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A great Chinese counterfeit with Chinese flavor - hilariously funny
This is delightful! it is super crafty... lmao Chinese imported So Ji Sub to be THE hot guy, and then put a Chinese ML who looks like So Ji Sub somewhat but is not that well kept beautiful you know the deal with Korean skin and working out .... THis is 2009 movie but it has guys' bathroom scene just wrapped in a towel - I guess other dramas copied this one? So Ji Sub was SML and did not have to act much.... besides the towel scenes...On the plus side, Chinese ML is a pretty good actor and is incredibly CHARMING and convincing as a hot lover. Highly recommended. If you want to see a really hot Chinese guy, this ML beats all the anorexic looking androgenous skinny pale boys with make up that are currently the rage in China. Those kids are ... nothing. Watch this drama to see a real one :)
Also this was before being skinny was so fashionable, So Ji Sub looks amazing in that towel, and also Anna actress looks WOW amazing. What a body. Also, the FL actress has nice legs you can see she walks and exercises, the legs are toned.
Also there are lots of Hwood tricks, including the names of the Chinese in the drama - Sophie, Gordon, Anna, .... and the facial gestures that look like Hwood...
BUT as usual, Chinese did a great copycat counterfeit and made it their own, this is actually hilarious and has that off hinge humor like Stephen Chow movies from Hong Kong, and I love it. It is really fun.
I just watched a phenomenal Chinese Counterfeit with real Chinese flavor and it is totally hilarious. Sophie's Revenge 2009 Chinese rom com with So Ji Sub as 2ML. He did not have to act much besides parade around in towel. But Chinese ML is his copy lmao but does not look that well kept, however, is a very good actor and super charming and really a hot lover. A lot better than the girly pale skinny guys with make up in current cdramas... The movie has Stephen Chow from Hong Kong humor, I love it. Link in spoiler
I really dislike most cdramas and cmovies bc they have the pompous overdramatic serious feel of a military parade, BUT once in a blue moon when Chinese make something good it is EXCEPTIONAL
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A Beautiful Story That Deserved a Better Goodbye
I really enjoyed A Splendid Match overall. The drama had a lot going for it, beautiful cinematography, gorgeous costumes, a solid cast, and leads with amazing chemistry. The romance was sweet without feeling overly cheesy, and I liked that the relationship was built on trust and mutual respect. The political and family conflicts kept things interesting, and for the most part, the pacing was good.The cast also did a fantastic job. Even the supporting characters felt memorable, and many of them had storylines that made you care about what would happen to them. That's actually why the ending was so disappointing.
My biggest issue is that the ending felt way too rushed. After spending dozens of episodes developing these characters and their relationships, the finale wrapped everything up so quickly that it barely gave the audience time to process anything. It honestly felt like the story was cut short.
Several important character arcs never received the resolution they deserved. There were relationships that needed proper closure, lingering conflicts that were brushed aside, and supporting characters whose endings were either implied or completely skipped. Instead of giving us satisfying conclusions, the drama seemed to jump straight to the finish line.
It's frustrating because the journey was genuinely enjoyable. The writers spent so much time building the world and making us emotionally invested in these characters, only to rush through the part where all that investment should have paid off. Even just one or two more episodes could have made a huge difference by giving everyone the closure they had earned.
That said, I don't think the rushed ending ruins the entire drama. The performances, chemistry, visuals, and emotional moments throughout the series are still worth watching. I just wish the finale had slowed down enough to let the story breathe and properly conclude the characters' journeys.
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Horribly Dull. Not for a lover of the original OVA
How does one turn Rurouni Kenshin into the most lifeless, boring soulless rendition ever? Watch this movie!The fight scenes like the duel between Kenshin and Okita Souji are cool- undoubtably they must be incredibly difficult to execute.
The second half is better than the first- that part reminds me of the original story. Still it’s not the same and doesn’t evoke the same emotion as the anime.
This version is more “star studded” than the first one I saw (2012)- with Chishiya —I mean Nijirō Murakami and Takahashi Issey in the cast. The first thing I noticed what this woman’s horrible makeup job- with this white patchy powder on her face. It looks like some cheap makeup did that, her hair is a mess and her lipstick is all over the place. What on earth?
And what’s up with the Indian classical style flute? This is Rurouni Kenshin not the Ramayana! It’s totally out of place. The director is totally out of his element here.
