Reviews

When you get the chance to do over

The chance to right your mistakes is one of the top wishful thinkings that never loses its charm.

By right, the premise for Story of Kunning Palace (SoKP) already makes for a great start … By left though, SoKP falls through in the genre of reborn stories with poor camera angles and lighting, story execution and okay-ish actor / actress caliber.

Director Chu is infamous in the industry for his weird camera angles and inappropriate lighting position - so I will not delve deep into this. As a general viewer, I don’t have the professional knowledge to critique this constructively. The only thing I would say is it indeed cut down my viewing experience by a fair bit.

Onto the story. Jiang Xuening was the evil, alluring empress that was given the chance to redo life when she found she was back to her 18-year old self.

First things first, like any idol drama, I think evil can and should be contested. She was morally flexible and selfish in her first life, but to emphasise she was evil and thus, felt this deep regret to redeem her past actions to Yan Lin and Zhang Zhe was a bit lost on me. I felt that this may be due to the lost of translation from the original novel to drama adaptation.

This leads to the second, related point. The director and editors presented the story such that flashbacks of 1st life would play out right before the big event happened in 2nd life, and then we would watch how Xuening did differently after. On one hand, it made the story less draggy. On the other, it made me feel less engaged with Xuening’s motivation because I didn’t get enough context on why she felt a certain way with some characters in the scene. Like why she is so afraid of Xie Wei. Or why is she so grateful towards Fangyin. I mean they did mention why with the brief flashbacks, but the impact wasn’t deep enough for me to truly grasp the full picture of Xuening’s feelings. Not to mention, some of the flashbacks felt disjointed too.

Xie Wei should be an intriguing male lead - with his obvious backstory that closely mirror of Mei Chang Su story from Nirvana in Fire. Alas, while one may be able to copy the surface level stuff, the spirit or essence of classics is not as easily replicated. Maybe it’s the screenwriter. Maybe it’s the actor. To be fair, I think Zhang Ling He did good enough for his age. His Xie Wei just doesn’t have that charisma or charm for me, for now. Quite a lot of things were diluted to me in SoKP - I couldn’t feel that Xie Wei is was that smart to be able to fool the emperor, ministers, and rebels. There were more questions about how he survived his ordeal as a kid then and the resources he was able to amass at his disposal as an adult now to be able to do what he wanted. Similar to Xuening character, I felt this is also another lost in translation case. I shall stand corrected if I ever find the time to read the novel.

The funny thing was I got more intrigued by the side characters stories more than our main leads. One was Xue Hui’s arc, Xuening’s sister who was wise and truly just wanted to live her life peacefully but was misunderstood by Xuening for her indifference, in the 1st life. As Xuening chose differently this time, she came to better understand the person beneath the protective shell Xue Hui’s has built. Pity that Xue Hui didn’t even appear much on screen. Another one was Yan Lin’s, and I was rather satisfy with his arc. Fangyin’s arc was enjoyable too.

Overall, SoKP is a good enough reborn story that’s not for the nitpicky. It has a good enough storyline that sadly wasn’t translated as robustly on screen.

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Vigilante Oh Yeah

This was amazing from start to finish. The action and fighting scenes were fantastic.
I did however didn't like the female reporter even at the end. I was though glad we
got to know why she as she put it through the Vigilante wanted to cause an uproar
in the world because of what happened to her father. I was also disappointed that
his friend had to die. It was hard for him to let his friend be labeled The Vigilante but
it seemed to be what his friend wanted. I liked it at the end that as he stood there at
the graduation ceremony that he didn't raise his hand nor did he repeat the oath. I think
after some got rewarded even in death that was the and what happened to his friend that
was the final and last straw. He just looked straight ahead with a strong determination.
But because of the annoyance of that reporter its a solid 9/10.

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Just save yourself and don't watch this.

oh gosh, where to start.

Like the majority i was also really looking forward to this drama and boyyy was i disappointing. i was in no way comparing this to the prequel, it was just objectively a really bad drama.

- In my opinion the whole premise had great potential- who doesn’t like strong female leads! But even from the first episode i was side-eyeing the entire time, nothing made sense. For e.g. Namsoon initially getting lost in Mongolia was stupid anyway- but her rich family’s inability to find her was even more ridiculous. Having all that money and resources to be able to find someone anywhere, and they decide to hold a strength competition¿? within KOREA when your child went missing in MONGOLIA. how would a literal CHILD make her own way back to korea??

- though the first few episodes were silly it was still enjoyable, but as it went on it was just ridiculous and the humour seemed very exaggerated to a point it got me skipping most scenes.

