Reviews

really ? oguri shun ?

im not a fan of romance, so usually i will just watch it as time wasting guilty pleasure and move on, like no fucking way i will write a review on a romance plot that every single one of them is just a mix of cliche and cringeworthy shits, but for oguri shun ? im down.

honestly i just wanna leave a note that every time i saw oguri shun here, the image of that white haired bastard gintoki picking his nose stuck on my head hahahaha. pretty sure a lot people growup with anime and jp liveactions can relate. not that he act bad, its just his past character fits him so well that makes this one feels like abomination.

pretty sure the story adaptation was tailored a lot,so it became more like platonic romance. oguri still can have his manly tsundere character, and with platonic plot han hyo joo can play more relaxed

shout out to han hyoo joo doing so well despite the language, love her work in moving, big respect she is willing to learn japanese to the level of tertiary language, she must have passed N3 at the very least. even though she didnt nail her language switch slapstick jokes i say its understandable. the fact i still see the tsukkomi her act is commendable.

last, dont believe reviews that says bad story and comparing to the original, all bullshit. they are probably fellas that watched too many dating shows, its still your typical cliche romance, since its platonic so the vibes is light and nothing too deep. i mean its romance what do you expect ? i promise you its enjoyable

Read More

Okay, Season 2, You Actually Ate

Just when you think a sequel will inevitably suffer the downfall of its infamous predecessor, they serve you THIS.

Season 1 already ended with such a good cliffhanger, with Jung Jin man’s survival and his determination to protect Jung Jian. It also left plenty of unanswered questions about his past and what kind of future Jian could possibly have after everything that happened. But somehow, the second season takes those questions and manages to go even bigger without losing what made the first season work. The story expands, the tension is higher, and the action barely lets you breathe from beginning to end.

Even the introduction of the new foreign team works better than I expected (Okada Masaki KYAAAK!). They could have easily felt pointless, but instead, they become another piece of the plot and somehow make everything even tighter. What I appreciate most about both seasons is how they manage to preserve their humanity despite all the brutality. Underneath the endless action, revenge, violence, and an endless parade of villains, there is still a story about overcoming trauma, building trust, and the desire to live a normal life.

The first season was largely about the bond between uncle and niece, building the emotional foundation of the entire story. The second season shifts more toward Jian trying to overcome her trauma and reclaim some semblance of an ordinary life, something that has already become almost impossible for her. Jian’s transformation is particularly satisfying. She’s no longer the fragile girl who needs to be protected. She has become capable of protecting herself and those she loves. But the more meaningful development is Jin man’s response to that transformation. He gradually learns to trust her and finally starts letting her make decisions about her own life. As much as Jin man wants to keep her away from this life, she has gone too deep into this world and has inevitably become like him.

Pasin’s betrayal was another highlight for me, even though I have mixed feelings about how his character was handled. I do think the writers did Pasin a little dirty this season, but at the same time, I love when a plot manages to blindside me. It was painful and bittersweet, and I genuinely did not see it coming (he was my favorite character in the first season!). This season also gives us a surprisingly beautiful love story, not only for Jian but for Jin man too. Of course, this is still an action thriller, so the romance was never going to have an easy ending. Their relationships become another casualty of the lives they were dragged into.

And then there is the beautiful parallel of “Listen up, Jung Jian” becoming “Listen up, Jung Jin man.” It is such a simple change, but it says so much about the evolution of the story. The person who once needed to be protected has become someone capable of standing on her own.

I’m intrigued to see whether this will lead to a third season. In some ways, the story has already reached a satisfying conclusion. Babylon Korea falls, the major conflicts are resolved, and the characters have reached a natural endpoint. But then there is Babylon Global, quietly leaving the door open for something much bigger. I think we can all agree that there was never going to be a truly permanent ceasefire in this world. Whatever happens, I’ll definitely be here if we get another season. But for now, I’m genuinely satisfied. I’m ecstatic that this season ended up being even better than I expected.

Read More

I really love all the characters, especially Prince, he is so cunty.

I love when comedy also adress real life issue, like homophobia and classism.