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Verso la fine poteva essere anche un 8,5.
Sapetem e se non lo sapete lo scoprirete ora, io sono fan delle coppie fisse e uno dei miei motti nel mondo del BL è questo "rotta una ship, se ne fa un'altra". E sono sempre convinta di questa cosa. Però devo dire che MeenPing avevano prorpio una bella chimica e forse delle tre serie loro che ho visto questa è quella che la mostra di più. Però questa serie poteva essere benissimo interpretata da SkyNani (per evitare di dire la parola con la B) e avrebbe perso molto poco del complesso, anche perché parla di più dei valori di amicizia e di sostegno l'uno con l'altro. Mi sono piaciuti molto i personaggi e devo dire che tutte le coppie che ci vengono presentate hanno la loro unicità e la loro carineria (a proposito, a me è partita la ship fra il preside e il caoch e nessuno mi dirà il contrario: nel senso che il preside sicuramente ha una crush irrisolta per il coach e quest'ultimo, ora che sta superando la colpa per la morte della moglie, sicuramente può darsi una seconda possibilità all'amore. ve lo avevo detto che mi era partita la ship, e quando mi parte la ship a me parte anche la ff) e anche il personaggio di Emi, seppur non sono abituata a vederla che ci prova con i ragazzi, mi è piaciuto.Quindi devo dire, se non l'avete ancora vista è molto consigliata come cosa chill, che però ti deprime un po' in alcuni punti, tipo quando Que deve decidere e uccide il suo boss, anche se lui era indeciso fra Ryu e il boss. Insomma una serie con un discreto inzio e una ahimè però meh fine, perché hanno fatto un sacco di cose nel giro di 10 minuti, che potevano al 100% non mettere. Detto ciò bella, l'unica cosa e che nemmeno dopo morta credo che Meen possa passare per uno studente delle superiori. Non passava per uno studente delle superiori nemmeno quando era alle superiori...
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Hollow, flat, lacks depth and life of the anime
As a longtime lover of the anime, I’ve tried to watch this first movie several times, and I get that they don’t follow the anime timeline or stories exactly and that’s fine, but what I’m looking for is more of the vibe, the soul, the essence of the anime. And like many live action movie versions of great anime’s (My Happy Marriage is another example of this), this live action movie fails to capture the magic and essence of the anime. It’s not about the story or the plot points, this live action version is like kenshin with no soul. Don’t get me wrong, Takeru Satoh has done an incredible job playing Himura Kenshin, and he is the only character worth watching and embodies some of the soul of the anime. He has that purity, innocence, but the deadly strength. The rest are hollow, flat, and very one note. Kaoru, Yahiko, Sanosuke, heck even Jinei- how is it that all of them are like flat 2d puppets that lack the depth of the anime? Kind of ironic right? The “real” human actors -when they try to mimic the depth of a 2d animation, they fail miserably and look hollow and flat.Why does Kaoru let Kenshin get arrested even though he saved her and the school from the rowdy men? At the very least, she would need him for protection. It’s obviously not in the original story, and is totally useless, and just makes her look like an ungrateful person. So weird. The scene with Jinei is so lackluster- she overcomes the trance in 2 seconds and they’re like “Uh oh the spell broke!” It’s so lame!
The villain is wearing this weird fake Halloween teeth on his lower row of teeth and with that haircut and that ridiculous pompous background music theme, he just comes across as a joker. A joker is fine- the anime has plenty of that, but like I said, it is hollow.
The music of the Kenshin anime series is like the heart and soul of it- the music breathes life into it. The music here is again hollow, adds nothing to the movie at all. People rated these movies highly for their star power and keep marveling at “wow it’s one of the best anime adaptations!” If this is the best, then I don’t want to know what the worst is. I don’t plan to find out. Stick with the anime. It has soul that these movies don’t have.
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convoluted
Her goal is noble, wanting to help the people. Why does she have to be an official? Isn't the position of the city lord's wife more powerful? She should be able to provide input from her position as queen of the city lord. The story is really convoluted and uninteresting. Fortunately, it was produced very well. It made me want to watch it fast forward and skip.Was this review helpful to you?
