Reviews

Chief Kim AKA Good Manager

Oh Namgoong Min. What can I say? I love this man. He's a delightful actor. In Chief Kim, he plays Kim Sung Ryong, a former accountant for mobster types sort of turning over a new leaf. His character is smarmy and over the top and utterly lovable. This show is very much about corporate politics and corruption and the redemption of two men. I was a little bit worried that they were going to make it into a basic love triangle, but was actually really satisfied when that ended up not becoming the case. The second lead in this show is really Lee Jun Ho as Seo Yool, who starts out pretty darn despicable and rotten and is the foil for Namgoong Min's Chief Kim. Nam Sang Mi plays Yoon Ha Kyung, who thankfully ends up not being paired off with anyone. The plot lines and evil corporate shenanigans in this show are very often over the top in an almost makjang way, but just when it seems like this show is going to jump the shark, they reel it back in to the final, satisfying, rush to the finish line where the evil are punished, the good are rewarded, and the somewhat grey move forward with turning their lives around. It wraps up very satisfyingly and I was actually really pleased that it pretty much lacked a romance plot line. It didn't need one.

Even smarmy and over the top, Namgoong Min is pure joy to watch. I'm pretty sure he'd be on my list of actors that I'd pay to watch read the phone book.

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Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo was a breath of fresh air. I found the story, the characters, and the music to be light-hearted and refreshing. Initially when I heard about the show, I was conflicted whether to watch it because I had never been fully invested in the sports genre for dramas and found this particular drama to be unrealistic (i.e. Kim Bok Joo didn't look similar to the weightlifter who the show is somewhat inspired by, Jang Mi-ran, or a weightlifter in general...). Even with these concerns, I am definitely glad that I ended up giving Weightlifting Fairy a chance. The story encompassed the themes of comedy and school, but most especially of friendship, romance, and youth. These themes just happened to use the sports genre as a 'backdrop' per say. The cast's chemistry really tied together the themes of friendship, romance, and comedy (this may have been the case as several of them worked closely together in Cheese in the Trap). Lastly, the music matched the cheerful story and the noticeable chemistry between each of the characters and the actors who played them. This can most especially be heard from Kim Min Seung's "From Now On", which I believe was played at least once in each of the episodes (or as often as one would hear the word, "swag", in the series). It is likely that I would rewatch some or all of Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo when I'm in need of a break from the stresses of a busy life or when I'm in a reminiscent mood.

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She Was Pretty

I just finished re-watching this k-drama that stars the vastly entertaining Hwang Jung Eum as Kim Hye Jin, a woman who was the beautiful, popular girl who became "plain" when she got older, and the vastly adorable Park Seo Joon as Ji Seong Jun, the man who was the tubby outcast boy who fell in love with her but is now attractive, fit, and successful. This show is, really, the reward for the Second Lead Syndrome caused by Kill Me, Heal Me - where Park Seo Joon's character does not get Hwang Jung Eum's character as a romantic partner. As wish fulfillment for Second Lead Syndrome it suffers a bit early on by just how awful a human being the adult Ji Seong Jun has become. It takes a little bit overly long for him to turn into a human being again - during which time, one gets the chance to absolutely fall in love with Choi Shi Won, who plays Kim Shin Hyeok, a goofy and good natured writer who loves the "ugly" Hye Jin just the way she is. (In fact, when she has the inevitable make-over mid season, his reaction is shock and dismay 'But you were so pretty just as you were!') Luckily, Seong Jun does become human eventually and the wrap up of the romance is charming, sweet, and satisfying.

And almost secondary to the real shining relationship in this drama, which is the womance between Kim Hye Jin and her roommate/best friend Min Ha Ri, who is played by the stunningly beautiful and doll-like Go Joon Hee. Very often in k-dramas, the two women who fall for the main guy are catty and awful to each other. Even when they have otherwise been friends, introducing a guy to the mix often ends up with at least one of them turning to Leona Helmsley levels of evil. Not She Was Pretty. The love these two friends have for each other shines through from beginning to end in this show and is the real reward for watching. The love and support they show for each other is envy- and awe-inspiring. And worth every single moment of screen time. There's more than one moment in the show, especially early on, where I think that these two could just go off and leave all the guys behind and it would be one of the most satisfying love stories. :) I would seriously watch it again and again just for their story lines.