This drama made me go by a lot of emotion, happiness, sadness... Which is a great point.

The two only malus are the fact that Prince never adress that isn't Woradek. Maybe it would have been better for Kosol and for Banjong. To be honest, I expected a time were Prince tell it because he was concerned by it at some point.. But they didn't show it. I guess Prince will life as Woradek all his life.
And I wanted Jet and Ched to end up together x))

Read More

The Ceasefire Was Just the Beginning

I genuinely had a great time with this season. A Shop for Killers 2 came back with the same energy that made the first season so addictive, but somehow made everything feel bigger. The action, the tension, the mystery, the characters—it all felt like the show knew exactly what people loved about Season 1 and decided to lean into it.

What I especially liked was that the season didn't feel like it existed just because the first one was successful. There was actually more story to tell. We get more of Jin Man's past and more answers about what was happening behind the scenes, while Ji An continues becoming more capable and confident.

And honestly, the action was CRAZY. There were so many moments where I was just sitting there thinking, "How are they going to get out of this?" The tension was ridiculously good, and the season rarely felt boring. Even when the story slowed down to give us more information, I still wanted to know what was coming next.

Ji An was also one of my favorite parts of this season. I loved seeing how much she's changed. She's not just the girl trying to survive anymore—she actually feels like someone who belongs in this world. Kim Hye-jun did such a good job carrying that transformation.

And then there's Lee Dong-wook as Jin Man. Honestly, this role fits him ridiculously well. The calm attitude, the mysterious personality, the whole "I already have a plan while everyone else is panicking" energy... I could watch him do this forever.

The biggest strength of the series is probably how it balances action with mystery. It doesn't just throw fights at you for the sake of having fights. There's always some question in the back of your mind about who is behind everything, what Jin Man has been hiding, and where the story is actually going.

That said, I did have a few moments where I thought the story was trying a little too hard to surprise me. Some reveals worked brilliantly, while others felt like they were there mainly to keep the audience guessing. A couple of characters also deserved more development because there was clearly more potential there.

But honestly? I don't care. I had FUN.

And the ceasefire at the end?? Honestly, after everything that happened, seeing all that chaos finally come to a temporary stop felt so satisfying. But at the same time, it didn't exactly feel like a peaceful ending—it felt more like the calm before something much bigger. The fact that everyone agreed to a ceasefire makes me even more curious about what comes next, because there is absolutely no way I'm believing this is the end of the story.

I hope we get a season 3 someday.

Read More

Worst psychologist ever. Never book an appointement with Fang chi.

I love it so much. I was like the main lead, obsessed with them. I started the novel but didn't finish it because I didn't want it to spoil me. I'm sad it ended.

Glad he react this way knowing Zhen Xin took advantage of him while he was drunk. It was never romantic or acceptable.

To continue in the "fag world" the two girlfriends should have ended together.

I was mind fuck by the plot twist, i really didn't expect it. And people told me it wasn't just "a book in their world" both of the couple are actually real. Love it. Your friend write your story and you act his story. Okay diva;

Read More

It’s nice to see WJY portray costume dramas. I love how she always gives her best to her role. She’s one of the actress I always look forward. If we’re going to talk about this drama, let’s admit that it’s a bang. All actors stood out without overshadowing the others. 😍 I like that this drama doesn’t focus on romantic love story, it’s political, war, and scheming which I love most in cdramas. Idk if people tell they don’t have chemistry, for me it can’t only be measure in a romantic encounter. There so many ways that made this drama a good dynamics.

Read More

Listen Up, Babylon

A Shop for Killers Season 2 picks up where the first season left off, but instead of constantly throwing us into a maze of flashbacks and survival games, it spends more time asking a different question: what happens after you survive? Jung Ji An is no longer simply the girl trying to stay alive inside Murthehelp. With Jung Jin Man back in the picture, she has to figure out what kind of life she wants, what Murthehelp means to her, and whether there is any way for the Jung uncle and niece duo to exist without Babylon breathing down their necks.

