Reviews

Utterly Childish.

I only watched this because I really liked Tan Jianci in Lost You Forever. I wish I hadn't bothered. Absolutely ridiculous story. A doctor with so much time on his hands that he can do voice dubbing and seemingly take time off whenever he likes! Also, the main leads are supposed to be 29 and 22 years old, but after officially dating for weeks she's still afraid to apply anti-mosquito bite cream to his arm. Please!
Now let's talk about the eating. The female lead is supposed to be a foodie. The male lead is also a first-class chef (as well as being a cardio doctor and a "god" of voice dubbing, so they eat, and eat, and eat. But she's still as skinnier than most cdrama stars are (and that's saying something) and never gains a kilo. The whole story is absolutely unbelievable. After LYF, I can't believe TJC would do something as awful as this.
Do not watch this series if you are older than 13.

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what did it want to be?

I'll preface my review by stating the obvious, in the hopes that no one gets hateful, this is just my personal opinion. Please take it or leave it alone, agree or disagree, but please respect the opinions of others (and I'm kind of irritated that I even have to say this).

There was a lot to like about this show:
Acting. Everyone was really good. Park Eun Bin as Mok Ha was wonderful. I think there were certain mannerisms that we saw that she displayed in Extraordinary Attorney Woo and I think are just part of her DNA, because I've seen them in other shows of hers. However, they absolutely worked here. She was charming and likeable, driven, yet devoted to those she loved. All of the other actors were excellent as well. I especially loved the younger actors, they were the standouts for me. Also, Kim Joo Heon playing a morally gray character, and both Lee Seung Joon as Ki Ho's father and Lee Yoo Joon as Mok Ha's father were surprising. We are so used to seeing them in the role of good guys, their transformations were amazing.

Music. As you'd expect, the OST was wonderful. Eun Bin's voice is sublime. I could literally listen to her all day.

My problem came in with the writing and the way the story was put together. On the surface, or maybe because of the trailers, this was an original premise, with strong possibilities of feeling all the feels. My struggle was this drama couldn't decide if it wanted to be a romance, a drama, a comedy, light or dark. For me, the extremes were too great. I wasn't expecting it to be fluffy, but the darkness was too dark for the rest of the drama, and the flipping back and forth wasn't allowing me to flow with the story. I didn't feel that there was enough of her on the island (a whole episode would have been nice) and the whole thing just seemed too implausible - she was that close to civilization all that time? Then, her reintegration was just too easy. First of all, the voice is a muscle. She would have needed to get used to using her voice again. Add to that, her early life was just trauma. So, she's traumatized as a child and then has the trauma of having been on an island by herself for 15 years, but she comes home and there appear to be no after-effects, just that she's glad to be back home and she immediately gets back on the track of wanting to meet her idol. It would have been so much better if we'd been able to see/feel her struggles with reassimilating into society -- that would have really improved the flow and made it more realistic.

I'd say, if you've actually read this far and are wondering whether to give this show a try, you should, definitely. Just because I'm one of the few outlier people that didn't fall in love with it, you may (and probably will) have a different reaction to it.

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We probably all have at least one sweet crush when we were young. Some materialized into a relationship, some might just be that one crush that you wish likes you back. Hidden Love is about that one sweet crush when you were little. Watching this show sort of brings back memories to when you were a little girl and has that butterfly in your stomach feeling every time this person is near, but he may not know you exist of have the same feeling as you. I was smiling and blushing at the same time at some of the scenes. This is one "feel good" drama that I really enjoyed. It has no major conflict, it's just a simple and sweet romance drama. I thought Zhao Lusi suited this role and played it well. She can be a spoiled brat and sweet at the same time. If you like fluffy romance that makes your heart flutters, you should definitely watch this drama.

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OST IS PERFECT ⭐

Tbh...I started watching this drama because of BTS JIN'S OST YOURS..

However, I found out that this KDrama has amazing plot and storyline that keeps you hooked!

Very well drafted and nice OST by Jin! (Yours)

I liked every episode..it wasn't like the other kdramas, no unnecessary drama, every scene had a meaningful essence! I like it a lot!

