Yamaneko, the sort of tonedeaf version of Lupin, a thief that looks high on drugs every time that he opens his mouth to say something.
I’ll be honest while writing this review and I’ll try to ignore my HUGE love for Kame.
What’s this drama core? Yamaneko and Katsumura’s characters.
Without these two leads this drama would have been sloppy and pretty boring.
The plot is simple. The handsome and weird thief who wants to take revenge and kill the bad man that has ruined his entire life making him a spy without his will.
Yuuki’s character wasn’t a real villain. He looked like a ghost, something that haunts Yamaneko.
The real villain, the one who really made you scream “THAT’S A NASTY ONE” was Katsumura.
Clever, insane, yet not Narimiya’s best villain. We all know how good is Narimiya at playing the bad guy role.
Suzu Hirose’s character was irrelevant. A genius young hacker with a cold yet good personality who just want to stuck with Yamaneko to finally have a proper family. That was a clique. She was boring, her personality was not well written.
This drama had some good points, a really funny comedy scenes but, also, it had a lot of black holes.
I’ll making a simple example. Let’s talk about Yamaneko’s past. Totally massed up. I think the audience had some hard times while trying to understand what the hell was his reasons to take revenge on that masked creepy ghost. Sure, he was betrayed by the one who rose him. Sure, he wanted to make Japan great again. But why? Why was his trying so hard to heal a country that didn’t asked to be healed?
He was so obsessed with Bushido, yet he didn’t actually follow the Bushido’s philosophy.
I wanted him to commit suicide in the end, just like betrayed samurais do.
Even if the plot was lacking some points, I still think that this drama proved once again that Kamenashi is actually a pretty good character.
Maybe Yameneko reminded me a bit to much of god Yato from Noragami manga but still it was a good watch.
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PLOT
It’s good to know that there’s this kind of drama where they justify why people tend to drink, whether in solo or in group. Why drinking should not always be perceive as a bad thing. But it gives us the reality why drinking should always be done moderately.
Just wondering how the writers come up with the idea to combine drinking and studying. Why not drinking and working? (Yeah, teaching is a work but it still related to studying.) Why not drinking and playing sports or any other combinations except studying? Personally, I find the drama a quite bad influence for students and teachers ALWAYS getting acquainted with alcohol.
Since one of the main concerns of the plot is studying, I want to relay my opinions. I don’t used to be a perfect student. I have my own flaws when I was in school. However, there’s some studying advise that worked for me but contradicts this drama. You can watch the drama and feel free to rebut my opinion if you want.
- To study effectively, one should have a proper rest. If you feel sleepy, sleep. If you feel hungry, eat. Don’t deprive the needs of your body. Our brain functions well if our body is in good condition.
- To study effectively, one should have focus. You cannot have proper focus if you study while standing and eating in a stall beside the street or studying while walking in a high-way.
- To study effectively, having a large crowd of student is a No-No. As a teacher, you should have atleast a personal interaction with your students once in a while during class. Students will feel more interested that way. But how come a teacher can do that if he has thousands of students in a room and can’t barely see them especially those students located in the back.
CHARACTERS
Honestly, I watched this drama because of Ha Seok-jin. After watching him in Something About 1%, I crave for him more. I have nothing much to say about the characters. Since this is just a light rom-com drama, I don’t have high expectations on them.
As a side comment, I find it more interesting the love story between Professor Hwang and Professor Min. Though it developed late, their chemistry is a pleasure to my eyes. :)
To sum up, I still manage to finish the drama struggling. Struggling whether I should drop it or continue it. In the end, I have no regrets holding on till the finale. I don’t have confidence in recommending this drama. But, if you find yourself curious why people drink and why studying is a crucial thing, feel free to give this drama a chance.
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Due to the maturity of the nature of this movie I would say you need to be over 21 years old. It is graphic and extremely violent though I know that this movie was tamed down because it was a horrendous event that took place.
It is worth watching not only for the acting but for the story itself.
Painful and excruciating to sit through the entire movie and not feel a thing but numbness to the kind of cruel world this really is.
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Once you got hooked you don't want to stop watching.
It is breathtaking, it is an old drama almost 17 years old as we do not have much left for 2017. But it needs to be on must watched list.
The Story was great. Although second female lead irritated me.
