating male, which the girl suddenly falls for. I've written down below some of the scenes which decreased the enjoyment I had wathing this show, I've removed the names to make it as less spoilerish as possible,
THIS MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY SPOILERISH, SO DON'T SCROLL BELOW, IF YOU REALLY DON'T WANT ANY SPOILERS!!!
The acting of this drama is really good, and the story and the characters feels more mature than other standard cliche drama's, but for me it went downhill after episode 9. Below are some of the things that destroyed the enjoyment of this show.
- female says she wants no sex on the trip. During the trip man gets suprised that she really meant this, saying that sex the ultimate act of love is, he acts angry and then leaves her. Later she goes to him, they make up and have sex. (ofcourse sex equals love cough cough*, what really would have been an atc of love is if he would've respected her boundaries, their relation is only a few months, and she has serious anxiety issues on intimacy, heck she even had problems with kissing)
- Male suddenly says that he goes out the house and live alone again and thinks that there is no problem with that, for it is because of work. I mean they have a serious relationship, they were living together, and the man suddenly says, "well, I'm going to live alone again for my work"... it is so bs, during the day he could just write at that place, and then just go home.
- female is seriously upset that her ex, who cheated on her, just comes into her house, because he works together with a roommate of hers. Nobody is understanding to her. The man the ex works with even screams at her saying that they otherwise would need to pay money somewhere... again bs they could have gone to the ex's house to talk about their work.
- There are two side characters, a male and a female, they divorced some years ago. The female tells her female friend that she finally realizes that her relationship with the male was 100% her fault (weird that she says this, but okay, it could be...). She says that her man wanted a child, but she secretly took contraceptives, she wanted to continue her career which would be impeded if she would get a child, at some point he found out and they divorced. Ofcourse what she did was wrong, but the fact that she thought that she could not be honest in her relationship already tells me that there was something already wrong in the relationship to begin with.
- Other side characters are a young man and female. In the beginning the girl practically uses him to get new stuff. I understand the female character, her mother left her at an early age, and she has a kind of absent father who fills the home with junk stuff. At some point the young man stops the relationship. I was like yay : D, he finally got some spine, he stops letting him being used. But then the story changes into the toxic idea "that if you save some person you'll get the girl". He helps her father, saying to him that he should not bring the junk home, but sell it to get some money... and suddenly the father actually does that, I am sure that the female character must have said it once in her life to her father, but that must not have impressed him, the young man magically fixed her father.
Then he gets angry at the girl for the fact that she talks bad about her father, he is still your parent afterall, she still should have respect for him... a father who has for a long time neglected her, he tells her how his own father kicked him out of the house, because of his mental ilness, but he still calls him every week to know how he is doing, if she still wants to have a relationship with him, she should say so before the count of three... (I would have rolled my eyes and walked away, but...), she looks at him in awe and says that she wants to be in a relationship with him. I understand that the young man's way of thinking, even though I disagree, what irked me the most was his counting down, like a parent to a child would do. The girl, while using other people, is pretty smart, if the man talked in a rational, equal way, it could've been the start of a mature relationship, yet instead we see how he acts to her like a parent to a child...
- In the end we see that the female protagonist gets pregnant, she's angry. The male protagonist pushed some weeks ago to have sex with her without a condom, which she actually didn't want to. When she tells him that she is pregnant, he silently walks out the room to the other male roommates. He tells them enthusiastingly that he becomes a father. They laugh happily. Female protagonist comes in, still angry. The male protagonist defends himself "But at that night she was so pretty"...(yeah right). The female starts to smile, and they laugh together. Later we hear that her study needs to be suspended two years. At the end the male protagonist jokely tells her to get another baby after this one. She tells him smilingly that she is angry at him, but at the end they still smile and kiss as if nothing has happened.
So this is still a better drama, than most cliche drama's, but everyone who says that this is such a 'mature' romance, they are lying, the cake does not exist, but it still has its sweet moments.
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I feel like this drama was made for pp who has watched the drama. But even tho I watched it, it's still so confusing. Their first kiss in this drama......I seriously, SERIOUSLY!!!! Had no idea how it happened and why??? Like......ummmm....could u pleas rewind for me???
And obviously the story wasn't clear. It went to that scene then that scene and then another scene randomly throughout the drama. My motto after watching a drama is to forget about everything so when I watch it the next time I'd be able to enjoy it as much as the first time. But for this movie I had to try to remember stuff from the drama in order to know what's going so.....yea.
BUT.....even tho the story was like here and there and there were some bits that I had no idea what was going on.....i DIDNT not enjoy it. I gotta say.....it's all bc they had good actors??? There were some scenes that I was so immersed into that I cried. Even tho I didn't know what was happening. There acting was literally that good. And the scenes are good, but just confusing so yea.....if ur like me quite easy going then u probably wont be mad after this movie. Wow....Liu crystal....I give her a BIG THUMBS UP. She's the bomb. I now know why she's so popular.
It is a pity tho....that the story wasn't very clear. Yang yang and crystal are such good actors. I understand why pp are mad and gave this movie bad reviews. That's why I did too! Lol. I hope that they'd be together in another drama but it has to be a better one than this one. For sure. Well, that's it for me today. Laterzzz.
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Kim Ah Jung-in her first role-fits the role of the cute Hanna and the beautiful Jenny perfectly. She did all the songs by herself, despite not being a singer.
I like all the songs. my favourite is Maria, which is originally by Blondie. Actually the songs topped the Korean charts at that year.
"200 pounds beauty" was a super hit and won many awards and nominations including best actress and best film, so watch it. it is really a sweet one.
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