Brutally Insane Ride You can Barely Breathe
Kwon Yu, an ex national athlete who is now living off his mom who works as hospice worker, quietly wasting away his life by playing video games around the clock. A phonecall offering reward of $300 for returning a phone turned his life into a living hell. The next morning after returning the phone, he wakes up to a police raid, convicted with a crime he knew nothing of, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He finally decides to escape when his mom died mysteriously amid his appeal. Determined to exonerate himself, he teams up with his online gaming team to track down the men behind his frame-up.I had to say this is one of the most engaging kmovie I’ve ever watched. The level of blood being spilled in those brutal fight sequences is unimaginable. Ji Changwook is exceedingly phenomenal here, the writer definitely did quite a number on his role - he gets beaten, sexually assaulted, drugged, shot and crashed into non stop. Even when I saw The Worst of Evil, his role had not been as brutally injured as this Kwon Yu. The action and special effects team are astronomically excellent here with those hand-to-hand fights, car chases and explosions. Totally love the car chase especially when the good guys had to work with that tiny compact car compared to beamers and mercedes benz that the villains drive.
The plot twists, the angst, the fury of both good guys and villains as they outwit each other back to back keeps me at the edge of my seat in the whole duration of the movie. Gosh I’d really rewatch this just for the action. As usual, i cant really find any faults with korean actors, they carried their role too well even those with the small parts. I really love the foreigner characters that were ever so small but were actually the tipping point between Kwon Yu getting caught and escaping. Man, the whole production is truly awesome.
I am glad I watched this in movie format compared to the series The Manipulated (also starring Ji Chang Wook), cuz I dont think I can handle the anger and frustration of seeing ML getting assaulted and outwitted by the villains on a longer basis.
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Malignant & Abhorrent
To be sure, I have seen my fair share of malignancy in BLs over the years, but this version is the most toxic, unimaginably abusive, comprehensively dysfunctional, and severely emotionally disturbed series I have ever seen. And shame on anyone and everyone who thinks there was any ‘artistic’ value or worse, thought they saw anything that even resembled a loving relationship. This is a sick, toxic, demented series filled with two of the most mentally deranged individuals ever. And we need to stop pretending or excusing that the significant abuse being shown is in any way shape or form signs of “love”. I am sick of balefulness being guised as cinematic artistry. It is not. It is ALL mistreatment and harmful and morally, ethically, and legally wrong and reprehensible. I am disgusted by anyone who has romanticized this nonsense. Are you glorifying and accepting someone being drugged, raped, physically tortured, enslaved, psychologically abused all because he excessively ‘loved’ him! And that is your definition of love!? And for the victim to go back for more! And to not think that is unhinged and as mad as a hatter?! This is a prime example of capture-bonding. What message are we sending to the gay community when time after time we see nothing but abuse and torture as an acceptable path to love? This is NOT love. This is victimization guised as love.Was this review helpful to you?
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Truly a historical masterpiece
It was my first historic drama. Season 1 couple were the BEST and I cried so much during the last episode😭.Go for it if you love fantasy, suspense, romance drama with action and if you are okay with a few very ragebaiting characters (iykyk) 10/10
It is very visually appealing too like the aesthetics. The acting is top notch cuz most of the time I felt like I was there with them fr. My favs were the Leads in s1 especially jung so min's character mu deok, she was so unintentionally hillirous for some reason😆😆.
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When action meets atmosphere
I went into Archives: The Nanyang Mystery expecting an entertaining Republican-era mystery, but I ended up enjoying it much more than I thought I would. While the story is packed with supernatural elements, hidden conspiracies, and ancient secrets, what kept me invested from beginning to end was the incredible atmosphere the drama managed to create.From abandoned villages and mysterious ships to underground ruins and forgotten temples, every location feels carefully crafted and full of history. The drama does an excellent job of immersing the viewer in its world, constantly giving the impression that every place hides another secret waiting to be uncovered.
The action scenes deserve a special mention because they are genuinely some of the best parts of the series. Every fight is well choreographed, easy to follow, and full of energy.
The mystery itself unfolds at a steady pace. Rather than revealing all its answers immediately, the drama slowly builds its mythology through different cases and investigations. Each new discovery expands the world a little further, introducing ancient legends, hidden organizations, and dangerous enemies that all connect to a much larger conspiracy.
Another aspect I really appreciated was the chemistry between the two main characters. Their friendship is one of the highlights of the series. They constantly balance each other out—one being more impulsive and humorous, the other calmer and more reserved—which creates plenty of entertaining interactions without taking away from the seriousness of the story. Their banter brings some much-needed lightness to an otherwise dark and dangerous adventure, making it easy to become attached to both characters.