- the plot in itself felt like there was too much going on. The writer could've done something profound and hard hitting with the drug storyline but it just turned out to be lacklustre and lame. There so many subplots that it actually took away from the interesting ones. and then more characters were added without any backstory or any real purpose other than highlighting certain plot points.

- Namsoon lacked the charm the writers intended for her to have, there was no use for her to be ‘childish’ considering she still had a good upbringing and had been around civilisation. Her initial lack of formalities was confusing considering she did spend her childhood in korea.

- unnecessary side characters i.e the homeless couple. What did they even bring to the story. I even thought the dad and brother were useless- i wish they gave the brother some sort of strength and substance. ANY sort of use tbh.

- min min couple were the saving point lol

- Even though i saw the charm of Ryu Sio, and i admit i had high hopes for him, but even his character was poorly written. Lets be honest, he was a sh*t villain, seriously how can you be so dumb to let his girl anywhere near you and your secrets? however he was just the best of the bunch, the only character that had some depth and a background story which made viewers like the guy, knowing damn well that he’s a murderous pyschopath. And even after his death they still added some MORE backstory. What do we now do with this info??

- gave all that character development to Ryu Sio to then have him kill himself in the first 20 mins of the episode and then have the other characters continue on with their day like nothing had happened. There was no real closure for his character.

- Heesik was just…THERE. lol ok he’s a cop and he's inherently good, he had a brother that died. WHAT ELSE?? PLEASE TELL ME MORE. He’s one of the main characters but there was nothing interesting about him. just bland.

- no chemistry between the leads in my opinion, It was cute that they liked each other from the get go, but as the show went they had less scenes together to a point that their ‘love’ seemed random and unnatural at the end.

- why did the grandma and her lover need all that screen time. Unnecessary and unwanted.

- how did Namsoon’s mongolian mum pass airport security with a BOMB? is the security in korea that bad?

- The mothers acting was just too over the top. Billionaire and secret vigilante, who gets their hair and makeup done before any heroism can take place.

- the women in show apparently had some connection when great strength is taking place but couldn’t use that connection to find their lost daughter.

- how did Namsoon become a police office when she evidently lacks any knowledge of the law or any form of training for that matter.

there’s so many things that i found ridiculous whilst watching this that i can continue the list but let me finish here. It was implied that there might be sequel… PLEASE NO. just stop right here lol

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True love and friendship never leaves you

THe hilarious is flow throughout the drama i'm fully enjoyed and laughed after long time thanks to this drama
The story is not an unic one we watched it before in may outstanding dramas this is also one of them
The story becomes outstanding it leads to be watched it because of the artist flow of the character's
That makes all to sit and watch it for me the Enthusiasms of the drama from Start ---> End the of the episode's
I fully enjoyed the Direction, cinematography, the editing team make some compromised in some scenes But it worth the Times to spend here to watch this drama in acting casting company picked the artist is tailor fit with the character's
The hero he has an really unci personality Bi Wen Jun [ Han Jing Mo ] i think he is a magnet he delivers same acting in many Dramas but the chemistry with heroine's is fantabulous see in this drama he and her --Zhang Xue Ying [ Lu Wan Wan ] wowoo
Really he is something he had awesome chemistry's in all dramas

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The best RomCom.. must watch!

I have been watching Cdrama, Thaidrama, JDorama and Kdrama..this is the best Romcom I have ever watched from all. This is considered as a classic already. If you want to smile from start to finish..then watch this. Even the soundtrack was so good that I looked for it on Spotify..on top of Disney's Aladdin. The genre of age gap was not mentioned on here but in real life FL and ML have a huge age gap. The main focus here is a fanous actress falling in love with a regular guy..a regular working guy who doesn't have much luck in the world. He may be shown as a fool..but his foolness is his charm. I also like how the ML acting like a fool..the FL also acts with charm when they realized they have fallen in love with each other. I like that both characters have become vulnerable with each other. This series deserves a high rating as this was also shown in Thailand and Philippines. People nowadays put high reviews on actors they like even if the series wasn't good. So I put this rating on hoping as time evolves..this series will not be forgotten.

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The best Kdrama of 2023, without a doubt ☆✲ﾟ｡(((´♡‿♡`+)))｡ﾟ✲☆

EPIC MASTERPIECE, PAINFULL AND HISTORICALLY REALISTIC

PLOT: FL, a very beautiful girl, attrrracts the attention of everyone, except that of the man she loves, now married to her best friend. The ML is a mysterious man, and the FL, not knowing what he has done for her, doen't trust him and married a captain. Nevertheless, barbarians invade the territory and the country is now subject to the Qing, a cruel and merciless dynasty in its conquest....
The Qing invade Joseon, to recover soldiers, labor and supplies, in order to overthrow the Ming dynasty & conquer/unite the territory of what will become China.

