Reviews

The only reason this movie did not get all 10 stars from me was because of the ending. This movie was slow moving but not boring. The story was heart warming yet also heart wrenching. Song Joong Ki was amazing in his silence. His animal like behavior was believable and not over done. Believe it or not, this is the first movie I have watched featuring him. I think this role tells me more about his acting than any 'speaking' role could have. He has some depth to him that I did not expect. As always I enjoyed Park Bo Young, but she was just an additive to this storyline. By that I mean she was just a beautiful decoration to the werewolf (Song Joong Ki) storyline. Of course that is just my opinion. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys bittersweet love stories. Get the tissues ready and enjoy.

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This show is AMAZING!!!! I love every part of it!! From the unique plot, to the amazing actresses, to the cool and catchy music!! The girls can sing, act, and dance so well!! The opening song Catch Me is sung by Miracle2, a 3 person unit consisting of the 3 main protagonists Kanon, Fuuka, and Mai. The ending song Heart's Jewel is also sung by Miracle2, and both songs are such a bop!! They also have a new song called Jump, which is sung by Miracle2 as well as KariKari!! KariKari is a sister duo that consists of 2 new protagonists Akari and Hikari, who join Kanon, Fuuka, and Mai, making them a 5 person Senshi team!! This show will continue to get better and better with every episode!! I give this show a 10/10!! A must-see show!! Miracle Tunes Fighting!!

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I like how I found every single character interesting right from the start. It might help that I’ve seen most of the secondary characters in other dramas.

I like a plot that focuses on little missions throughout the drama. It keeps it interesting and there’s something always happening. Their cases are not very predictable, there’s a lot of rabbit trails, so it makes for a pretty good detective story. The later episodes get a bit laden down with roundabout prosecutor politics.
This drama kind of has a weird feeling. This drama makes the profession of prosecuting cool.
Things move fast in the first episode. You can see frenemies and alliances form.
The pacing just slices through the usual of Kdramas. It’s not drawn out. By the end of the first episode, the two leads are already extending civility to each other.

I like that the team learns to work functionally together pretty quick. One of the things I really liked were how the team was so nice to kids.
Both main characters have their limits to respecting authority. They’re quite audacious actually and I like it for the change.
The main leads have an interesting dynamic of all being invested in their cases even when they’re not getting along. They don’t want to miss out.

The personal reveals are really satisfying.
Those last episodes are SO GOOD for the unraveling of the plot and the emotion behind it.


Dong Chi

“Were you fooling me then? Because I wasn’t playing with you.”


Choi Jin Hyuk is my bias. So I feel like I can’t say much about his role. I’m always going to be on his side. He plays his characters so coolly. His facial expressions are so awesome. I just like the way he portrays Dong Chi and makes use of the blank face just as well as he does the more emotional ones.

I think his character is fun. Yeol Moo shoots him down and he just gets right back up. I also find him to be really sharp and quick on his feet.

He starts off with the usual meanness of a Kdrama hero, at least he’s honest though. He does flirt with her, which is a relief, instead of just taking his frustration out on her. He also lets her fight her own battles and doesn’t always have to rescue her.
I just really felt like he was a refreshingly direct kind of guy who’s honest when he wants to be nice and doesn’t play games.

I like that Dong Chi doesn’t steal Yeol Moo’s thunder. I like that he tries to include her in the work.
He’s quite level-headed with her after he gets over his initial hurt. In a way, he’s not selfish at all. He’s thinking about her welfare most of the time. It can definitely be a little strong-handed, but at least he’s not a jackass.

Dong Chi is the senior prosecutor and the first born of the office if you like. He knows what the chief prosecutor means and doesn’t mean and he knows how much to push.

Romance
I like the way it developed. How much Yeol Moo despised Dong Chi, and how she came to respect him, trust him, and appreciate him.
Dong Chi has always liked Yeol Moo so there wasn’t such a progression. It was almost like he was just biding his time. His funny way of flirting is pretty cute. And he’s so easy going with his pursuit of her. He plays the game well.
Some of his advances is cringey due to his caveman approaches but other times he just is perfect. It’s not so much the push and pull but rather he is flexible to when he holds onto her and when he lets her go.
If Yeol Moo wants to talk shop, he’ll talk shop.
Yeol Moo and Dong Chi are interesting. And I liked how Dong Chi still has some of that overconsideration that is so appealing.
“I’m sorry for making you make hard decisions.”

