very rewatchable comfort show
i loved the chemistry between the main leads, i think it's my favorite comfort show with the cliché trope of city boy and town girl. good amount of adorable scenes but also i just like watching characters be silly and fall in love in a beautiful place. also their first kiss scene is still one of my favorites, i've watched a lot of dramas and i always remember this show, idk if it's the chemistry between the actors but i found it soo cute and memorable. this is the type of kdama i always rewatch when im feeling sick or idk what to watch next <3Was this review helpful to you?
I thought this was gonna be a silly gl that is space themed
my bad for watching the movie without knowing anything about it except there's an astronaut on the poster 😭😭😭.anyways i wasn't expecting the production quality i didn't reliase it was a high budget ish film.
Dialog and voice over was often lacking, felt a bit dry at times, the store and timeline and get a bit confusing but i liked the concept.
oh and the often the English dialog felt too dry or written in a way that lacked emotion or was too formal.
their chemistry was insane but yea.
i need a minute rn. def would recommend tho. like better than expected but there's quite a bit lacking in terms of dialog writing mostly.
Was this review helpful to you?
First of all, this is a general overview for those wondering whether they should watch it. If you enjoy crime, detective stories, dark themes, and plot twists, you’re in the right place. But if you’re looking for an idol drama with fairy-tale-like relationships far removed from real life, you might want to stay away.
This series will make you question love, friendship, and trust. If you watch it with an open mind and a bit of empathy, without overthinking every detail, you’ll really enjoy it. In short, if you want a well-written crime drama with a touch of romance, give it a try.
A lot of comments focus on the love triangle—don’t get too caught up in that. In adult relationships, it’s completely normal for people to have a past when they meet someone new. And as you’ll see, the story goes much deeper than just an “ex-lover” situation.
As for the acting, Jing Boran delivers an amazing performance as always, and the chemistry between the leads is absolutely perfect. I personally really enjoyed watching it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Stylist murder mystery with awesome cast
I loved watching this mystery. The cast was solid - they did a great job playing interesting characters. The story was interesting and maybe not the hardest to figure out but but with all of the characters, it was interesting to see how their stories intersected. I loved the dynamic of the main leads. I love the visuals and the art world elements. I think I could see myself watching this again, even though some of the twists would be known.Was this review helpful to you?
It Felt Like She Was Grooming Him
I felt grossed out because they met when he was a child and he grew up with her as a guardian figure. She felt like his mother and he had a crush on her???? And she likes him back????It felt like she was grooming him to be her lover. It felt so gross.
ACTING
I think the actors did well. I didn't see much of the story because I was so grossed out hoping it would get better.
STORY
With a different premise, this would have been great. I can't really tell you how great the story would have been because I dropped it after a few episodes. It was also a while ago that I watched it and all I remember is how grossed out I was. I remember Zhu Xu Dan and a gist of her character's arc, though. I can't believe I didn't drop it from episode 1. Maybe I had hope that it wasn't as bad as I thought. But nope, it was. This has a lot of great actors so I thought it must be good. I must be missing something. Why is everyone liking this?
Don't continue watching things that make you sick, people.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
The best kdrama about doctors
Honestly, one of the best kdramas I've watched this year. Not gonna lie, some episodes are tough to watch. If you're sensitive to medical trauma or blood, maybe skip this one. But if you're looking for something that doesn't treat its audience like idiots and actually respects how messy healing and grief are, this is it. You won't regret it if you spend your time watching it. Would recommend, but maybe not if you're already having a rough week. Have something light ready to watch after. Anyway 10/10 for me.Was this review helpful to you?
Got Bored After A While
In the beginning I found this super funny and a nice watch. I enjoyed seeing Lu Yu Xiao's acting... And then the story just kept being mediocre and started to get more and more boring.ACTING
Lu Yu Xiao is a great actor. She has a brilliant range of emotion and she was a perfect fit in this drama. I can't imagine another actress. I think the ML's actor did a good job, too. I think he should be in more things. I would like to see him in a costume drama - even better if it's with Lu Yu Xiao again. As for the other actors? They were meh.
STORY
It started off great. And then it started to seem a bit random. I lost interest around episode 11 and couldn't finish episode 12. The villain needed a slap. A few slaps. There was no reason for what he was doing (at least from what I can see from the explanation we get at episode 11-12). The story started to feel pointless. It felt like it was just dragging on and the characters couldn't get out of the whole the villain dug for them (Which yeah, can be executed well but this just felt meaningless and emotionless and a "ah this is so bad" and then someone cries kinda thing).
4/ 10 because of how acted this is which is a 10 but the story - WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! I don't know where it went wrong but it went wrong somewhere. This could have been great but it just turned mediocre.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Women empowerment, Politics, Justice, Slowburn
Straight to my Fav list! (≧▽≦)This drama truly reaches the peak of storytelling regarding women empowerment and equality. The female lead’s character is absolutely admirable. All of her achievements didn’t simply fall into her lap; they were realistically earned through sheer will and ambition. She is easily one of the best-written female characters I have ever seen in a C-drama. I loved witnessing Mudan’s journey—from building her business, facing countless challenges, and handling them with such grace and intelligence.