The season begins by filling in the missing pieces of what Jin Man was doing while the events of the first season were unfolding. We see what happened to him and his team before eventually arriving at his reunion with Ji An. From there, the story moves more firmly into the present, following their lives after that reunion. Compared to the first season, which was packed with action and flashbacks designed to build the mystery around Murthehelp, the second season feels more invested in the future. The first season kept me at the edge of my seat. The second season, meanwhile, made me more curious about where these characters would go next. And honestly, I enjoyed both seasons almost equally, just for different reasons.

After reuniting with Jin Man and the Murthehelp team, Ji An initially chooses to walk away. She spends three years trying to live a normal life in a small seaside town, working with the grandmas making fishing nets. On paper, it sounds peaceful. In reality, this girl is basically living like a paranoid cat. She keeps her profile low, sets traps around her house, and carries the psychological scars of everything she has been through. Even in a quiet village by the sea, she never truly feels safe.

I actually appreciated what this arc was trying to do, even though I think it went on longer than necessary. It gives us a glimpse of the life Ji An could have had if she were allowed to simply be a normal young woman. The problem is that the moment she finally warms up to the town and gets close to a local boy, her identity is discovered. Predictable? Absolutely. When it happened, I felt almost nothing emotionally. The chase itself gave me an adrenaline rush, but the emotional beats, especially the boat scene, did not land as strongly as the drama seemed to want them to. It also took three whole years for Ji An to finally open herself up to the people there, only for everything to be destroyed because the enemy's investigation happened to lead them to the village. Still, I can accept the arc because it functions as a giant "what if?" scenario for Ji An. What if she could really leave Murthehelp behind? What if she could live an ordinary life? The answer, unfortunately, is that her past is not done with her.

Meanwhile, Jin Man spends much of the season trying to get Babylon off their backs. His goal is surprisingly reasonable for someone running a deadly shopping mall: coexist peacefully. Babylon, naturally, says no. So Jin Man and his team resort to threatening them with classified information taken from Babylon's own server. Their efforts were genuinely fun to watch. The strategizing, infiltration, escapes, and cat-and-mouse games kept me invested, even if they rarely made me genuinely worried about whether Jin Man and his team would survive. I always had the feeling that they would find a way out somehow.

The action is a mixed bag. So Min Hye and Pasin continue to be absolute beasts. Their movements are agile, clean, and satisfying to watch, and their action scenes gave me exactly the kind of adrenaline rush I wanted. Bale is also entertaining thanks to his manic, almost psychotic presence. That man's ability to stare without blinking deserves its own award.

Jin Man, however, is a different story. I can see Lee Dong Wook's age through some of the action sequences, and the drama seems very aware of it too. A lot of Jin Man's fights are presented through dark environments, night-vision POVs, unusual camera angles, or heavy editing. The intention is obviously to make him look cool, but sometimes it felt less like stylish filmmaking and more like the camera was helping him pass the physical exam. The 360-degree corner angle used during his fight with Bale in the first episode amplified my migraine. I understand what they were going for, but I found it more nauseating than impressive.

That is not to say Jin Man himself loses his cool factor. In fact, the drama cleverly shifts his strength away from raw physicality. His real weapons are his experience, intelligence, equipment, and ability to escape situations that should be impossible to escape from. He looks like a man who has been doing this for decades, and that works for the character. Visually, Lee Dong Wook still looks ridiculously good as Jin Man, with a buff and fit physique that suits the role. More importantly, his performance sells the uncle part beautifully. There is awkwardness, guilt, innocence, protectiveness, and love in the way he looks at Ji An. Their relationship feels surprisingly realistic, especially for two people whose family bonding activities include guns, traps, and escaping assassins.

Kim Hye Jun's Ji An is also solid. I would not call the performance extraordinary, but there is nothing particularly wrong with it either. She genuinely feels like a niece trying to navigate the bizarre and dangerous world that her uncle has dragged her into. My biggest complaint is that I wanted more growth and charisma from Ji An. She has some genuinely cool moments, particularly when she dresses up and confronts Babylon herself, as well as during her martial arts and gun training with Jin Man's team. Those scenes gave her plenty of aura. Unfortunately, when she starts sitting at the table and strategizing with the experienced players, she sometimes feels like a kid trying to play chess with grandmasters.