I do love the interactions between Park Seo Joon and Choi Shi Won, too.

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I'm normaly very critical and I have the urge to point out tons of problems in dramas. But this time I am very impressed. The story is great. I always felt satisfied after every episode and could not stop watching it. Each character was very different and complex, they always kept me hanging. You could never be sure were the story would go. What the characters were gonna do. This is a drama anyone can find interesting. The suspense is really strong. It reached the top of my list very fast
The whole cast did great. I know its not gonna be a surprise to say that Ji Sung did an amazing job with this role. But I still have to note that his acting really got to me, I legit tried to fight back my tears, but is was all in vain. ( they still got out )
Normaly I don't comment about the music, but I replayed the music a lot and I even made a playlist soo... its dope.
I can definitely see myself rewatching it very soon it was worth my time. It was a very enjoyable emotional rollercoaster, which i highly recommend~

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Now, that I have watched Sprout for the third time, I think it's time to write a review. Because this drama is not flawless at all, yet I found myself enjoying it so much I had to question my standards.

In general, I can't say that the story is unique or very well interpreted (though I haven't read the original manga so I can't compare the two). But it's just fine as it is. It's a high school romance story without huge drama or unexpected twists, it simply focuses on the struggles of teenage love and friendship. I have to admit that it is kind of slow sometimes but it didn't ruin the drama for me at all. The episodes are only 20 minutes long which is perfectly enough for these kind of stories.

The acting is lacking a lot, especially Jesse Lewis has a looot to learn, his character seemed unnaturally stiff which put me off completely sometimes. If I put that aside all of them looked like potential amateurs which didn't bother me that much, maybe because the awkward acting fitted well with the awkward teenager characters.

Now comes one of my most favourite things about the drama: the music. I didn't know Grouplove before watching Sprout but I totally fell in love with the band. Even though only 3 of their songs are featured in the drama, they enhanced the atmosphere a lot for me.

And finally, what made me love Sprout so much that I decided to watch it again: the atmosphere. The whole drama is like the epitome of the perfectly calm and hot Japanese summertime. The sound of cicadas, the scorching sun, cold ice tea and watermelon, added to the pure and light-hearted storyline... It made me forget (and forgive) every lacking part of the drama. Anytime I want to relax or when I miss summer occasionally, I wouldn't hesitate to watch a few episodes of Sprout just for the feeling.

I recommend watching Sprout (especially in the summer) for anyone who likes high school romance dramas without heavy plots. Don't have high expectations, just enjoy the simple story with loveable characters.

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This drama was entertaining, cute, easy to watch drama. It was super adorable. The characters and the interactions between the cast were good. The plot was not the best executed, but you sometimes can't help it that you want more.

Story-8/10: It was a cute story, but there were 2 different dramas in one. One was an office romance and a mystery drama on another. The writing improved throughout the story. That's why the score is a little bit higher score than I would of scored. The some characters were well written, but there were characters that not as well written. I also felt that I missed something as the drama ended. I felt that the mystery wasn't finished then got forgotten.

Acting-8/10: Hwan Ki was the best character of all time. I can teamsters to him. He was just so much fun to watch him get out of his shell, little by little. Ro Woon was a little hard to like at first, but then she get more likable as the series goes on. The chemistry between Hwan Ki and Ro Woon was very good. Woo Il was a call brushing character. There were times that I didn't like him, but there were also times that he was totally adorable(I think it was the fault of the writing). I just couldn't choose to like him or not at times. The co-workers in this series were funny and endearing.

Music-7/10- some songs were cutes but didn't really remember them. The songs fit the scenes.

Re-watch or not?: I would probably watch this again if so want something easy to watch type of show.

Overall-8/10: What this for the character development, the actors/actresses, the comedy and easy to watch shows with heart.

