Reviews

Disappointed but not terrible.

O Han Byeol and Kong Tae Seong were a cute pair. I liked the history of their relationship and that they’ve always been a frenemies type of situation that care for each other. I also loved how puppy Kong Tae Seong is once he realizes he loved her. Just absolute cuteness and feels. I also like that O Han Byeol had a crush on him but was hurt so she built up her walls to his silly behavior. I also enjoyed Han Byeol’s friends - Park Ho Yeong and Cho Gi Ppeum - romances though I wished their stories started a bit sooner and where given a little more screen time. I also found it interesting that Baek Da Hye’s character has this super crush of the MML without it being a complicated jealousy love triangle. All of this is decent and enjoyable.

What I didn’t like? Basically every other secondary plot point execution. The rich maid storyline was weird and barely added anything to the plot, same with “smileboy”, and again with the 14 year old kid. All three of these “antagonists” exist for antagonisms sake without any rhyme or real reason. Even worse, there resolutions are simple and barely satisfying. I didn’t mind the message around “celebrities are hated for no reason” but I just think the way it’s executed was as if the show was a melodrama but it really wasn’t so these plot point land flat and annoying. Similarly, the college friend’s death was clearly part of the main leads’ dynamic and personalities, but still it wasn’t “tied up” properly. His death and his manager’s remaining anger about the death could have been a way better antagonist plot line to explore than the random three characters I just mentioned. In fact, I was waiting for a resolution on this and we never get one. Super frustrating. Minus points also specifically for the “Africa” depiction…

Overall, I really wish they had just leaned into the romcom and left out the melodrama because the melodrama parts flopped. My favorite parts were when it was just silly goofy – I was giggling, I was happy. But outside of that, it was so dumb that even the romance was held back by the nonsensical storylines.

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A (mostly) good adaptation

I finally sat down and watched the film adaptation of Paradise Kiss, having read the manga and watched the anime many years ago. For the most part, it stayed true to the source material, which I highly appreciated. The original story is short and sweet just like the film, though it did feel a little rushed at times (in particular Yukari and George's relationship progress). Though I'm not normally a huge fashion person, the fashion aspects of this series were always very cool to me, and the film definitely lived up to it, too.

I've never really liked George as a character; he was always too pushy, intense, and arrogant for my taste. So, if anything, I guess Osamu Mukai did a great job, because those feelings I have towards manga and anime George stayed the same while I watched the film. (Didn't like the almost-sexual-assault scene, though. I get what he was going for, but that was still a bit too much just to prove a point.) Still, despite my feelings re: George, his actor did a great job, and so did the others. My favourite portrayal was Keiko Kitagawa's as Yukari. I always watch live action film adaptations of anime and manga with a bit of scepticism, which might sound 'snobbish', but I've seen my fair share of awful ones to warrant keeping the suspicion around. That being said, the acting overall in this film convinced me that some manga-to-film adaptations can be good.

Oh, and I really adore the approach to and portrayal of Isabella here. In the anime, she's voiced by a woman, so it's a lot less obvious that she's trans until someone says she is and she then has the conversation towards the end of the series with Yukari. But in this film, they had Shunji Igarashi portray her (brilliantly, by the way) and properly convey the fact that she's trans, not shying away from the subject. I know people always say that only trans actors should play trans characters, and I can agree to *some* degree, but I still think there are ways for cis actors to respectfully portray trans characters. And that's what I saw in Paradise Kiss. The scene with her and Yukari before the fashion show made me cry in the anime and goddamnit, I cried again while watching the film.

It was a great watch, overall. Didn't overstay its welcome, held my attention from start to finish, and left me wiping tears off my face at the end. Will definitely rewatch.

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Falling in Love, Falling Apart

I really liked this. It portrays reality well—how a relationship can fade over time. The story captures the growing distance between them, along with her struggles at work, in a subtle and believable way. That one confrontation between them is particularly well written, with sharp dialogue, strong performances, and a palpable sense of tension.

