Reviews

Great for bromance lovers, a story about friendship.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook is usually a drama I don't watch. I'm a romance buff so bromance dramas are kind of low on my list. There were a lot of high and praising reviews on this drama, so I decided to give it a go.

Overall, the drama was pretty decent. I really like the story-telling and world building. I like that it was a detective kind of show, where about every 2-3 episodes there was a new and unique case to be solved. It really kept up the momentum. The win of the show was casting. I wasn't really sure on the dynamic duo of Cheng Yi and Joseph Zeng but they make a good pair. They each brought in their own personality and really gave life to the characters.

You can't forget the third bro, Xiao Shun Yao which basically rounded off the cast nicely. As for the romance aspect of the show, I wouldn't say there is any form of romance, except for a romance story / excerpt. I did find that brief part somewhat entertaining since it was different from the other stories I have been told.

This drama isn't for everyone, as in, I did find it a little boring at times and I was just waiting for some additional movement, but I think if you watch it like me, a few episodes here and there, then you can appreciate the overall drama. I like that it was low in angst and high on story telling. I really appreciate the character growth and loyalty. It truly will make you appreciate your friendships more.

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Rough!

It's a really rough watch. Primitive post production VFX with cheap cuts especially the blood spatters, the absolute horrors! It has to be cheaper if they opted for practical effects. If they were really on a tight budget then abandoning the post production VFX would have been the right move instead of making the drama looking cheap from the get go. Speaking of which, what on earth was that opening theme with thunder and water splashes effects. Real physical pain. The script, story, dialogue and writing in general was nothing but comical. Park Won Sang was the only highlight for me just for being there.

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Misleading from the very beginning.

I won't say this series was bad but it certainly wasn't great. For the most part, I was confused and getting whiplash from all the different plot points they were trying to throw into a 10 episode series which really did not flow well together. And there were a lot of choices made that didn't feel like it would fit the character, whether it was a good or bad choice. The whole thing was just misleading from the get-go.

Let's start with the first impression aspects: The movie poster and the synopsis. The dark, night-time city look of the poster gives off a dark, serious vibe akin to Big Dragon or KinnPorsche but the series was anything but serious or dark. The synopsis makes it sound like Dino is a bully type who stalks his prey when in reality, he was the nice guy protector to counter Rak's "helpless boy" type.

But even that didn't make sense because, actually, Rak was very vocal about his boundaries and his limits. If there's one thing I will say this series did right it was that Rak actually stood up for himself, at least verbally if not physically. He said "no" to the ex, he cut off the best friend after he found out about them, he set boundaries for them as well as himself when he continuously stood his ground in telling Dino "I'm not ready." And this kind of became important when Dino was clearly trying to get intimate and Rak was having flashbacks to the ex forcing himself on him. But this time, when he tells Dino to wait, he listens, unlike the ex. It's pivotal in how Rak sees Dino and it shows that Dino respects Rak and his boundaries.

All that being said, I couldn't help but feel bad for Pepper in this role. I mean, he is a great actor and they paired him with someone who was.. well, not. I don't know if it was a director's thing or Kong's attempt as seeming insecure or if it was Kong himself, but his constant looking off to the side as if he's looking at a camera or crew member off screen was breaking the fourth wall, and not in the "funny because it was intentional" way. It made me think Kong was uncomfortable himself instead of it being a Rak, as the character, trait.

The entire cast, in fact, seemed to be a mixture of highly seasoned actors or the very basic first-timers with little in-between. The cameos made zero sense whatsoever and felt like they were just introduced for shits and giggles. Much like many of the short-lived storylines that were introduced for the drama then completely forgotten without much of a resolution. It felt like a young teenager, at best, wrote this with all the experience a teenage has with life and relationships.

I will say, the best cameo and character in this entire series was Pepper's tongue. Whenever it made an appearance, the show got 10x better each time. It was almost enough to make one ignore how obvious the difference was in experience between Pepper and Kong, and not just in acting.

It was clever, though, how they gave a bit of an intro to the other Buddy Line stories at the end because, at least for me, it made me curious how their stories would go. I just hope they get to work opposite actors that fit them better than Dino and Rak did.

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This show is good but..

For me this show is great from the action scene, acting of all actors and lastly production but...
There something unclear..

The POWER SYSTEM---

- How will you determine your own strength if someone has same ability as you??

-How will you determine your chances to defeat your enemy if he has same ability as you?

I DONT WANT TO GET AN REASON LIKE

" Because they are main character, they need to win."

Poor writing character for the villain ( Not for north koreans but for NSI chief and tracker old man)

They are EASY KILL..

Conclusion:

I love this show but those question, dont give good reason to rate it higher.