Kang Soo

“He has been nice ever since he was little.”

Kang Soo is a really fabulous character. He is incredibly docile but he’s also very fierce when it comes to his loved ones. I enjoyed his complexity. Kang Soo is always helping people silently like his chivalry is a matter of course.
I like how quick Kang Soo is to take care of Yeol Moo.

One of the best scenes that really shows who Kang Soo is is in episode 7 after Kang Soo goes through a crisis and his grandmother is telling him to straighten his shoulders and his surrogate father is backing the grandmother up.
Actually Kang Soo’s story is probably the most horrific out of everyone’s back stories. The way Kang Soo’s history relates to everyone around him is just crazy. I like that even though it must hurt he doesn’t hold it in to himself and he lets the people around him know.


I liked how Yeol Moo and Kang Soo started getting grouped together as Dong Chi’s kids and Yeol Moo and Kang Soo would look at each other in their love and concern for Dong Chi with a silent, “We’re worried about Dong Chi.” expression.

Kang Soo and Chan is always gold but there’s this beautiful scene where Chan isn’t even in screen but it’s just his hand comforting Kang Soo and it’s so touching. Actually, Kang Soo getting comforted is one of the best things in this show because people relate to him differently. I love that one of the keys to Yeol Moo’s mother was talking Kang Soo out of his sorrow and survivor guilt.

Yeol Moo
Yeol Moo is not your usual flighty, sensitive heroine. She can take a punch. Right from the start she’s got a tough personality. She gets the prize for calmest reaction to forced kiss.
I liked her acting. Her grief has aged her. She has her reasons for everything she does.
Similar to me, she is attracted to competency. She hears a lot about Dong Chi from the people closest to him. And that’s the main thing that helps shift her opinion of him.
I like the way she puts her differences aside and is able to work with him pretty well.
Sometimes she’s so hot-headed that it frustrates me she won’t listen to Dong Chi’s experience and advice and just takes everything he says as a personal attack or chalks it up to him just being evil and heartless.

It’s a bit unusual to see the heroine compromise. Most of the time we see such a pure and righteous heroine who stalwartly never gives up on her values. But Yeol Moo goes against that.
I like how Yeol Moo is in her relationship with Dong Chi when they decide to date.


Gwang Mi
I like this character. She’s smart and subtle and she works with the buffoon airheaded character but she’s the brains of the office.

Random Thoughts
I really like the feel of Episode 19 where the Chief and Dong Chi are battling but not really battling it out. I love how clever Dong Chi is at seeing through his chief. There’s a lot of cat and mouse. But there’s also a strong undercurrent of family and emotion and how unforgiveable it is to Dong Chi that because of his chief, he had to let his father see him in handcuffs.
Even Yeol Moo comes out swinging in a rather impressive way using her brains and people’s perspective of her.

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I had to take a couple of days to process my thoughts before writing this review. I have never been so affected by a drama before in my life, and honestly I don't know if my longing for this drama is something I'd ever care to repeat.

I started this hoping for action and serious topics. I wanted plot and not romantic shenanigans. The drama starts off being pretty much all about a cop looking for his kidnapped daughter. This guy, however, is far from likable, and I found it difficult to sympathize with him in his plight. Why? Because he was, to put it simply, crazy, violent, and screaming. Lots of screaming. Lots of swearing. Lots of beating up suspects without evidence, heavy police brutality. This dude cared for nothing and no one but his daughter and wouldn't hesitate to brutally assault anyone he perceived to be in his way.

That's where Clone #1, Sung Joon, comes in. Don't worry, I won't spoil anything. He has no memory of who he is, but Chief Jang decides poor Sung Joon is the key to finding his daughter. When these two meet, this is when the story really kicks off. I hated the detective for the first 2 episodes, but he does become more tolerable thanks to Sung Joon, who is kind and warm and patient where Chief Jang is crass, rude, and prone to fits of random rage.

So for the first part of the drama, I watched because I was invested in the development between Jang and Sung Joon. I thought they were a great pair and really balanced each other nicely, and I'm a sucker for any kind of non-romance relationship focus. Chief Jang treated Sung Joon like a tool at first and didn't see him as a human being at all, and I wanted to see that change. There was some mystery and plenty of action for the first 6 episodes, but then it slows down and becomes mostly just drama and mystery with action sprinkled in.