That said, I cannot complain too much about that characterization because it makes sense. Jin Man and the others have spent years surviving in this industry. Ji An is still the newcomer. What matters is that her plans work, and watching her gradually take the reins of Murthehelp is satisfying. She may not yet have the presence of the big players, but she is learning how to become one.

The Babylon characters are another mixed bag. Kusanagi Jin, Q, and J from Babylon's East Asia Branch all leave very different impressions. Kusanagi Jin, played by Jung Yun Ha, is probably the one who annoyed me the most, which is also a compliment to the actress. She is manic, narcissistic, obsessed with hygiene, and generally the kind of person who makes you want to slap the screen. Jung Yun Ha commits to the psychotic energy so intensely that I genuinely wanted to throw something at her. At times, though, the character feels a little too cartoonish.

Q, played by Lee Hyun Ri, is much more interesting in terms of morality. She has her own principles and does not seem particularly interested in killing innocent people. She can show mercy, spare people who do not harm her, and has strong big-sister energy toward J. There is also a little spark between her and Jin Man, which I enjoyed. Unfortunately, her characterization does not go much further than that. I did not become deeply attached to her, although her pursuit of Ji An in the village was excellent. She was like a leech with a mission. Once she locked onto Ji An, good luck getting her to let go.

J, meanwhile, left an impression almost entirely because of Okada Masaki. I'm just a girl after all. Kidding. J is Q's younger brother and Kusanagi Jin's secret lover, and he is a very straightforward character. He follows orders and does what he is told without much fuss. Yet Okada Masaki gives him such expressive facial reactions that I found myself watching him whenever he appeared. His face practically speaks in full sentences. I became a fan.

Q's crew also adds some much-needed flavor, particularly Marco, who provides the comedic touch in an otherwise deadly cast. These little character dynamics help prevent the drama from becoming too grim and give the team a sense of personality beyond simply being people who are very good at killing other people.

The visuals, unfortunately, are where the drama sometimes tries a little too hard. There are plenty of genuinely good-looking scenes, but some of the camera work seems determined to remind us that the director owns a camera. The action between Jin Man and Bale in the first episode is the biggest example for me. The 360-degree treatment was technically interesting but physically unpleasant to watch. Other Jin Man action scenes use darkness or obstructive angles in ways that make it difficult to appreciate his actual movements.

Meanwhile, the action scenes involving So Min Hye and Pasin are allowed to breathe. We can clearly see their movements, which makes them feel more impressive rather than less. That contrast made me wonder whether Jin Man's camera treatment was partly designed to mask Lee Dong Wook's movement. If that was the intention, it worked. If it was not, then the coincidence is doing some heavy lifting.

Still, the drama has plenty of visual highlights. One of my favorite moments is when Kusanagi Jin walks past a room where clients are being killed. The scene has this unsettling, almost casual brutality that fits the world of A Shop for Killers perfectly. It understands that sometimes you do not need explosions to look cool. Sometimes a psychopath casually walking past a room full of dead bodies does the job.

And then there is the music. The OST, background music, and sound effects absolutely slay. The music is one of those things that can instantly elevate a scene from "pretty cool" to "damn, that has aura." The tracks are well chosen and woven naturally into the action, making the fights, confrontations, and dramatic moments feel much bigger. There were several moments when I found myself enjoying the music almost as much as the actual scene.

By the end, I did feel that some deaths were unnecessary. A few characters I liked were killed off, and while their deaths can be justified within the brutal logic of this world, I still found myself thinking, "You really could have let them live." Sometimes realism is not the same thing as satisfaction. There were also some loose ends about certain supporting characters.

The ending is probably the best example of the season's overall approach. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be smart. From an entertainment perspective, I found it anticlimactic. I wanted something bigger, louder, and more explosive. But from a storytelling perspective, Ji An's solution makes sense. It is the result of planning rather than brute force, and I cannot really argue with a plan that works simply because I wanted a bigger fireworks display.