I actually liked the chemistry between the second leads
If I watched this drama in 2000's at a much younger age I would possibly not liked it. Now I find it brilliant.
The story is a love triangle. A classic Rich Boy Poor Girl Story, a rich boy falls in love to poor girl but there is another rich, mean, stupid, ambitious who is also in love with our rich guy. We watch the schemes she is putting on to get rid of the poor girl so she can be with the rich guy. But she's putting herself into a funny position, she is unwanted, she's still playing games, slanders the poor girl with the help of her ex bf ( who never loved her but just thought she is the daughter of a rich man. as soon as he learns she's the daughter of the driver. he dumps her)
It is also about political corruption. how dad shut his eyes to the things his daughter done just to be a politicain.
How a mother wants his son to marry a woman he does not love, as she did not come from a rich, wealthy family and her husbands family never accepted or liked her. For that reason she wanted her son to marry a wealthy girl whose family has got political ties.
This drama makes me to think how families ruin their childrens life because of their ambitions, and high expectations.
It goes on like that.. The credits gives you a lot of hints about the drama.
As always like in every K-CN-or TW drama I do not feel sorry for the 2nd leading lady..
Devil's tears, showing themselves pitty.. Oh I saw him first, he's my childhood dream, I love him so you get off, he is mine bla bla bla ..
These girls do not have a pride and their mothers who are clapping every single bad thing their daughter does.
Just because of parents ambitions they do force the leads to do what their parents want not right but it is normal in Asian Culture
AND NOW THE MUSIC
Both the soundtrack and the musics used in this drama were superb..
the choice absolutely brilliant
from Rodrigo Guitar Concerto to Boyzone Words.
I'll update the musics as I remmeber
- Mariah Carey Without You
- Boyzone Words
- Rodrigo Guitar Concerto aka Rodrigo Aranjuez
- There was a jazz song which I can not really call it now.
- also a korean song called gwon-yeon-u geojismalcheoleom like a lie.
-My All Mariah Carey
-Scorpions Wind Of Change
a french song from the 60's which I can not recall atm
- Eric Carmen All by myself
This drama deserves a remake
SO I made a list of the actors & actresses to play the characters if there is ever a remake
those are my choice ofcourse.
Park bo Young as Lee Ja Young
Ha-Suk Jin a Jung Hyun Woo
Cha Ye-Ryun as Lee Shin Hee
Joo Won as Park Seung Jae
jung-man-sik as Lee Young Chul
park-mi-sun is Shin Hee's mother
Park Young Kyu Ja Young's father
Na Young Hee as Lee Ja Young's mother
lee yoon ji as Choi Eun Shil Lee Ya's best friend
im-seulong as Shil Lee Ya's brother
lee-da-hae as Shin Hee's sister
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I had huge hopes for this show - if it was well done to the end, it would be a game changer in terms of production quality - but alas, it was not meant to be. Plot holes, annoying characters, and a slower pace killed the second half - and I do think that the show was trying to be smarter than it was, which ultimately didn't work very well. That doesn't mean this was a good drama - I think the performances from the cast and the first half cements this as one of the better c-dramas, but I think I was just disappointed by how low the lows were, considering how good certain parts were.
Story:
The setup was pretty good - the first few episodes set up the characters nicely and you understand the different dynamics at play. I liked how the story unfolded as Ming Tai starts on his journey as a spy and adult. The plot was pretty intricate the and the writing was fairly tight, and I loved seeing the mind games the characters were playing with each other. The antagonists (especially the Chinese ones) had interesting stories and characterizations as well.
The directing was beautiful - this was a show that was, to some extent, very focused on flash and style (they had incredibly beautiful outfits), but it still delivered in substance as well, with several poignantly shot scenes. I love the Ming family and the heartwarming moments that they had in between all the violence and tragedy.
The ShanYing team has said before they haven't really done much with romance in their productions, and I really, really wish that they had decided to scrap that altogether here, because the romance REALLY hurt the quality of the drama. I think I skipped all of Jinyun's scenes starting from episode 20 on, because not only did the actors not have any chemistry, their love story just didn't make any sense. Jinyun's character was also too one-dimensional and made some infuriating decisions, and you never really understood why Ming Tai fell in love with her. I love romance in my dramas, especially in action dramas, but this was one where we could have survived on the love between the siblings alone. And actually, somebody made an abridged version of The Disguiser with all of the romance scenes removed and you don't miss very much at all.
