Reviews

I really loved this drama in the beginning, and thought the story was great throughout, so maybe it's Sageuk overload that made me not fall completely in love with "Love in the Moonlight/Moonlight Drawn by Clouds" (this is my first time watching 2 Sageuks at once). This drama isn't exactly innovative... we have leading lady cleverly disguised as a eunich, a love triangle including friends turned rivals, political greed, betrayal in the kingdom, and a young prince who must learn what it takes to become a great king... it's literally all been done before, but the cast brings this particular story to life in a way that stops the story from feeling too cliché. It did lose much of it's early appeal in the later episodes, switching it's focus from romance, to palace politics, which made me less eager to watch the next episode. Even so, I can't find much that is wrong with this drama. I think it's just a matter of genre preference, and how much you've fallen in love with the cast.

I think the entire cast was excellent. Park Bo Gum is perfect. He is completely charming as the young Crown Prince. I totally fell for his smirk, and truly empathized with his struggle to become a true leader within a corrupt system. He is matched with Kim Yoo Jung, who I was very impressed with. Usually underage romantic lead actresses seem so obviously out of place to me, but she was a formidable leading lady, and the age gap wasn't so big. Beyond pulling off the gender-bender trope pretty well, she was also very believable expressing the range of emotions Ra On had to go through. They had an extremely cute chemistry, and seemed to be generally falling for each other. They are definitely the MVPs of this drama.

Aside from the main couple, there are two young actors who also deserve praise, Kwak Dong Yeon and Jung Jin Young. Byung Yeon was so bad@ss, and although a man of few words, his was the only character that made me actually cry. Jung Jin Young as Yoon Sung is the perfect second lead. I didn't exactly have second lead syndrome, but I came close a few times. The friendship dynamic between all four is complicated, which makes it even more interesting. Nothing is what it appears to be at face value, and that's the kind of storytelling I think this drama did well.

There are too many great minor characters to mention them all. I honestly can't think of a single weak link. The villains are extra villainous, and some of the more comedic characters are completely silly, but they all felt real, and not just included to fill up space and time.

This story is more complicated than it initially appears to be, so it's not as if I was ever really bored, but I still wish that the second half of the drama didn't lose all of the fun the initial episodes had. At the same time, it makes total sense to the story that it was told exactly the way it was, so maybe I was just in the mood to watch something lighter. I'm really trying hard to find something solid to complain about, but the music... the direction... the amount of episodes... it all worked well. Some aspects may have been a bit repetitive, which was frustrating at times, but that frustration served to motivate the Crown Prince, so I think it was necessary. It isn't exactly filled with epic twists either, which makes it not extremely exciting at times, but also not unnecessarily complicated.

Would I watch this again? Sure. I also wonder if being in the right mood to watch this kind of story would make me like it more. I also liked that it all ended with no loose ends, which made watching the whole thing more satisfying. Even the title is explained, which was a nice touch.

Overall, this is a great addition to the pantheon of guy-falls-for-girl-pretending-to-be-a-guy dramas. Lovers of historical romantic dramas should definitely watch. Romance fans should make sure they are ready to watch something that isn't lighthearted. I also think it's a great vehicle for some impressive young talent. I look forward to seeing what's next for them.

Read More

I didn't know what to expect going into this drama but I really enjoyed it. Although I found some of the storylines predictable or annoying and occasionally one character's acting rubbed me the wrong way... I still enjoyed it. I'd love another season as I have so many questions and would love to see what happens for the characters!

I would have given this a 7 or a 7.5 (I'm a harsh rater as I picture it as a five star kind of deal) but I love that it dealt with and mentioned taboo subjects that other kdramas pretend don't exist.

I'd really recommend this as a cute, funny drama to watch in between a couple of heavy ones. It suited me perfectly and I could really relate to the struggles of some characters ?

Read More

This show embraces the tv trope that serial killers are like mice - if you see one, there's another dozen living in the walls of your house that you haven't seen yet. But that device can probably be forgiven thanks to the absolutely chilling and wonderful performances by Park Bo Gum and D.O. in their respective roles. Jang Na Ra and Seo In Guk were also delightful in this series. Very little was as straight forward as it might seem, so the twists were genuinely interesting. There are also some lapses of logic in the scripting that one could drive a homicidal box truck through, but most of those are pretty early on so you get over them and get to move on. :) The ending is an emotional roller coaster.

I definitely now want to see Park Bo Gum in something where he's not flat affect and uber creepy.

I don't know about rewatch value on this. The performances were engaging, but with the plot already laid out and the twists already known, I'm not sure that it would have as much impact the second time around.

Read More

To my surprise, I like this drama! I was born in 1983, I can relate so well to all the scenes in this drama hahaha! It brings the warm feeling of nostalgia. I still remember that time when i played outside with my neighbors, that time, even though the technology was not advanced yet, but life was so enjoyable and fun. We often meet people and interact with them instead of only talk to them via WA/internet.

UPDATE:
I just finished watching this drama and i can say that this is the first drama that is very real for me, it does not have overly dramatize kind of plot, it's not draggy too, it's just so enjoyable to watch slowly.
It gives u warm feeling, u know like a bittersweet memory of your past.. I really like their relationship, it's so touchy.. I mean U can see how they grow up, also how their parents that once young become old and finally retire, I hope that our world now is like how it used to be.. when people still meet each other and help each other.. When people are not that selfish and they share everything, it is so wonderful to experience that...

I need to give a big applaud to the writer cause he/she can write such a wonderful story about families yet it's not boring at all, at first i was not interested coz it doesn't seem to have a catchy/unique theme, i thought it's just a slow and boring drama, but i am not bored at all while watching this, even though 1 eps is 2 hours hahaha..