Thanks to BTS Jin for introducing me to this KDrama..

Jun Ji Hyun's acting also amazed me.. I wish to see BTS Jin someday in a Kdrama like this...

Very well scripted.. I'm happy with the outcome!

Give a listen to Jin's ost Yours please!

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Best Taiwanese BL seen so far

Although Taiwan doesn't produce that much BLs than Thailand, they do get it right.
This scenario has a high school student getting involved with a gangster.
The 2 mains show a good chemistry and throughout the serie have some nice intimate moments.
The story does contain plot twists and have the characters evolve, where in the beginning you might doubt they're good fit, they do make a convincing couple by the end.
Occasionally a moment of humor with them getting close to sleep and wake up with some "cockcrow".
I liked the cameo of several previous BL actors / couples and think back on what serie they were.
About the side couple, mostly one way love, eventually Ai Di succeeds in winning Chen over and we have to wait until last episode for some convincing love making.
'An Jung Peng' had more of a role to play here and not a cameo, known for his main part in history 4.
Besides some smaller details this serie was for me the best in the (about) dozen I've seen.

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TL;DR: Doom at my verdict, but completed out of goodwill towards the actors.

What captivated me was the unique concept of personifying life and death. Seo In Guk's portrayal of the attractive and mysterious Doom, and Park Bo Young who (starts off) as the unexpected Dong Kyung, she appears brave and considerate and clever. The world-building is visually stunning, and what I like most is the way it is illustrating the beauty of everyday scenes like leaves falling or flowers blooming. One of the OST is a stand-out "Breaking Down."

I also appreciate the lead’s character development, seeing Doom realizes the purpose of life through love, and seeing Dong Kyung starts to express emotions and talking to someone about them, realizing that problems can be solved together. Sadly, their chemistry seemed to suffer by the end, along with the overall storyline. While they could've done amazing things with all kinds of exciting plot twists and such, the climatic reveal occurred too early, and then it lost momentum till the end, and the show never recovers from this slump. The couple was being too emotional on ruminating in the name of love and it just bored me so much. I also don't think the love triangle brings anything useful to the story. I have more things I don’t enjoy about it but I don’t need to talk bad about it further… I think there's enough negative reviews for this one.

-Dec 2023, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

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love & friendship

What I like about it:
1) The participants are not shy / open to talk about some deep & heavy topics like bullying, love life etc. There are a lot of crying. I found myself feeling closer to them more than the participants in His Man.

2) The intimacy. Like Gino hugging Guanyu or Gino helping Guanyu tucking in his shirt 🙈 or Gino groping Guangyu's butt or even his penis or Gino mentioning how big Guanyu's penis is hahahah. Even though they didn't show him groping (only through what was mentioned by either Guanyu or Gino) but I think this interactions are very natural for people who like each other. They're boys after all. I'm glad the show is not being too prude. And that kiss in the tent? 🫣 Tbh watching His Man 2, I know it's a Korean gay dating show, but I can't help occasionally feeling like they're straight guys acting as gay guys for a show 🤣

3) The friendships shared between all of them. I just love the bonds between them especially between Eri and Bobo. Can't believe they can be so close in such a short period of time.

4) Speaking of time, I hope season 2 would be at least 8 - 10 days.

5) The diversity of the participants. For example, Nio identified as bisexual. Some others though not identified as bi, have dated girls before. Eri, who identified himself as he/him/his pronouns despite being so pretty having long hair and wearing makeup.

What I don't like / What could be improved:
1) I really don't like the voting to leave or stay. This is a dating show. Not some kind of survival show 💀 It's really hard to watch that part. I hope there's no such thing like that in season 2.

2) I know this is His Man inspired but at least do it properly. I don't see the point of making a secret phone call when the call is made to a phone in a room shared by four people and the conversation is heard by other people in the room?? Each of them have a mobile phone. So the call should be made to the mobile phone instead. Anyway, hope you can come up with a better concept in the next season.