PROS:
+ Namkoong Min as ML is exceptional. Really !! I knew he was a great actor, but he brings this complex and tormented character to life in a phenomenal way. He IS Jang Hyun ...and he makes us love him.
Without a doubt, one of his greatest roles. (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

+ Ahn Eun Jin as FL, is also outstanding. She is strong, resilient, smart.

+ the characters are complex, divided between their desires and their responsibilities, tossed around by events. I hate the character of Ryan Eum (played by an excellent actor) whose affection/love for his "big brother" and jealousy are deeply toxic.

+ The series also transcribes the principles, the confucius morality, the values ​​of the time: the different social classes, the (very weak) statuts of women, the little importance of some human lives, etc. It was really a hard time !!

+ The OSTs are now on my playlist,and stay in my head for a long time.

+ The production is excellent: credible and bloody war scenes ; the tensed, heavy atmosphere of these times of war is well rendered; the cinematography is exceptional.

+ The storyline is solid and the historical aspect seems respected. It is a period which has never or rarely (to my knowledge) been brought to the screen.

CONS:
NONE.

=> Don't miss this gem !! ╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯♡

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Quite lovable, but one support character could have been fleshed out more

I love both the main couple and the side couple in this BL. I wonder, though, if it might be better to make the side couple the main couple instead.

The main couple, Tae Joon and Won Young, have a rather solid if predictable story. I think much of the credit goes to the development of Tae Joon's character. I can understand how he has trust issues after being betrayed by his ex-boyfriend, so I can empathize with him when he finds it very difficult to simply forgive and make up with Won Young after he finds out that Won Young has been originally tasked to try to persuade him to come out of hiding and exhibit his works. Won Young is, on the other hand, also in a predicament we can sympathize with--he is suspended from his job through no fault of his own and can be in serious debt (also not really his own fault) if he does not get back his job. (It's unfortunate that the series seems to neglect the serious problems Won Young is facing after the initial exposition. Some timely reminders would perhaps have been good.)

The side couple, Dong Hee and Ho Tae, are quite economically portrayed. There is so much potential for fleshing out Dong Hee's back story. From the start, we are given hints that Dong Hee is in love with Ho Tae, but when the latter (who keeps changing girlfriends) shows an interest in him, he refuses to accept the love. Dong Hee's main explanation is that Ho Tae is the son of his mother's friend, but one wonders why. This is revealed later in the series in a flashback with Dong Hee suffering from abuse from his parents because of his sexuality and Ho Tae's mother being the only one who comforts him. Why Dong Hee does not accept Ho Tae's courtship because of Ho Tae's mother is less clear. Is he afraid that Ho Tae's mother might blame him if she is unable to accept it if her own son is gay--and she is someone he owes something to? Has he internalized homophobia in some way and thinks that Ho Tae and his family will be better of if Ho Tae goes on dating women? In some ways, Dong Hee can make for a more compelling main character than Tae Joon. The abuse he has suffered and the years of quiet one-sided love for Ho Tae make him the most emotionally complex character in the series. If only he were a more fleshed out side character or the main character!

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I confess to bingeing this one, but it isn't really great

My first response to this series was: "Another tyrannical-boss-and-quirky-subordinate story?" The story relies on several familiar tropes, including a disapproving mother towards the end. Nonetheless, I did find it fairly watchable. It is rather stress-free watching because we more or less know how the story will develop and end. And the BL couple is fairly likable.

Be warned, however, that there are several poor transitional points. First of all, although we know that Xia Shangzhou (the tyrannical General Manager) takes a liking to his new secretary (Yao Shunyu), it strikes me as a little too sudden when Xia frantically rushes to the rescue of a kidnapped Yao. Clearly, there weren't enough scenes to show that Xia had already fallen so hard for Yao. Other poor transitions include Yao's own struggles with his own emotions. Yao goes through several stages:

1. he notices Xia's interest in him and freaks out;
2. he struggles with his own sexuality but eventually comes to terms with the fact that he is in love with a man;
3. he struggles with being uncertain if he is just a fling to Xia despite being in love with Xia and accepting it;
4. he realizes that Xia really loves him but decides not to accept Xia so that Xia can avoid being embroiled in a scandal.

Although things cannot possibly be entirely clear-cut, the shifts from one stage of Yao to another is a little too muddled to be truly moving.