Ohh It's such a nostalgic drama, i wonder if i would have the same feeling like them when i am in my fifties... now after i watched this drama, i will appreciate my parents more.. and i will enjoy my current moment because i cannot come back to the time i am now when i am old.. and i am reminiscing my past when i was a lot younger in elementary, primary school, high school, busy with studies, listening to walkman with my schoolmates, going to shcool trip, singing and dancing with my friends, ahh those were such a wonderful moments that could have been buried and forgotten by my busy working life now.. if not for this drama. Maybe because i can relate so well that i really enjoy watching this.

Daebak to all the production crews!!




=====================SPOILERS=================================================

I can see clearly that Taek is the male lead who will get the girl since eps 1, i saw that scene when Dok Sun helped Taek and carry him when he was hurt, she always like Taek and she has been taking care of Taek since they were young. That scene was beautiful when they were young. She just does not know that she likes him yet. She did not love Sun Woo and Jung Hwan because she was just curious when she knew that they liked her, u know, like when we were young and we have not known love yet and we were just curious with people who liked us & gave us attention, it's natural. I don't buy any Jung Hwan's Supporter excuses here about the writer change the husband last minutes. It's clearly that the husband is Taek since the beginning.

He also deserved her more because he is very honest with his feelings, he did not hide it, he show it and not afraid of what people think. He knows that he likes her and he pursue her, he knows that she always be there for him and back him up when he was sad, when he was not eating well, etc. Their r/s is beautiful from the start.

In episode 2, When some of the girls in the class count their love's forecast with their name's number, I TOTALLY REMEMBER THAT! I did the same thing with my friends back then hahaha, I thought it only happened in my country but it also happened in korea! I think Asian's culture tend to me similar. Many of the items, even that thing they rode (a big vehicle with wooden horse) when they were still kids, i also played that before hahaha.

I LOVE all the props in this drama, it's so interesting. How they use mini compo and play it inside the bus, They watch using VHS, they use McGyver soundtrack and Night Rider reference, so funny! I recall everything in this drama with my long buried memories, it's nice to remember all those memories again. Their conversation is also interesting, don't forget to mention the story and lessons from this drama.

Read More

I will start this review with saying that I am not overreacting by giving it a full 10. And there will be no spoilers in my review.

First of all, as you start the drama you won't know how amazing it will actually become after a few episodes. The idea of this drama is really beautiful, just as the title says.
Will you be able to understand other people's minds and hearts? What would it be like to not feel anything or not be able to empathise with people?
The story doesn't only have doctor subjects, it shows the importance of life and the value of understanding people's pain.

Secondly, the acting is just incredible. I would find myself from amazement to crying and then to a confusing feeling. I would countinously ask myself "what is he feeling right now?" or "how would be to see thourgh that person's eyes?"
Moreover, the music is so perfectly fit for this drama that it will totally absorb you into the world of it.

In my oppinion, this drama is perfect from all points of view. You will definetly love it, and even more you will live it with all your heart.

Read More

STORY / ACTING: I would consider the plot of this drama eccentric and entertaining. The idea of incorporating various stories of each individual customer within each episode was very clever and satisfying. The main actor did a great job in his role as a "time-taxi" driver. His sophisticating vibe in this role made me drawn into riding a "time-taxi" (hopefully in the future if it's invented). The supporting actors were also great in their roles, especially in adding bits of light humor in every episode.

MUSIC: Music plays an essential role in film. When I found out that a jazz track was used as the opening theme song, I couldn't resist feeling euphoric. :D

Overall, I would recommend this drama to anyone who's interested in an "easy-going" storyline with a hint of comedy and a slice-of-life.

Read More

This drama has a very interesting plot, I accidently stumbled upon this drama when I was on YouTube looking for Chinese dramas to watch. Even though the ending of this drama is..... the storyline is amazing *in MY opinion* and the episodes leading up to the last one. I think everyone should give this drama a try!! The actors and actresses may be newbies but their acting is on point especially Zhang Yu Jian's, he made me crack up in a lot of this scenes because of his facial expressions. I definitely recommend this to anyone that has spare time and that they like some supernatural things and a short amazing drama!!

This is the first ever drama that I ever reviewed and actually wrote (and I watched A LOT of dramas) I just think that this drama can be a BIG hit!! And that they NEED to make a season 2 ASAP!!

Read More

After a long time waiting for this, I finally got the chance to watch. If you are familiar with the anime or the manga, you can follow the story and will have a better eye to evaluate the movie, but if you don't know anything about the story, I highly recommend you watch least the anime right now, because IT IS SO GOOD, and you don't know wwhat you are missing all this time.
I was very satisfied with the movie overwall, Chihaya is very accurated, so as Arata and Taichi. And OMG, how not to love Taichi!!! I could feel the same passion for this actor as I felt for the character in the anime, he was my favorite this movie. He is one of the most "real" I have ever seen in a manga, because he is not perfect (this is realy hard to find in a male lead). To supporting roles are so wonderfull too! They are exactly the same as the anime, so the cast was totally very well chosen. Don't get me wrong but I hate when I watch a live action and they change a lot of the story or the cast doens't look like the original story, I know that real people are not like anime/manga, but at least make their hair and style the same.
The music is good, but I didin't end this live action looking for the OST.
I am sure I will be back for this movie whenever I feel bored, because it is very well done.
I also have to say that the moments when they are playing karuta are not boring at all, I find it really interesting how they can make a movie about a card game and make the playing parts so good (I asked myself this while watching the anime too, because I though at first I will think it was boring.) - I love the cards flying and that stuff.
So, if you guys didn't watch the movie - GO and watch it. If you already watched - GO and find the anime. You won't regret it. It is a josei story but it is REALLY good.

Read More