Visually, the drama is also very impressive. The cinematography makes excellent use of lighting and color to create a mysterious atmosphere, especially during the more supernatural sequences. Dark caves, abandoned buildings, misty forests, and ancient ruins all contribute to the feeling that danger is always lurking around the corner. Combined with a strong soundtrack, the production succeeds in creating an immersive viewing experience.
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Ice Hocket and Boxing
Honestly, I was a little disappointed at first because I was expecting a typical, cinematic BL romance. But as I kept watching, I realized this drama is so much more than that. It truly lives up to its title—*Soulmate*.This isn't just a love story; it's a story about relationships and the people we choose to keep in our lives. It goes beyond the boundaries of family and blood, showing that some of the deepest connections are formed with the people we meet unexpectedly along the way.
The drama beautifully explores friendship, love, loss, and healing. The love it portrays isn't just romantic—it's profound, emotional, and quietly powerful. It's about finding someone who understands you, stands by you, and becomes your home, regardless of the label attached to that relationship.
If you're looking for something emotional, slow-paced, and heartfelt, this drama is absolutely worth watching. However, if you're expecting a lighthearted, funny, or fluffy BL romance, this may not be what you're looking for.
That doesn't make it a bad drama—quite the opposite. Not every story has to follow the same formula. Sometimes, being different is exactly what makes a drama memorable, and I genuinely think *Soulmate* stayed true to its vision and did complete justice to the story it wanted to tell.
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Apocalypse, CSAT extra credits, and off-the-charts idiocy
While part 1 was silly and fun, part 2 is simply ridiculous.There is virtually no character development. It's mostly annoying kids bickering about their college admission... Everywhere they go is a pile of rubble littered with dead bodies, they've not seen a living person in months, yet they're still arguing whether they should go "home" or not. You see, going home would mean forfeiting the extra CSAT credits they'd get by completing their mission. And so, the argument they have is not about how to increase their chances of survival, but a dispute between the CSAT guys and the guys who want to go home. The fact that, in all likelihood, 99% of humanity has been wiped out, and that there is no home or college left, is simply ignored.
Also, while part 1 had compelling action, part 2 is mostly filled with childish arguments, and the plot is driven by unrealistically idiotic decisions. As a result, there is very little screen time left for action or plot progression, and it all feels empty and pointless.
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moving forward from flourishing peony …
As I already watched Flourishing Peony, I had to watch In The Name of Blossom for the closure.My review for FP is quite detailed and holds true for this “sequel” as well.
Overall, I found both Season 1 and Season 2 very watchable. There are a lot of things happening so it’s truly a “dramatic” drama full of ups and downs.
I think 9/10 is generous but still all right to award as it’s a watchable drama and the FL has improved a lot and looks kind of different in a positive way. The ML kept things going. I will say that this drama is “okay can!”.
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oh my peony!
I was hesitant to watch this drama at first as I didn’t have a good experience watching the FL previously. I found her kind of screamy and high-pitched and she wasn’t on my “let’s watch” list. Nonetheless, I like the ML and the reviews which I read said that this drama was good and thus, I decided to give it a go. 🙌🏼🙂What I Liked:
- The ML was good.
- I liked some members of the supporting cast such as Chuan Yu. The emperor was a good one too. He was a very balanced emperor and not like the unhinged and power hungry ones in other dramas. The female supporting cast of nice women, such as Da Fu and her mother, made me happy.
- The storyline was very watchable.
- I like the romance between FL and ML.
- FL was rising like TRON. She became successful and whenever, she was trampled on by others and by life, she never gave up. She, being witty and resilient, kept on going and kept on doing what she desired.
- The ML supported the FL and considered her an equal and that she had value. He never looked down on her. Rather, he was proud of her and her wit and her strength to overcome adversities.
What I Didn’t Like:
- Awful misogyny.
- The second ML was all sorts of crazy and the second FL was alsl all sorts of crazy. Very hard to watch.
- The hateful in-laws of the FL. They were despicable and detestable.
- The hateful King Ning.
- How people, namely women and servants, were taken as dispensable.
- Wu Niang’s most atrocious husband and worse, her stupidity.
Overall, I like this drama enough to give it 9/10. 🙂
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