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The director has to juggle 5 plot threads in almost 2 hours. The movie handled this well, I appreciated the tales even with their limited time, as k-stories always shine when they’re simple relatable narratives of pure love and good humor. The film avoided getting messy which worked both to its advantage and its detriment. As it didn’t have time to delve into something deeper, it failed to tug my heartstrings, and left some unexplained things. The ensemble cast is stellar, starting with a good performance from ever likable Cha Tae Hyun. Overall Because I Love You is enjoyable enough to spend a few hours with, but you’ve probably already forgotten it once you pick up your next k-ent fix.

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I just finished this drama and decided to write my first review ever.

I've been watching dramas for quite a long time now but strangely I never came across N no Tame ni for some reason. When I saw that it has 8.6 as an average rating and the plot seems quite intriguing I decided to give it a go.

And I haven't regretted. Although it didn't become a favourite of mine either.

The story was the strongest part of the drama. I don't think good mystery is easy to write and they managed to interpret the whole story in a way that I was sitting at the edge of my seat waiting for what will come next. Even when I thought I had most things figured out, the drama came up with more plot twists that I didn't expect. Also, the story dealt with quite a few sensitive topics which made me feel so sorry for the characters, and also making the whole thing painfully real in a way. I would also point out that it was very interesting to follow the psychological motives and acts of the characters.
Another thing that I really liked about the "mystery features" of the drama was how they decided to jump between time lines and give us small glimpses about the mystery.
I must admit that I was surprised about how much time was given to almost every character's background story, but it was a very good choice because it made the characters very complex and I could understand the motives behind their actions. Some dramas tend to disregard this aspect but in this case it was very great, and luckily it didn't slow down the plot for me either since all of their stories were quite interesting.
Lastly, what made me like the story the most was how they managed to put friendship and romance in the spot despite the dark (supposedly) main storyline. It made the whole thing very approachable and loveable, and again very complex with how the relationship between certain characters turned out.

I could go on about the story even more but I think that's enough to see what were my most favourite things about it.

Moving onto the cast, I think it was really great, I don't think I had a problem with anyone or anything. The main actors did a very great job, especially Eikura Nana. I was blown away by how well she played a young struggling high school student and then a strong, independent adolescent. Maybe sometimes the Noguchi couple was a little off for me, I really don't know why though that might be simply because of their characters.

I enjoyed the music because it fit very well with the atmosphere. Sometimes it felt a bit repetitive but that's my own reoccuring problem with drama OSTs. It was very decent all in all.

I don't think I would watch it again, knowing the ending now. Also, even though as I said I was quite excited and interested in what will happen in the end, I wasn't THAT thrilled. Maybe the strongest point for me was the weakest as well, since I knew there will be some sort of disaster coming and in the beginning it became clear that the whole story is quite tragic, I think I was a bit too prepared already.

Just one last additional thing. I mentioned the complexity of the characters as a great point (which it is) but it also left me so uncertain about how I feel about some of them. None of them was black and white and I absolutely loved that, it made me think, yet it left me in doubt about my own thoughts on them. I wouldn't say it's a bad thing after all, it's rather smart and proves great character development.

I recommend N no Tame ni for anyone who wants to see a great drama with an intricate plot and good characterisation. But prepare yourself for some heavy topics. It is a bittersweet story and you can only enjoy it fully if you're in the appropriate mood for that.

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First and foremost, I must say that I am a romance drama fan so I was quite hesitated to watch this drama. And also I didn't know any of the casts to prompt me to watch it. I didn't quite remember why I watched this drama seriously..... But I never regret it:)

For the story...
1.) Amazing story line that hooks me up every episode. I literally lost sleep over this drama cause I was so so so curious about the story and those cliffhangers definitely left me crazy. The idea of the time-mismatching walkie-talkie is really interesting and is well used in this drama, although I hoped for a more detailed backstory of the walkie talkie to make it more completed.

2.) I also had some moments where I lost the story and couldn't follow the logic, then I rewind back so that I can get back on track. It happens for me so often but kinda feel that my IQ is increased after the drama hahaha...