Acting/Cast:
Just like Nirvana In Fire, the ensemble cast was (mostly) outstanding.
To me, Jin Dong was the star of the show - and admittedly, he got the most interesting character in Ming Lou, but his performance was absolutely outstanding. He absolutely owned the role and was able to inject his natural charisma and magnetism into the character.
I love Hu Ge, but I do wonder if both he and Ming Tai may have fared better if the production team went for a younger actor (and I know they wanted Hu Ge, but just sayin'). Ming Tai was a spoiled rich boy and I think Hu Ge did the best that he could in acting as a character who was in his early 20s, but Hu Ge isn't the Hu Ge of ten years ago anymore, and the actor that he is now is much too mature to play that kind of character. Ming Tai was also the least developed character - despite the fact that he is a spy and there is some character development, he wasn't multi-layered like some of the others. But again, I think Hu Ge did a good job, and was especially phenomenal in his scenes with Wang Tianfeng.
Wang Kai's role was a particularly interesting one, and I loved his bromance with Ming Lou. I do think he had more to work with in Nirvana In Fire, but he had a memorable turn as the ever-loyal Ah Cheng. Liu Min Tao killed it as the big sister of the Ming family - she was bossy, naggy, demanding, entitled, and kind-hearted and loved her family. She had some heartbreaking scenes, and Liu Min Tao added such a natural warmth and elegance to her character.
Other standout performances were from Wang Ou as Wang Man Chun (she was such an awesome antagonist), Yue Yang as Liang Zhong Chun (also so, so good), and cute Song Yi as the tragic Yu Man Li (she was still a bit green as an actress, but I loved that there was such a difference between her looks and her abilities). But my favorite performance, aside from Jin Dong's, was probably Liu Yi Jun as Wang Tian Feng, who was absolutely amazing as Ming Tai's mentor. It was such an intense character, but you never felt as if he was overacting. He didn't have a whole lot of screen time, but man did he make every minute count (I squealed when I saw him again in NiF).
Now for Wang Le Jun as Jinyun...I know the actress was injured during the shooting, and that she was in constant pain, so some slack has to be given, but oh my goodness, I cannot remember seeing a drama where an actress has consistently hurt the drama's quality in all of her scenes due to bad acting. Some of this wasn't entirely the actress' fault - the character was also poorly written, but Wang Le Jun's wooden acting didn't help to add any sympathy or understanding to her character. Also didn't help that for whatever reason, Hu Ge lost his acting skills in his scenes with her, which is so, so weird because he has always had good romantic chemistry with his co-stars. While I am grateful the production team moved away from their scenes later on, the damage was already done.
Overall:
This was a good drama - it had some outstanding moments, some great characters, and memorable performances. I just felt like the entire ride was an absolute roller coaster and I never really got over some of the low points. It's one of those dramas that I mourn occasionally, especially when I'm watching a really good drama, because it will remind me what could have been...
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There was a few things that bothered me a little, mainly the forcefulness of the lead at times. Though I could understand that he didn't have any intentions, it just prevented me from fully enjoying some of the scenes. With that said, I could accept it more because the female lead stood up to him and didn't stand for it sometimes. The plot was straightforward, the romance was really hot and full of cuteness, and it was all in all an organic development done by a trusted formula of dislike to understanding to acceptance to appreciation and finally to love. One thing I really appreciated about this drama was that there was no misunderstandings. The couple had constant communication and talked things through!
The main leads are new to me but wow their acting is so real like it feels like they're dating, honestly, so props to their acting! Ha Suk Jin does his character so well, transforming between a lovable petulant man-child to a responsible, caring boyfriend. His character growth because of Kim Da Da's influence as a kind teacher and person (Jeon So Min) was a delight to see!
The 'villain' was almost like comedic relief, considering how utterly nonsensical her actions were.
Music was cute and fitting.
I recommend this drama! It's short enough that I want more episodes (~30-45 minutes per episode) At the same time, I feel like this is the perfect length that cut out all the unnecessary angst and filler a longer drama would have. It's short and sweet, literally! A definite watch for rom-com/ romance lovers out there. ?