Eventually, the plot moves away from the father-daughter focus and we realize that ultimately this is a story about two clones. It's a sad story. Don't watch this if you don't want a ride on the rollercoaster of emotions. One clone is "evil," selfish and out for revenge and the other is kind, selfless and willing to put his life on the line to help near-strangers. But the characters are not simple, and evil clone is not actually just an "evil clone," but is a deep, complex character that will remain in my mind pretty much forever.

What is the story really about? It's about clones learning to be human. It's about a father and his daughter. There's also an evil dude who wants to cure his illness and there's his evil spawn who aren't really worth mentioning but the story isn't really about them. No romance, just friendships and family relationships. Yay!

Without Yang Se Jong, this drama would be nothing. His portrayal of three characters is something you really have to see for yourself. But let's say I had to keep reminding myself that it was the same actor. He brought the clones to life in a way that made me feel like I personally knew them. The other actors are good too. And JJY is so much more tolerable when he's not screaming his head off.

It's not a perfect story, and there are aspects I wish had been different (more interactions between the clones, more father-son bonding with Jang and Sung Joon, less of the secondary cop characters), but these factors don't change my love for this drama. I can't stop thinking about it and have already rewatched most of it 2-3 times.

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To begin with, I'll first address (why I picked up this drama) from all the new and interesting J-dramas that has been aired or being aired these past couple of months, merely, it's: Oguri Shun.
I'm a big fan of this guy and I just can't miss any of his shows. As always, I found him very charming as for his good-looking -which got more beautiful especially here in this series, the guy is aging in a fine way- and for his splendid acting, particularly the fighting scenes, he's so natural & genuine when he plays any character, hands down: one of the best, if not the best of all.

The story in general is not very engaging -at least to me- and I think that the genre of this series is more into: Politics, Political Corruption, National Subjects, and even Psychology - I daresay.
It talks about the internal corruption of the Japanese government, their greed, their dirty works which should be covered at any cost, even if it means killing some innocent people.

Those political high-positioned & dirty-handed people who end up protecting themselves by exploiting and using the Police, SP, Military Forces members/agents, who on the other hand, do their jobs and strive with a good intention to do good to their own country, but they end up covering up some holes caused by other's foolishness and greed.
As they say in the drama: ”Kuni no tame janai, Kokka no tame da!" = It's not for the sake of the nation/country, it's for the sake of the state.
Each episode has a different case, and each's solved in a different method & strategy by our beloved team.

To me, those internal matters of a country that I don't belong to or live in, doesn't really matter in anyway and I believe that the core of this series is not received as an interesting one internationally. Yes it will matter to the Japanese people, it does indeed, but I hope deep inside that the actual reality doesn't really resemble the incidents of this drama, I truly wish that yet I assume that the writer got actually inspired by the real one.
I love Kaneshiro Kazuki's style, he never fails to do a great job and he absolutely did in this as always. But something about his ingredients that always smells & tastes the same, I could recall the same atmosphere I have been in while watching SP & BORDER, the same gloomy air and the same seriousness.

For the acting and the cast: Just phenomenal! They did their best and they proved their talents, each and everyone did so great, indeed the only thing that kept me engaged with this drama is their fine performance.
Oguri Shun, can't say more, this guy is just awesome, he never leaves a bad impression of any role he portrays. Nishijima also left a good impression on me this time -which is rare!-, he did not impress me overall yet his fighting scenes were so priceless, to me -as I commented before-, he seems to be dull and his acting is bold. He's the same person in each drama I watch, with the same haircut, same facial expressions, same quiet personality, he never changes based on the given role, which's so unlike Oguri Shun.
Generally, I will definitely give them 10/10 for their wonderful acting, it was so absorbing and so real.
Their sense of humor and their little random jokes which peeked through was so light & pleasing, that's another thing that made me look forward to each and every episode.

The Music in this is not really wow but different, the song at the beginning says a lot & it really suits the nature of story, the OST in general is serious and it matches with the seriousness of the plot.

I might rewatch this drama if I am going to miss Ouguri Shun and Nishijima's slight bromance, it was really a heart-warming & touching addition.