3) The kind of topics that can or can't be discussed. For example, the role in the bedroom topic raised by Jia Hang. Obviously it caused quite a stir and some tense in the room because some people are not comfortable to discuss about it openly. I mean who would? The show is watched by people all over the world. Why would strangers from the opposite part of Taiwan learn what is their role in the bed? 🙄

Final words, Nio ma boy, reminds me a lot of Seonwoo from HM2. Like boy can't decide who he actually likes until the very end, he chose Bobo. I mean what? Besides when he confessed to Guanyu that he likes him, it was already too late because Guanyu already fell hard for Gino. Anyway I'm rooting for Guanyu Gino couple. I hope they can overcome the challenges they faced, the one that they fought during the last two days of the show, and officially become a couple once Guanyu moves to Taipei :) I got a feeling that Gino is someone who prefer to live together with his boyfriend. So I hope they can work it out somehow.

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The teacher that brings hope to the special 5

The end of ep 1 reminds me of this video I saw many years ago: Social Inequalities Explained in a $100 Race. Where you start in life may be out of your control but how hard you race in life is up to you.

Since I don't particular like heavy content so I wouldn't have started this if weren't for the cast.
Zhang Ruo Yun is always a solid actor in all his roles. In recent years he took on more serious roles. Here he plays someone who looks a lot older than his actual age with a painful past he tried to escape from.

The students: played by actors Zhang Cheng and Wang Qiang did a great job in the drama "Cross Fire" (One of my unexpected favorites) Here they are part of that special 5 students and play completely different characters.

Story starts with Lei Ming (ML) returning to be a teacher. He wants to assemble a special class of 5 out to prove his unconventional teaching methods can help these kids make it to the top college.

The special 5 + the troubled Shen Yao:
1. Li Ran, an orphan living in the basement where his grandma works as a housekeeper. The son of the owner is the top student (Shen Yao) in the same grade but with a sick twisted mind. Li Ran fix electronics on the side to help with the bills.
2. Cheng Yu Shan, her mom remarries to a guy who only cares or his biological son. On the outside she's fearless and fends off all the unwanted boy's attention. One day she finds hidden cameras, she trembles in fear. She sits in her small room looking outside of her small window feeling completely trapped. The camera work was so well done for that scene.
3. Yu Yang, he's the bully target of many kids including the twisted top student.
4. Zeng You Zhen, she may not be living in poverty but she's constantly trying to please the girls pretending to be accepted. She has a secret she's trying to hide.
5. Jiang Qing Lang, he comes from successful parents in an unhealthy relationship, clearly not happy despite all that success. The overbearing mom character clearly that you'll want to skip through is his ultimate source of torment.
6. Shen Yao, he is not part of the 5 but he is such an interesting character. Outside he is the perfect student, but you see his anger brewing inside expressed in self-harm and doing bad things to others. His story finally unfolds in ep 23. This is the 1st time I've seen Li Ming De in a serious emotional scene, and he did a great job.

The content is not overly heavy but definitely meaningful. It touches upon self-harm, parental abuse, suicide, depression, teacher student dynamics & so on....

Only thing I don't like is ep 30 with the older version of the kids. Not relatable at all. They used the same actors for the teachers might as well use the same actors for the students. But they didn't and it was just not good.

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Binge Worthy for this short web drama about time travel. It is suspenseful and engaging.

"Nine Times Time Travel" is a short web drama about time travel that is suspenseful and binge-worthy.

The Synopsis: Brain scientist Shan Yu accidentally learns of the death of his first love, Min Ying, who was holding a birthday candle before she died. Shan Yu lit the candle, and a miracle happened with the light of the fire - the candle could take him back ten years ago! Shan Yu crossed many times to save love but accidentally caused a butterfly effect. A fond past that has been hidden for ten years has also surfaced...

This drama is great, with many twists and suspense as Shan Yu travels back in time, hoping to change the past and save his lover. You have to really pay attention because things move so quickly between the past and present that you may get lost in the translation if you don't pay attention to it.

I had to rewind a few episodes toward the end to catch the switch between the times. Daisy Li is good in short-web drama. I like her in Provoke and Revenge. I also like her in "The Oath of Love" as a supporting role.