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Story:
The premise of this show is really, really good - but somewhere along the way the writer seemed to have forgotten what it is they wanted to tell and tried to do way too much. We never really learned all that much about the title character K2, and there were so many loose ends that weren't properly resolved. Not to mention - in regards to the direction, episode by episode, there wasn't a whole lot of development and value add to the overall storyline - the actors did a phenomenal job in trying to convey the tension and buildup of conflicts, but the pacing of the show never really allowed that to happen in an organic way. The action scenes were well done, but not well shot. I'm all about action scenes (especially ones starring JCW), but when they are repetitive and senseless, it starts hurting your product big-time.
The romance in this was not allowed to develop well - it was essentially forced down our throats, which is a pity, because I do like the idea of the couple. I did find them cute and liked that they brought something different to each other's world - but this was another area that could have been done so much better. I would have also liked to see a little more development on what was going on with Jeha and Yoojin, because oh man did they have good chemistry.
The political machinations were interesting and boring at the same time - I really only cared about what was going on from Choi Yoojin's angle, and found the plot lagging at times when it focused too much on the other shady figures who were trying to manipulate from behind the scenes. The dialogue was actually pretty fascinating, if only because the actors did such a good job delivering their lines that they may have conveyed more depth than the writer had intended.
For a drama that was focused a lot on revenge in the beginning, that part just kind of fizzled out later on. In a way, I do kind of understand why, given the later developments, but it would have been nice to have a little more exploration on that subject (especially if you're going to use it as the main motivation for all the characters early on). It kind of felt like the writer forgot about certain elements and then suddenly remembered them in the last couple of episodes.
Acting/Cast:
The characters were honestly the saving grace of this drama - while the writing wasn't tight at all, the four main characters were given compelling personalities and background stories, and were actually fairly fleshed out (I would have liked to have seen a little more personality exploration of Jeha though - but hey, it's totally okay that we still didn't know very much about him when the show came to an end). And of course, the cast took those characters and brought them to life.
It's been said pretty much everywhere - but Song Yoona was an absolute queen. Her character was complex and had so many different layers, and yet Song Yoona was able to convey each and every one of them perfectly. She was such a cruel and ruthless character, but also had a vulnerability that you couldn't help but sympathize with. The character was written very well, and Song Yoona was outstanding in her portrayal of the bitter and hardened mastermind.
I also think the fact that Yoojin was such a complicated character overshadowed everybody and everything else - this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when it becomes all about one character (or the writing seems lopsided in character development), it can detract from the overall production.
Jo Sung Ha was so great as the politician who was probably just as ruthless as his wife in some respects, and they were absolutely dynamite as a power couple in politics.
Ji Chang Wook did more with his character than he was given - and while I would have liked him to have been given a meatier role, he was fantastic in his action scenes and gave a little bit more life to the character of Jeha. While his scenes with Yoona were very cute (if a little out of place in an otherwise dark drama), his scenes with Song Yoona were sizzling. It felt like he and Yoona were essentially casted for their popularity/faces, and were basically marketing bait for overseas promotions.
I was intrigued by Yoona's character in the beginning but she had limited scenes in the first half of the drama and was basically a constant damsel in distress in the second half. She has improved as an actress, but this role itself was limited (the character was good - development of that character's story was not) and makes me wonder if the producers were so keen on getting her just for her name alone. She and JCW were very, very pretty together, though, so there's that.
Music:
Basically all choral, all the time, but I actually did like the dramatic effect of the OST. Also, the songs were beautiful.
Overall:
The thing is, I could rewatch this just for the characters and cast alone. Too often, there may be good quality dramas where I'm not emotionally invested because I just don't care for the characters (and this is especially true in melodramas), so the fact that I liked all four of the main characters was a huge plus for me. The weakest link is the writing - which does matter a lot, of course - but at some point the characters do have a life of their own and I think it really does help supplement some of the issues with the plot.
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Spirinta
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The story is just about a son and his mom (Donghae and Anna) who came back to SK to look for his biological father who happens to be an heir to an owner of a hotel conglomerate. I love how the son and mom wether all hardships and difficulties of life to finally find the long lost father and became one big happy family with the second family of the father! But what I truly admired is the family of the lead actress (BongYi) who were very kind and generous with Donghae and Anna! They have helped them through and through!