This show is essentially about women empowerment, sprinkled with elements of politics and justice. It is a gut-wrenching drama, and you will witness loss everywhere, particularly among the female characters. To be honest, I believe that is exactly the point. It portrays the harsh reality of what life was truly like for women in that era. If historical dramas always presented easy, happy endings, they would lose the truth of just how difficult and cruel that time could be.
(Spoilers ahead)
I appreciate how realistic it is. The story perfectly captures the complexity of the female mindset shaped by that society. Take Shengyi, for example—she genuinely believed she couldn’t survive without a husband because that was what her environment taught her. Her character is the complete opposite of Mudan, which only highlights the strength of the lead even more. Then there is Lian Zhou, who longed for freedom but felt trapped, yet still chose to poison Mudan—not because she wanted to, but because she felt she had to. I love how Mudan eventually points this out; it really drives home the core message of the show.
As for the male lead, he is admittedly overshadowed by the female lead, but we have to agree that he is one of the most open-minded male leads out there. He allows Mudan to be independent and stands by to offer help only when she needs it.
One thing I must point out is that the dynamic between Youzhen and Liu Chang is peak drama. Why aren’t there more stories like this? It was so toxic, and honestly, I didn’t want a happy ending because there was simply no way they could have one.
I loved how they were both in pain, trapped in this cycle where Youzhen is obsessed with Liu Chang, yet Liu Chang is only obsessed with his Mudan. Because of this, they ended up tormenting and hurting each other. It was so thrilling to watch. The lines they threw at each other were satisfyingly sharp—I literally dropped my jaw when she said, "You torment me, so I torment He Weifang."
When it comes to the romance, it is the definition of peak slowburn. However, they are also the most indecisive couple I have ever encountered—it almost made me faint! Like, bro, just confess already! (ー_ー゛) But despite that, it is a healthy romance where they support and help each other grow. I love that scene where Mudan protected the Jiang mansion. That was pure "aura farming." The authority she commanded in that moment? Peak. That being said, I actually ended up skipping their romantic scenes in Part 2 because I was so caught up in the main plot—their moments felt like a distraction to me, lol.
The casting is excellent. What I love most is that the drama doesn’t rely heavily on background music to manipulate your emotions; instead, it trusts entirely in the talent of its cast to carry the moment. This is my first time watching Yang Zi, and I am truly impressed. I’ve never seen an actress cry with so much expression without it looking awkward—it was so raw and real. This definitely won’t be my last drama of hers. The other female characters were also amazing, especially Shengyi and the County Princess. Their acting was so realistic that you can’t help but sympathize with them.
This show gave me every emotion I could ask for. Though, I won’t deny that I did find certain parts a bit dragging, specifically the later part of Part 1 and the early part of Part 2. And I think the pacing is too slow. Sometimes I do find myself feeling like the plot is stuck or not moving at all.
Was this review helpful to you?
A mild-flavored addition to the Grand Maison universe
Before I talk about this movie, we need to establish that this is the third big installment in the Grand Maison universe: there's a drama series, a special episode and this movie (there is also a spin off mini series, but that's more of a side dish, pun intended).When I'm writing this, in my location I could find the drama in both Netflix and HBO max, the special only on HBO max and the movie "elsewhere" (there are some good fansubs and some not so good google translate ones both out there).
The Grand Maison Tokyo drama series is remarkably good.
It has a lot of ingredients (pun intended, again) which make it enjoyable: the incredible food (production design is consistently superb throughout all installments), the character dynamics, the always enjoyable jdrama journey of the group of outcasts doing their best for a common goal.
However, what makes it remarkable is the dynamic between the two leads: the iconic duo of Kimura Takuya as the complicated chef Obana Natsuki and Suzuki Kyoka as the level-headed chef Hayami Rinko. Two legends who come together and meet each other in a way only they can.
The special episode, after the drama, was a disservice to this dynamic.
Rinko being the head chef for Grand Maison Tokyo and Obana learning to thrive more as her sous chef due to his difficulty relating to people was what made the success of the drama believable and enjoyable. Rinko being a woman, a head chef and learning to stand her ground without compromising her sensitivity was a standout from the series that the special squandered by making Obana and his childish way of helping out "in a tsundere way" remove agency from Rinko.
The movie doesn't fail them as much as the special did, but it can't re-capture the freshness (pun intended, for a third time) of the drama series. It's just alright. It's mild. And underseasoned course.
There are some episodes from the drama that are more enjoyable than this movie, to be quite honest. It's not bad, but we know, after a dozen episodes, that they can do better. When you remove Rinko from a lot of the main moments and underplay her value, Grand Maison goes from something unique to yet another KimuTaku drama where he's the coolest guy who knows more than anyone else but can't get along with people (A LIFE comes to mind). Rinko does more here than in the special, but not nearly as much as she did in the drama, where she was in a level playing field with Obana.
The majority of the main cast not being included in the movie also makes it less entertaining. Ok Taec Yeon is a good addition to the cast, but his background is a bit of a re-hash of both Obana's and Moe's. Aizawa is only present on the sidelines and Kyono is also a bit missing. It's like the special was intending to break ground for the movie to be more prominently about Obana, even though the theme of the movie is 'learning to work together'.