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Writer failed

Actually poorly written plot.. firstly episodes are little bit ok but after few episodes drama is droped too much. Actually from episode to episode line up also floping for me.. actually what is that plot dude.. letz say itz ok to not having great story becoz some dramas are light dramas with rom com. But those have great bulid up romances .. this plot is faild to build up romance too... i am sad for this cpl... this drama can not compare with star in my mind not even little bit...in that drama even dunk can not act well story line and joong did not let us realized that.. that is why that drama is really great..
As for acting dunk not inprove his acting skills not even little bit i feel like his acting skill is droped more.. and for joong he didnt had a chance to show his skills with this plot.. so he also kind of boring in this drama..

But even this drma faild thire chemestry is still same i love that.. when they are together still butterflies in my stomach start flying 😁

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Second half was mundane :(

I actually binge watched the first 6 episodes. Found it very interesting and intriguing. Unfortunately it did not last, as the second half became dull and mundane.

Many reviewers said that Hwang Min Hyun aka ML face was stoic and lacked expressions throughout. I tend to agree on that. The chemistry was missing between both leads. There were some kissing scenes but it seemed more like good friends kissing lol. The main plot was quite predictable and the last few episodes were draggy.

The side plots with the side characters were dull and uninteresting. All in all it was just alright. Which is a shame really, cos it had much promise at the beginning.

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Underrated

everything from this drama is excellent, acting, direction, story and especially ost's. Every character is well written, I liked female lead character a lot

bruh it's saying to write 500 characters at least, don't mind below copypasta
My name is Yoshikage Kira. I'm 33 years old. My house is in the northeast section of Morioh, where all the villas are, and I am not married. I work as an employee for the Kame Yu department stores, and I get home every day by 8 PM at the latest. I don't smoke, but I occasionally drink. I'm in bed by 11 PM, and make sure I get eight hours of sleep, no matter what. After having a glass of warm milk and doing about twenty minutes of stretches before going to bed, I usually have no problems sleeping until morning. Just like a baby, I wake up without any fatigue or stress in the morning. I was told there were no issues at my last check-up. I'm trying to explain that I'm a person who wishes to live a very quiet life. I take care not to trouble myself with any enemies, like winning and losing, that would cause me to lose sleep at night. That is how I deal with society, and I know that is what brings me happiness. Although, if I were to fight I wouldn't lose to anyone.

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A wonderful picture of the future

I fell for this movie hard and fast and I don't think I'll ever forget the way it's made me feel.
It is still all too rare to see queer women being portrayed in film and television and it is even rarer to see depictions of older queer people. Here, we got to see both. And not only that, but the story is undeniably a happy one.
Accompanied by a smooth swing soundtrack, we get to see a love story unfold that feels both like a trip down memory lane and a dream of the future. Everything from the lighting, the camera work, the music, to even the deliberately chosen 1:1 resolution, serves to conjure up a feeling of deep nostalgia which is directly juxtaposed by the film's message of looking forwards, towards the future and towards happiness.
I could honestly spend hours picking apart every detail about this movie but then this review would be several thousand words long and probably absolutely incoherent.
So instead I am just going to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who played a part in creating this movie. Thank you for giving me the chance to dream about what my life could be life decades from now. About how I could be allowed to grow older and happier every year. It means the world to me.
To everyone reading this review I will say this: go watch this film, go watch it right now, trust me you won't regret it.

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Unskippable!

Sometimes i felt that I want to skip some parts but I couldn't!

Every second is just worth to watch and funny to the bone.

The romance sometimes bring a heartwarming ambience that I love so much.

And also the ending is sooo satisfying, baby sol is sooo adorable.

Firstly I found Dong Gu's character is so annoying, but as the character develops, he is the most attractive for me- at least.

But I'll only recommend this drama only to 21+ age people😅 you know why

The plot twist is unpredictable even some is quite predictable, but still not boring at all.

When I was watching this, I really need a break time from laughing too much and feeling second hand embarassment😅

Plus I love Dong Gu and Yoon Ah's relationship so much, it brings a lot of warm for my little heart, they are so precious to me🤧

Overall, it's so good but you should lock your room and make sure that people can't hear your loud laugh🥲

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A cautionary tale on what not to do in a relationship.

The focus of this drama isn't really on events per se so much as it is on human behavior and relationships.

We have a ML who seemingly has no interest in sex or physical intimacy of any kind and a FL who struggles to understand him and where she stands in their relationship without physical intimacy. Believe it or not, the issues in their relationship doesn't stem from this huge disparity of beliefs and desires but rather the fact that both of them seem to be allergic to communication of any form.