Although the drama is quiet long at 159 eps, the writer has been very consistent in keeping the pacing of not too slow and not too fast! although there were episodes that were dragging but it did not affect my viewing pleasures at all since there were many cliffhangers, twist and turns that will interest you as a viewer.
I love JiChangWook as Donghae and for me no other actor can portray Donghae effectively other than JiChangWook! It is as if the writer has JiChangWook on his mind to play when he is writing the story. Even at a young age JiChangWook has already a knacks on acting! And he can handle the role so maturely and responsibly. No wonder he was called Korea's Son after this drama is over. He was held by the many viewers with much liking and respect!
The music is not to be reckoned with but i like the OSTs which is just a few. The music is just enough to stir emotions but not enough to leave a lasting effect. But I should say because of its many episodes, and that I always listened to it, I have already come to love the music especially the opening song.
I am always been a re-watcher of JiChangWooks drama and this is no exceptions. However, I only watch those episodes which has lasting effect on me like the proposal Donghae made to BongYi at the park, so simole yet so romantic, the 2 weddings that they had, among others. I would probably watch this again once JichangWooks is enlisted in the military! A good way to be reminded of him always.
This is a highly recomended drama if you are a JiChangWook fan and love a family drama! If you are into strong family ties relationship, loving and forgiveness, this is the right drama for you!
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He's so handsomeeeeeee...so cool.
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On a Special Note:
Acting/cast: Takuya Kimura(one of my favorites) and Kou Shibasaki (another one of my favorites) did amazing jobs as leads. It also helped that they had a great supporting cast.
More Please!
I was really hoping for some romance between Lloyd Ando and Asahi Ando - maybe this was a territory the writers did not want to explore.
Honorable Mentions: Sapuri and the evil little girl. Sapuri was the comic relief for this show; her character did a good job of keeping the light-heartedness of the drama. The evil little girl was just that - evil to the core and I love when characters have no redeeming qualities; because sometimes people do not change.
Would I re-watch?
Yes, this was actually a re-watch for me since the show last premiered.
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Pyo Na Ri engages the world like an underdeveloped child. Her codependent interactions, emotional instability and what could only be called pretending to be interested in her high school aged brothers life should serve as no example for an adult woman trying to make their way in the world.
The undeserving male lead remained self absorbed and undeserving for the duration of the show. The second male lead character was so much of what you want in a man and definitely should have received more air time.
The music was appropriate and hilarious at times (no, no, no nooooo! lol) the wardrobe of everyone EXCEPT Pyo Na Ri was on point.
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Story
The story was great- up until around episode ten. Then from that point on things start to go downhill. By episode ten they've pretty much covered the main story line and after that they had to bring out all of the K-Drama BS like going to another country/going away, break up for no reason, stupid second-lead, getting into trouble out of nowhere, etc. It would have been perfect if they ended the drama earlier.
Overall though, I liked the plot. It was simple and effective. Rich guy loses his memory. Country hick finds him. They survive in Seoul together. There were many sweet moments because of this setup.
Acting/Cast
The acting was great. Usually the female lead doesn't interest me that much but this one, Go Bok Sil, was great. She never really did any K-Drama female lead BS until the end, and even then it was kind of understandable. She was overall one of the better female leads I've seen.
Louie was great. He really seemed innocent and sincere the entire time, and his smile, well, both of the leads' smiles, warmed my heart. Again, the lead was different than usual. He was not a jerk at all and he was outright funny a lot of the time.
Hated the second lead. I like his actor but his role was pointless. He never had a chance and he knew it (he never even confessed his feelings). He took up precious screen time that could have been filled by the leads.
Music
I only really like two or three songs from the OST, but the drama also had a lot of English songs that I liked that were sometimes the titles of episodes. Some of the song choices, in particular two that I won't mention, were absolutely hilarious. I haven't laughed so hard at a K-Drama in a while. All I can say is that the execution was perfect.
Overall
Watch this drama! Even though I say it is only good until episode ten, that is a fair amount of good episodes for a K-Drama. Also, you can just skip through the bad parts in the last six episodes to get to the good parts like I did if you really don't want to sit through them. This drama will make you smile and it is a pleasant surprise. It didn't feel cheesy at all.
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