All in all, it's not bad, it still has that amazing production design that makes Grand Maison a stand out, but the drama remains the best of the installments so far.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Seungmins (Stray Kids) Cousin stole our hearts !
Yay, our fist non BL Drama finished!The premise of this one instantly got our attention, and we loved the plot progression in the first half of the drama. So lets mention our "highs" first:
The Drama starts off with a likable MC, who is quite passionate at her job - we liked her simple, but realistic character. When the AI was introduced, we had to instantly link it with current real life topics - such as people talking with ChatGPT about their issues or full on AI BF/GF...
The story introduced a lot of cool elements as well as very hilarious side characters like the artist Mrs. Yun and the Boss of the publishing company.
We liked how the MC used the AI not only for personal groth, but also figuring out work problems.
BUT
The game itself and those plotlines kinda faded out towards the end. We felt like it got dropped to make space for the romance part of the drama.
The romance itself was, for us, carried by the male lead (looks like Seungmins (SKZ) cousin). He was so kind, gentle and charming (and forgiving LOL) that we couldnt help but to fall in love.
Sadly, we hoped that the relationship between them could have just blossomed out of the work rivarly they had going on. His confession in the car seemed a bit out of nowhere (eventhough the explained it we guess later). The affection was only shown in the recaps and not in those moments. We didnt really follow how he fell for her in the very BEGINNING (later on it was more obvious).
The MC later in the show got more and more boring, as she more and more depended on the AI and seemed like she couldnt make choices for herself... but maybe thats the point? Idk we felt like her character growth was kind of regressing from the first few episodes.
Still, it got a happy ending, with her deleting the AI and focusing on her IRL BF (IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MEEEE)
S: It felt like a middle school relationship sometimes
All in all we enjoyed it, with some small moments of rage :)
Honourable mentions:
- creepy alien man staring in our soul
- crazy artist
- Lee Jae Wook
- ugly af outfits (poor Jisoo)
Was this review helpful to you?
Interesting at first but halfway through became boring
I had to skip some parts as the FL and ML became really boring for me, somehow the character i hated at first (Do Yeo Ju) became more likable in the end, as I felt she had the most growth and i really wanted to see more of her and Kwon Deok Bong. The only reason I finished it was because of these two. FL was just boring, nothing interesting happened with her. The mystery was resolved too fast to keep me invested in this. I had higher expectations after the first episode but it became a bit of a chore to finish. There were some good parts of course with the ML and they could have dug deeper there.I felt like Do Yeo Ju and Kwon Deok Bong had more chemistry and wished to see more of them. Also the brother-sister dynamic was interesing.
Wouldnt rewatch as there are many better dramas out there but it was still okay to watch (if you skip some parts).
Was this review helpful to you?
Starts strong, fizzles out later
I really enjoyed the first half of the show. Xiaolan is determined and easy to root for, and I enjoyed how the show juxtaposed scenes from her earlier life with the present (past, really) to help us understand her better.After a while, though, it felt very repetitive. Problems were solved immediately, sometimes even offscreen. There were no real stakes. It felt like a Lifetime/Hallmark show ... very cute and cozy but formulaic. Xiaolan had incredible character development for the first few episodes, but after that she became superwoman and could do no wrong.
Props to the production team for the amazing costumes & incredible OST!! Such a fun ride; pity I didn't make it all the way till the end.
Was this review helpful to you?
I Really Wanted to Love This…
but, I only really liked this drama. the exact episode I stopped loving this was episode 28. I really think they made this far too long and added way to many new and unnecessary revelations at the end. Situ’s spiral into madness could’ve been better, it just ended up being cheesy due to the lack of depth given to that storyline.I would 100% recommend this show, but just lower expectations.
Honestly loved all the characters though and acting was great. Adored Master She and the companions!!!
Was this review helpful to you?
A lesser adaptation, but great at doing its own thing
If you were comparing this to the original, this does some things better and some things worse.What this one did do better than the original I think, was setting up the romance much earlier. It's there in the original but so subtle I think a lot of people had trouble adjusting to it (not me though, I loved it lol). Here, they make the relationship much more obvious from the beginning, and while I wish we had the longer screentime for their development, I liked the clarity of it. The little bout of the SML "liking" the FL is also removed, which I thought was a relief, as it both gave the second relationship more time to develop, but also strengthened the main relationship by setting the FL's relationship with the two MLs apart.
The shorter runtime means they cut out a lot of slice-of-life moments that really brought the friendships and familial relationships to life. The third friends, while technically unnecessary, really rounded out the group and show's commentary on motherhood. A few things feel just a bit watered down, like the ML going to Seoul instead of actually abroad, or the SML's childhood backstory of almost having to give up school and work in the fields, leading to the FL's father taking him in.
Now, all comparisons aside, I think this drama was pretty great! The pacing and time jump feel natural, and it's really good at giving all the leads equal weight with their emotional stories. The family is by far the best part of the story, especially the dad; there are lot of scenes that will tug at your heartstrings, and the conclusion is sweet and satisfying.
Was this review helpful to you?