3.) The ending was left half-open but definitely did not leave us hanging (maybe a teeny weeny bit). Probably for a sequel which I think is highly possible due to the nature of this drama. A pre-sequel is also possible to talk about the detailed backstory of characters as well as the walkie-talkie. Looking forward to it:)

For the cast/acting...
Casts is so goooood. Like I said earlier, I didn't know any of them when I started watching it but they totally impressed me so much. Totally. I was also very impressed by the acting of the minor characters and the sub story leads.

For the music...
I don't know the title to the opening track but it's really suitable for the drama, feels like the characters are walking back in time. Generally enjoyed the music as it was able to build up the intense at every climax.

Definitely a re-watchable drama or SEASON 2 pls. Binge watch it or lose your sleep haha..

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Pleasantly surprising as I watched this for Heechul but stayed for the grandpas instead.

Story was so so, interesting plot line but quite stupid at some time. Love line quite lacking, no chemistry for the triangle love line. No substance built for the romance to happen. Preferred the sub stories (crime cases) than the main story. But then, the ending is surprisingly to my liking.

The grandpas did well acting as flower boys, exaggerated to be funny and this depends on what kind of humor you prefer (I enjoyed it). Heechul's and Lee Cho Hee's (female lead) acting is lacking as compared to the three grandpas but still acceptable. Cannot expect too much from the other minor
characters/ sub-story leads.

Can binge watch it (since it is short compared to other dramas) during free time. Light and fun drama.

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Story: I had high hopes before watching this after reading the summary, it seemed like just my kind of tale. A dark and complex story classified as a mystery and a psychological thriller? I was excited to see what this show would be about, and I wasn't disappointed; at least not entirely, but I'll get to that in a bit. First, I want to talk about all the good that this show is, because I loved it. There was not one moment in which I got bored watching this drama, because it lived up to it's genres, especially as a thriller. I was on the edge of my seat in every episode, just wondering what would happen next. If you like complex stories that gets you thinking, this is it. There was so much happening, but everything happened for a reason, and not just for the sake of making things interesting. It did that on its own naturally. This drama focused a lot on the mentality of it's characters in a realistic way that made it a great psychological thriller. Each character had their own story and their past which made me love all of them in the end despite disliking a couple at the beginning.The mystery aspect to this show was well planned out as I was just barely able to keep up to speed. While I had my suspicions pointed to certain characters and thoughts on what would happen, I was never completely sure what direction the story would take until it made itself clear, so there was always a surprise around the corner. While I loved all of that about this show, it didn't live up to its full potential near the end, which left me a bit disappointed. It started to dwindle a bit on its realism and characterization that it built so well on at the beginning. There were a couple of conflicts that were out of character which I found ridiculous, and the part where they celebrated was a stupid decision considering the situation. The whole thing could have ended sooner as well, but I felt that they dragged it out a bit too far. While it frustrated me to see these irrational and unnecessary things happening, it didn't ruin the show for me. It didn't bother me too much in the end as everything else about this show was amazing, and It was entertaining all the way through to the end. The last episode especially makes up for it in my own opinion.

Acting/Cast: A lot the actors in this show ended up starring in popular dramas today for a reason, their acting was superb. The cast really managed to bring their characters to life, I found myself really getting into the story more because of this. Each character was special and individual rather than just being there for the sake of the story to take place. I have no complaints on this, the cast did a great job.

Music: I loved the OST, it fit the shows vibe perfectly and made a lot of it's moments. I especially love how the used AC/DC. I laughed at first, but it fit the scenes well!

Re-watch Value: It's so complicated that I might just save this show as a memory, re-living it would just give me stress. Maybe one day if I'm up for it though.

Overall: This show definitely isn't for those who can't or prefer not to follow a complex story. If you like a good mystery and a well made psychological thriller that'll keep you on your toes, then I'd recommend this to you. If you don't like the drama at the beginning, decide how you feel about this show on the 5th episode, that's when the show really peaks.

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