Frustration, Devastation, Self-doubt, Self-loss,Confusion, Broken trust, Being victimized, betrayed, used, deceived, cheated, fooled & misled. These will be the emotions you'll develop throughout this drama and definitely when you finish it, So if you're ready to face them, then definitely GO AHEAD.

Despite of all the gloomy and dark sides of the story, it was a good show. Very well performed by the cast & very well executed & produced overall. I truly enjoyed watching the team and how strongly united they were, each one got the other one's back and how they faithfully supported each other.

Lastly, The solution of the Crisis in my opinion is very & well known to anyone with a normal common sense, but it stays difficult and hard to implement in reality. YET, I wholeheartedly hope for this corruption to end one day, not sure how but somehow. And for that reason I pray that they will get us a second season showing us their way of doing it!

Enjoy!

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Suspense and tension

The Guardians was full of suspense and tension. The writing and direction were very good until episode 31 and 32, when logic, communication and collaboration went out the window, and confusion, idiocy and tragedy entered the room.



Kim Young Kwang made the show sparkle, with his great height, wardrobe and acting. Kim Ki Bum (aka Key) did a very good acting job, which should make him viable for future acting projects. Kim Seul Gi also showed her acting range throughout the drama. Lee Shi Young did a very good job with the physical aspects of her role, but her monotone voice throughout the drama, made me cringe.



The music was very good, and upbeat. I could not locate the full OST on Itunes.



The final episode had the typical bad K-drama ending, that included a time jump that was unnecessary and extraneous, and a waste of the filming budget. Was I stupid, to hope for a great ending to a very good drama? Yoon Seung Ro's masterplan for a second season could have been five minutes long, and the remaining eleven minutes could have been put to better use.

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With You is SUCH a feel-good drama, especially if you like these kinds of slice-of-life, youth high school dramas. The friendships and relationships are so CUTE and feel so real and relatable. It realistically portrays a high school/teenage experience, complete with school struggles, family issues, and the making and breaking of friendships and relationships.

This series follows Geng Geng, a slightly awkward but adorable first year high schooler who feels like she's not smart enough to be at the prestigious Zhen Hua High School. The first day she happens to meet her future deskmate, the brilliant Yu Huai, and although they bicker at first, they soon form a strong friendship. They all become good friends with their classmates and have a strong bond with their teacher, Zhang Ping. Geng Geng also attracts the attention of the school's resident rebel, Lu Xing He, who quickly falls in love with her and isn't shy about announcing his crush to the world. The show follows Geng Geng, her friends, and even their teacher, through their struggles in both school and life. The show mostly focuses on their first year in high school, but toward the end also looks at the rest of their high school life and a little bit of the future 10 years later.

Like other similar shows, I love how With You develops really deep and complex characters who feel real. No one is flawless and everyone behaves in a very realistic way. I like that the main conflict comes not from villainous characters, but from challenges in life, such as struggling in school, controlling parents, unrequited crushes, and the like.

I LOVED Geng Geng's rapport with both her primary love interest, Yu Huai, and secondary love interest, Lu Xing He. Yu Huai and Geng Geng clearly like each other from day 1, but neither of them admit it. But what makes the show so beautiful is their friendship and the ways in which they support each other and look out for each other. Their relationship doesn't have grand gestures of romance, but has a solid foundation of friendship. On the other hand, Lu Xing He makes it clear from day 1 that he is in love with Geng Geng and his relationship with Geng Geng is full of shameless declarations of love. He is similarly supportive of her, and so selfless in trying to make sure she's happy.

The only reason I wouldn't rate With You a full 10/10 is because I felt like the ending escalated a bit too much in drama and got a bit too convoluted with misunderstandings, tears, and people hurting each other. It felt too much like a traditional romance drama rather than the slice-of-life type drama it had been all along. But overall, With You is definitely a good watch for warm and fuzzy feelings and adorable friendships.

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Stories about revenge are the best when they are well done, and this dorama executed it perfectly. I love that all members that are involved in the revenge (the guilty part, the vengeful one) have surnames that start with a number. I think it was a wonderful detail, starting with the MC (Ichinose Koichi), then with the leader of the killings (Nishina) and his minions (Rokutanda, Nanao, etc).