I gave it a 7.0 rating, and Lin Feng Song also did a good job playing the ML.

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a unique drama about Monsters and people just as bad

It has a good plot during the beginning and middle of the season but I feel like it gets lost a little at the end, I haven't read the webtoon but I feel like in the drama a lot of things had to be done during the end and the last episodes ended up being rushed. But because On the other hand, the plot leaves us entertained, curious and makes us wonder if everything will work out, something that should also be congratulated are the characters who are captivating and easy to like. We vibrate with every thing that happens and we become deeply attached to the characters. .Maybe not all, but I feel like most of the characters had decent development to the point where we connected with them.
The acting also doesn't leave anything to be desired at any point. The only negative point would be the special effects, which at times seem strange, but this doesn't bother you enough to take you away from the plot.

Therefore, in my opinion, it is a good drama that fulfills its role of entertaining and makes us curious about this new world shown!

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Why bother with airing this trashy drama with bad plot and bad acting. Don't waste your time.

"Got a Crush on You" is a rom-com drama, but there was no drama. After I had invested my valuable time in watching 8 episodes, I decided to drop it and not waste any more of my time. I should have dropped it sooner. It is a time killer for me while waiting for The Last Immortal to be broadcast.

This drama started by the main CP, Xu Kai Cheng, and Gulnezer Bextiyar, who cannot act imo
1. Who would give up a successful doctor career to own a shop that sells women's lingerie and also work as a doctor in the rescue mission?
2. Xu Kai Cheng's character is a stupid and childish man regarding courtship.
3. I like the 2nd CP better than the main one.
4. All they did was bickering and jealous about stupid things.

Why bother with airing this kind of trashy drama? I give it a 4.5 rating because of the stupid and unrealistic plot.

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OMG - Why the hell this drama was made. STUPID PLOT and Unrealistic. Grr........

"Love Me, Love My Voice" is a rom-com drama, but there was no drama. After I had invested my valuable time in watching 16 episodes, I decided to drop it and not waste any more of my time. I should have dropped it sooner, but I hoped it would improve because it is a slow burn. It turned out to be a big disappointment.

Tan Jian Ci played a doctor, Mo Qing Cheng, but in real life, he is a voice teacher named Qiang Qing Ci. None of his students knows what he looks like in real life except for Gu Sheng/Sheng Sheng Man, a voice student played by Zhou Ye.

This drama is so stupid and unrealistic in so many ways:
1. Mo Qing Cheng is a surgeon busy with his medical career, but the drama does not show his job as a doctor.
2. Instead, it showed his hobbies as a voice teacher and a cook.
3. The whole annoying drama is about his voice career and eating.
4. I was not impressed with Zhou Ye's character and the actress who portrayed her.
5. The on-screen chemistry between the main CP was not great. I like the 2nd CP better.
6. There was no drama or conflict between the main CP, which is annoying.
7. Tian Jian Ci is too short as a male lead. I like him better in Lost You Forever.

Why does China even bother to make this kind of trashy drama? I give it a 4.5 rating because of the stupid and unrealistic plot.

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Could have been 12 eps shorter

Some observations:
FSF really sold me on his desire. I believed him. I was ready to be his woman out of wedlock. I’m officially a fan.

Ministry of Revenue seems like a chill place to work. Not totally sure what they do but a good vibe.

There were far, far too many scenes with music and pensive looks. And those scenes were too long. Eliminating those would cut the series by two episodes. This right here is my biggest beef with this series.

Whenever something lovey dovey happened this weird shiny bluish filter appeared over the scene. Like, ATTENTION, ROMANCE IS OCCURRING. PLEASE FEEL ROMANTICAL FOR THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS. I thought maybe there would be laughter and applause signs but no, we only got cues for ROMANCE.

Dowager Empress was a star. Top notch.

The show started out really amusing. Stayed good til like ep 20. Seems like the writers changed or just started picking storylines out of a hat after that. Wasn’t awful, but was a bit, uh, muddleheaded.

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