It is also a very convenient ending, but perhaps that is what makes it smart. If A Shop for Killers ends here, the second season provides a conclusion that works. If the drama decides to continue with a third season, there is still enough room to move forward. The biggest question for me is what happens after the ceasefire. Will Jin Man and Ji An continue running Murthehelp together? Will they finally walk away from it? Can Murthehelp even exist peacefully after everything that has happened? I honestly would not mind either direction.

Overall, A Shop for Killers Season 2 is just as fun and entertaining as its predecessor, although it scratches a slightly different itch. The first season had the stronger sense of mystery and urgency, while the second season feels more like watching the surviving pieces of the chessboard figure out their next move. There are predictable story beats, unnecessary detours, questionable deaths, and camera work that occasionally made my head hurt more than the villains did. But the cast is fun, the action can be excellent, the uncle and niece relationship remains the heart of the story, and the soundtrack knows exactly how to make everything feel cooler than it already is.

It is not perfect, but neither does it need to be. A Shop for Killers remains a stylish, bloody, entertaining ride, and the second season does enough to make me glad I came back to Murthehelp.

Read More

good idea poorly executed

big fan of Liu Run Ming so I will watch anything with him but this was not that good. the idea of time jumps was completely underutilized and if the mysterious ring that can get person from one reality and point of time to another is all they got the creators and director really were over their heads to make it interesting. the first/introductory part is sketchy to say the least, the second "life" is fun but overexposed with unnecessary details (but I did enjoy cuteness of ml and 2ml who was fl's younger version of the father). the 3rd part just didn't make sense.
acting was ok with the exception of the villain who good as he might be looked grotesque with his gestures and facial expressions, as if poorly directed.
no romance at all but LRM is charming as ever and thank God does not choke fl here.
giving it 7 is rather generous but if you are fan of ml - it's better that his modern drama about soul collector 🤣

Read More

Another example that it doesn't need many episodes to make a good GL.

Here's another proof that an awesome series doesn't require a lot of episodes. It's all about the storytelling! While book-adapted series would usually generate more buzz and excitement, "AI Girl" proved that a unique concept combined with great execution are the keys to making a series stand out.

Mame, the brain behind this series proved her writing skill once again with how well-structured the story is. While 7 episodes may seem short, "AI Girl" manages to pack a punch with its concise storytelling, solid pacing, and well-defined character arcs, without relying on unnecessary subplots. The focus remains on the central theme of forbidden love between a human and a AI-powered robot, creating an entertaining yet emotional journey for viewers. The 50-60 minutes runtime of each episode allows for ample time to flesh out the story and develop the relationships between the characters. The balance between comedy, romance, and drama is handled masterfully, keeping viewers engaged from start to finish. And the best part? No annoying parents or exes!

Other than the story, the acting is something worth mentioning about this series. Despite it being Myyu Khawisara's first series, she delivers impressively. Her years of stage experience allow her to bring Gen to life effortlessly, conveying the layers of emotion and conflict within Gen with such depth and nuance. Meanwhile, Chanya Amarit nailed the contrasting characters of Ai and Irene, enriching the story's complexity. Plus, the chemistry between Myyu and Chanya is palpable, drawing viewers into Gen-Ai blossoming romance. In addition to its well-developed story and impressive acting, this series also excels in its execution, production quality, and attention to detail. Hats off to the props and makeup departments for their amazing work in designing the sets and giving Ai such a believable humanoid look.

Out of many good points, one drawback of this series, in my opinion, is the lack of proper backstory, which I think lowers the overall emotional impact. Irene's story unfolds very slowly, to the point that the mysteries around her make her seem more like a filler than a central figure. Also, Gen's family issue feel quite shallow. Hence, I don't think it deserves more than 8.5. And while the love story between human and robot might not sit well with some people, it's a fiction anyway.

Overall, "AI Girl" takes a refreshing turn from conventional romance plots by exploring the complex dynamics between the human protagonist and a humanoid, and it worked! In a saturated market of GL dramas, this series exemplifies how prioritizing overall quality over mere chemistry and hype can create a good GL series that will definitely stick with viewers for a while.

Read More