The story was sooo good. In every chapter, something is going on. Koichi getting closer to the family, in order to get the one who ordered Koichi's family to be killed. Getting his revenge on the minions who murdered his family, on the one who almost killed him, on the detective who pressured him when Koichi was just 9 years-old to lie that his father was the one who murdered the whole family. When it looks like the villains are almost catching up with him, Koichi has an ace up his sleeve. I love when the MC is wittier and quicker than the villain. He was perhaps a bit ruthless, but I couldn't help but empathize with him.

Kusanagi was excellent as Koichi. You could feel the rage in him, and if it weren't for that tragic past, he would be a good guy. He was satisfied when he could have his revenge, but with those tears, you can only wonder if he was also a bit sad. Ichimura as the main villain was perfectly cast. He does wonder in this kind of role. And all his children were excellent as well. In conclusion, the Nishina family was perfect.

That ending was O_O WOW. A whole 10/10 for me!

Honestly I don't remember the music, that's why I rate it 9. I was just too engrossed with the story.

I am not sure if this would be a re-watch for me, since you can't compare watching this kind of story for the first time with watching it for a second time. Nevertheless, if someone asked me to watch it with her/him, I'll gladly do it, since I can't recommend this dorama enough.

... I can't believe that this hasn't more viewers and reviewers. This deserves more recognition in MDL, highly recommended.

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This review might and will contain spoilers:




This drama has a lot of violence in it. But it's a crime drama, violence needs to be a part of it.
I'll not focus on the plot this time. It was ok, almost brilliant. There weren't black holes, everything fit perfectly together so I have nothing to complain about the plot.
The most interesting thing about this drama is its characters.
Some of them were written really well, some of them were too plain for me to like them.
Let's start with Jin Hyeok.
A pretty skillful cop, he chases criminals and murderers like a crazy dog chase a car.
Clever, never disappointing when it comes to his way of dealing things and troublesome situations. He seeks revenge toward the psycho who killed his wife, he's a protecting father yet his son has never been a pain in the ass (Like SY has been in Duel).
At first he can't team up with his new team, he just wants to do his job alone like a lone wolf. But after some episodes we see that he's actually stronger while being in a team.
Kwoo Joon is the tough female cop that works as his sidekick.
Both seeking for the murderer who killed their darlings, Kwoo Joon is the brain of the team.
She has a really good hearing, almost a supernatural power I might say.
She knows how to handle things, but, most of all, she knows how making a team work.
She's not the best female character I have ever seen in Kdramas but she was a really strong woman.

REASON TO WATCH IT.
The villain is one of the most interesting and creepy villain I ever saw.
I'm not just talking about how he kills people, a really gruesome way, but I really enjoyed his personality and his background story.
A villain is a villain and a well made villain doesn't need to have a sad background story to being with.
Taegu grew up with a mental illness. His father didn't want to cure him so his father made TaeGoo become that kind of adult.
I really enjoyed the way they killed him off.
Maybe it was too unrealistic, but he was killed the way he used to kill people.
And, in the end, he was scared.

Great drama, I'll give it a 7.5 out of 10.

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Project S has given me so much emotion. The acting was superb, the script was fantastic, the soundtrack was moving. Puen’s outburst was my most favorite. It was heavy, touching and very believable. I expected the level of acting from Bank (Than) but I never thought that Oab (Puen) was just as capable. He was a revelation. This was definitely Oab’s best acting performance so far.

The cinematography was highly commendable. The final volleyball match was spectacular and even just the ball being suspended in the air looked amazing. The tournaments looked legit to me. I read somewhere that the cast members were trained to play volleyball for one year. Great effort from everyone.

Volleyball as a concept for a drama show is not something new but the use of the sport as a metaphor to depict the dynamics among the main characters made wonders. It's not the sports series I imagined it would be. The plot and the twists were marvelous. It was beyond my expectation.

Even though I don’t understand a single word, the soundtrack 25 Hours is just beautiful. The music video might suggest BL or bromance but the entire series is way more than that. The moment it played in the series gave me goosebumps. It was way beyond BL, way beyond bromance.

For me, Project S is a progression from Hormones. The technicality and artistry just got better but the trademark is still there. Hormones has set the bar high and Project S raised it. I highly recommend everyone to watch it.

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