The core point of it all was the message, i felt, that there isn't one right way to be in a relationship and the understanding that each relationship should cater to the needs and personalities of the people in them. (I could and should elaborate but although this doesn't feel like a drama that can be "spoiled" per se, my elaboration would include too much of an analysis of the characters that they it might influence your watching)

The execution wasn't great because they seem to be more focused on getting the message across than they did on telling a good story but I didn't hate it. It would've been better had it been longer-then they could've better explored this whole thing instead of it feeling as rushed and nonsensical as it did.

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Was better as horror-romedy than thriller-romance.

I came here to say that I NEVER rewatch a series. Aside from Arang and The Magistrate, not once I have rewatched a show, but after I caught up with the latest episode, I went back and rewatched this show from episode 1 again.

Honestly, just wanted to applaud some key things that I overlooked the first time while being in awe of Rowoon’s height and insane bod (my god he is so delicious but I digress). First, I only love Rowoon in this show as much as I do because Bo Ah’s character made Jang Shin Yu SO much more lovable. Her expressions and little sighs are absolutely adorable. But I can see why she wouldn’t get along with people. She’s dorky AF, in the most adorable but weird and socially awkward kind of manner. I don’t see her doing very well in the basic girl friendship and that’s why I find her loneliness so believable because it also mirror’s Jang Shin Yu’s loneliness and social awkwardness. His halting and holier-than-thou manner of speech is so strange that it would only make sense if Hong Joo was on the same page as him.

I also want to make note of how incredible the soundtrack, the foley and the music design is. I didn’t notice it the first time I watched each episode, but on my re-watch I have to say, this show would not be 50% as effective without the amazing score. Every scene in which Rowoon feels all the feels, I feel it too because of how good the soundtrack is. All the magic in the air is around me too because of how magical the music is.

That being said, also 5000 levels of kudos to director-writer-editor team wow holy crap. They managed to bring out ALL the amazingly weird yet hot-AF-to-watch ticks in Rowoon’s acting. All that teeth gritting, jaw clenching, neck adjusting, close up shots of hands, little eyebrow ticks, hands crawling up his body wow like they really went crazy on making us feel all the sensual and bodily feels while watching Rowoon deal with his curse. I literally felt myself getting hot watching those red hands crawl up his body wtf LOL

ANYWAY, I did not expect this drama to be as good as it is. I know its not done yet, but honestly, I’ve already gotten so much enjoyment out of it, I don’t expect to lower it by many stars, if at all, regardless of how it ends.

Edit//
Okay so it ended. I’m not completely disappointed in the way it went given that this was basically fluff romance but I have to say, the team did a better job with the first half in which it was horror-romance than they did with the second half with a thriller-romance plot because a lot of things unravelled in the last three episodes. For one, MAJOR a disappointment with Shin Yu’s mom’s divorce trajectory. That dad did not deserve the ending they gave him. I did not appreciate that Shin Yu did not once stand up for Hong Joo in front of his dad and in the end Shin Yu resolved it with a shit*y and lame reason that will eventually work against Hong Joo in the long run because his dad will use that reason against her and call it entrapment. His dad is trashy, end of story. I docked a whole star just for how much screen time his dad got in the end. Thriller wise, pretty loosely written but entertaining nonetheless. I came for the horror romance and stayed for the Rowoon visuals ngl. Anyway, 7 stars for keeping me entertained. Would have stayed at 9 had patriarchal bulls**t and useless parental drama not sidelined everything else in the last half of the story.

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Messy, Queer, And Fun

This little movie has a fairly simple premise and pulls it off with panache. It's a short glimpse into the wonderful, messy, overlapping lives of a group of queer women as they spend an evening drinking together and it feels incredibly real.
The writing and acting are both fantastic and without the level of quality they provide to the show I don't think this would have worked nearly as well as it does. If the only plot you have is your characters, they have to feel believable and this movie manages that expertly.
I'd recommend this short to anyone who likes mature slice-of-life type stories or who simply wants to bask in the joy of getting to watch queer women simply existing.

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Cringe ? awkward oops ?

Maybe this is not for me.
I have failed to like this.
But I’ll watching it because I get to laugh at how bad it is. Maybe I have slightly high expectations for Taiwanese bl.
First of all, I was not sold on the main couple’s romance. I don’t usually expect things to make sense but aaah this was too much. I had a problem with the way their relationship started, how do I describe, for lack of a better term-so plot deviceish 😂. They caught feelings for each other way too fast. The other guy is 17 but he was the ka one doing the most omg. They were kissing religiously. Also aaah the kisses were not giving 🤣. Maybe I prefer slow burn romance. I don’t know 🤷🏽‍♀️. I think I like Chinese bl better. Chinese bl usually makes me feel like the people are actually in love and when they finally hold hands or sth it really feels like they’ve earned those moments. But in this one whereby Ep 1 they are already kissing….

And the dialogue omg 😆 it’s too cringey for me.

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