Despite the flaws, I did enjoy some comic moments in the series. Unfortunately some of these moments also fall flat despite having potential. A case in point is when Yao is given the task of sabotaging Xia's blind date (arranged by Xia's mother). Somehow, Yao ends up buying a whole lot of condoms, causing the woman who was arranged to go on a date with Xia to think that Xia is a pervert. (Erm.... excuse me, first, Yao shouts to Xia "You are mine" but the woman mistakenly thinks that he is speaking to her. Then the condoms fall out ... and the woman thinks Xia is a pervert even though all Xia does is to help Yao, who is slipping. ????)

Somehow another Taiwanese BL, Stay by My Side, is listed as Related Content in MDL. I'm not sure about the links, but Stay by My Side is overall much better. Despite the cliches and predictability, I think You Are Mine had the potential to be much better than it has turned out to be. It is somewhat enjoyable, but nowadays, there are probably better BLs to watch.

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Boring at its finest!

Have watched several Cdramas and I could say this is so far the most boring one I have watched. I tried this due to high ratings and the cast were all good and famous. But I agree with the unpopular reviews here..this is boring and storyline about gaming and then switched over to aeronautics does not add up to any romantic feelings to smile about on this drama. Its more of a scifi drama instead of romcom. The plot should have been a famous actress falling in love with a regular guy..but this was not emphasized. There are other cdramas to watch if the plot is about a famous actress and a regular guy..this series is definitely not it. Dilraba and Yangyang may have been paid a huge amount on this drama for them to play this..or prolly because it has something to do with being nationalistic since the drama is about chinese satellite.

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Good Enough

Japanese Drama '' Cool Doji Danshi '' is a comedy about four boys who try to act cool when they find themselves in awkward situations.

The drama is light and it has indeed some funny moments, others were a bit cheesy though. There were also hints of some boy love notions, but they are kept on low key and pretty much only focused on teasing the viewer and showing only true friendship, which wasn't that bad to watch either.

The performances were great as well, by everyone in the cast, and, especially, the main boys, who had smooth chemistry between them which aided the drama a lot.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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Hauntingly Tragic

Let me start by saying that the production and visuals in this show were some the best that I’ve seen in CDramas. The beautiful colors, lighting and massive landscapes made the show more real and raw. The OST was also great. Love the song about the Fox as it had such a haunting meaning behind it since foxes are known as tricksters. It summed up this story very well.

This drama takes the cake as one of the top tragic stories in CDrama that I’ve seen to date. I can appreciate the consistency with the story and the fact that it wasn’t turned into an enemies to lovers plot, which would have made no sense given the nature. The bulk of the story was well written along with the superb acting throughout but where it almost lost me was in the meat of the story.

I would say the story took a while to progress around the middle and had too much filler details within. This show could have been cut down to about 30-38 or so episodes and focus on less of the main ML’s revenge plan. They could have cut a lot of those details out and focused more on the story between ML and FL.

This story isn’t for everyone since a lot of people prefer happy endings but I’d recommend a watch if you don’t mind that.

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Good Enough

Korean Movie '' Concrete Utopia '' is a dystopian drama about how a utopia-like man-made society is turned into a dictatorship after a man takes over.

The movie pretty much shows how human nature reacts to power. There are those who fear it, those who dwell in it, those who want part of it. And the drama does a great job presenting it, as it escalates from an innocent fight for survival to a dark regime. Even the ending does the story justice. And yes, there are some predictable twists and overused ones as well, the overall result was quite satisfying.

Also, the performances were really good by everyone in the cast, but especially the three main leads that did great with their emotional scenes.

So, overall, eight and a half out of ten.

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I only recommend the first 6 episodes

A con-artist Joon Jae meets a Shim Chung and he tries to steal her beautiful jade bracelet. However, they ended up crossing paths from then on and had to face a lurking danger. Can Shim Chung survive the human world while keeping Joon Jae safe?

I enjoy the beginning the most for the many memorable and laugh-out-loud funny moments. Thanks to Jun Ji Hyun for portraying her characters as a literal fish-out-of-water meeting a con-artist and learning everything about human world. Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun is a great match together when they're bickering but not as lover. From the beginning I see them as strangers to friends and can never see them as lovers.

When the plot thickens, they showed mysterious and repetitive flashbacks that I found very predictable but drags for many episodes, that by the time it is revealed, there is no surprise anymore. I remember being more interested in the supporting cast scenes more than the leads because the main plot is just not emotional and feels so underwhelming.

After I paused watching it for many months right after the reveal, I ended up finishing it just for the closure. The ending is decent but fail to bring back the excitement I had in the beginning. I only recommend the first 6 episodes, the part where most of the comedies are landing perfectly. They really could benefit had they wrap up everything quicker.

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