The female lead comes across as almost sociopathic—not in a purely villainous sense, but in her detached curiosity about human nature, which makes her fascinating to watch. The second male lead is genuinely endearing, and the drama weaves in understated societal themes, as you’d expect from a J-drama.

In the end, the characters reflect on their mistakes, revisit how they met, and remember why they fell in love in the first place. The climax, underscored by classical music, is especially striking. The final scene then settles into a quieter note, as they exchange a simple “good morning” and look at each other with a mixture of regret and affection. It all comes together for a deeply satisfying conclusion.

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Just not my cup of tea

As much as I love Chen Xingxu I don't feel like wasting my time here. It was a sweet and light hearted romcom but the type thats more on the cheesy side. I could've sat through this during my teenage years but NOT now.

CXX's character was making me cringe so badly. At first it was cute but once the misunderstandings started piling up I could not sit through it. I think they have decent chemistry though.

I like how the lawyer portion of thet stories were quite interesting and how she cares about her job. I enjoyed the side characters plot but nothing about this drama stands out that much imo.

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SPOILER
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NETFLIX WHY???!!

The ending of Season 2 was good.
Sure, in the books there’s a “spin-off” with the Joker.
But I don’t think it was necessary.

Here, we find them a few months/years after the end of Season 2. They’re living their lives together, and then suddenly she starts thinking about her father and his suicide again. She was already thinking about it in Season 1 and 2, but now she meets this other crazy guy in a wheelchair, who manages to convince her to commit suicide so quickly, even though she’s living with Arisu. From that point on, I found it weird. How can one person mess with your head that fast after just one meeting?!
Plus, her following him into the games yes, he manipulates her, but if you look at the story from another perspective, it’s both logical and illogical at the same time.

On Arisu’s side, he learns he’s going to be a father and then commits suicide with Ann’s help (I KNEW SHE WASN’T DEAD AHAHAHAHA). Anyway… Then we get some really good games, I can’t lie I loved the games, the new characters we discover, and the really sad deaths. There are a lot of them in a row. In that aspect, it’s just like Season 1 and 2!

Then comes the first reunion, which is really touching but too short. Then the accident happens (I really thought he was going to die), but then I remembered that no series would kill off a main character in the middle of the season lol.

Then we get the real reunion, which is genuinely very emotional. They see their “future,” realize they’re not holograms, and then comes the famous scene where he punches her really hard I loved it. HE PLAYS HIS CHARACTER SO WELL THAT I HATE HIM. Then comes the scene I call “Squid Game”: the extra player, the baby. Yeah… we all saw that coming!
And then more sad deaths, and even sadder ones!
Then the ending where Arisu “sacrifices” himself even though the guy knows he’s going to be a dad. I didn’t understand that choice at all. How can you make that decision? I mean, there were older players at the end who could have taken his place logically, but no nobody moves. They just watch a young guy “commit suicide” even though he’s about to become a father. Totally incomprehensible!
Then comes the scene where he pulls out a gun but can’t kill her, so when they fall into the water, he decides to hold her so they die together. Honestly, this guy is a massive piece of shit, let’s just say it. He had no balls!
Then the final ending where she’s alive, he’s alive too, they lived happily ever after and had lots of children.

In short: the games are perfect! But the story is incomprehensible!

The acting is very good, and the visual effects are great too.

You can very well stop at Season 2 for a logical ending! But if you want to see an alternative ending, go ahead and watch Season 3.

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A Mature (Not Really) Urban Romance

Read the novel that it comes from (Records of Sweet Romance) and thought that it was an okay read. Unlike a lot of current novels and dramas out there, it explores the path of a divorced woman who (despite the odds stacked against her) succeeds in the hotel industry.

The plot is fine in both the drama and the novel. There are moments of cheesy scheming but the villains are not OP and their plans are easy to foil. My real bone to pick really is with the ML. Many didn't like the novel because of the ML and I think a lot of drama viewers might not either because he is not the 'ideal' ML. The ML is someone who's portrayed as an elite (the best in the industry) that begrudgingly helps FL and then falls in love with her. But the real issue is his attitude. Novel ML is a jerk. Drama ML is not much better. While we see that he subtly starts to fall in love with FL and protects her, we also have random moments where EQ and emotional regulation flies out the window. Every 5-6 episodes we get the ML lashing out at FL with lines like "I have the ability to help you out, but why should I?" and it really makes you want the FL to pick the 2nd ML because he's always supportive of her. Keep in mind that this line came at about 25+ episodes in and as a reflexive/defensive mechanism to him realizing he's falling in love and is getting jealous. For a 'mature' romance with a 'mature' cast, it comes off as really childish.

In a world dominated by Hidden Love, First Frost, and Pursuit of Jade, the standards for how a ML should behave and treat FL have changed from the early 2010s tsundere/macho man. While there may be some who like this type of ML, I think Epoch of Miyu may not be able to compete with this sort of dated character.

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MORE HARDCORE

Spoiler
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Here’s my review for Season 2, just like I did for Season 1:

We stay in the same vibe with the iconic group that we all know. First of all, let’s talk about the games — just like in Season 1, I loved them. Brutal, intense, gore… everything I like!
Deaths everywhere! Tatta’s death was really sad but logical for his character.

A great ending where we finally discover what happened and why they all ended up there.

The visual effects are still perfect.
The acting is still incredible, just like in Season 1.

You get hooked on Season 2 very quickly if you liked Season 1. Very well done, bravo!

I also recommend Season 2!!

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Thank you for your love journey, Yumi

Disclaimer

What I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this series. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this series should get a higher or lower score and why it is better/worse than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that.

I started this journey of 'Yumi's Cells' from the year 2021. And here we ae in the year 2026, her story told in three seasons. Now, the thing is, I didn't expect to become emotionally attached to these cells, but I did (heck I even got a little teary-eyed at the end of the final episode of season three). Yumi went through a lot in the name of love, and I believe that she needed these two exes as they did make her stronger on the aspects of going after what she loves (Babi in encouraging her to be a writer) and in learning to opening her heart again to fall in love. All of this was needed for Yumi to finally get the happy ending that she deserved, although she did go through painful break-ups with them.

Kim Go Eun shines once again as the role of Yumi and i actually felt that Kim Jae Won as Sin Sun Rok was a good choice (although I was seeing some negative reviews about him due to his main role in 'Hierarchy'). I thank the director and all the team who worked on this and was able to give us a third season (although a short one) as we are able to see the happy ending of Yumi and her cells.

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A drama where you laugh a lot but don’t really pay attention to the story (my opinion):


I’m not going to talk about spoilers, just my overall thoughts on the series.

From the very beginning, I was laughing a lot. Their relationship makes absolutely no sense, but I found it had a certain charm. It’s a messy, random relationship that somehow manages to create something. However, the overall story didn’t really mark me. If someone asked me for a summary, I wouldn’t really know what to say about the plot. I just spent my time laughing at the awkward and funny moments.

I thought the acting was very good, with great chemistry between them!

The OSTs didn’t particularly stand out to me, but they weren’t bad either.

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Good fantasy storyline

This drama follows Ming Yi, a female warrior who had appeared to others as a man using a magical disguise. During a broadcasted tournament, she was defeated by an opponent's new hire, Bozai, During their fight, she sustained a critical injury. To find out about the truth of any sabotage during the fight as well as a cure for her injury, she tries to get closer to Bozai. Over the course of their partnership, they reveal more truths about each other and themselves.

The main draw of this drama is the creative storyline and cinematics, which were well crafted and easily transported the viewer into a magical world. Spirit beasts were also a big plus!!! While the romance is not physically intense, we can feel love and heartbreak through trust and sacrifice. The vibes of the drama are lighthearted and youthful, not a serious or intense drama (no routine palace gossip and schemes) -- so it easy to watch and enjoy.

I would recommend this for viewers who are looking for a captivating story and pretty cinematics, and not requiring romance

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