Reviews

Charming, stylised, gay - this show is basically perfect

Oh but I'm so happy I stumbled onto this little gem of a series!
The writing, acting, cinematography, and music are all pitch perfect and make the viewing experience a pure, utter joy.
The simple concept of having to people both entirely pre-occupied with each other while simultaneously completely incapable of talking to one another (a fantastic story-telling device that I already appreciate on its own) is utilised to its full potential and infused with so much clever humour I found myself laughing out loud at least once per episode
I love the approach of having both characters start out with completely different viewpoints of their situation - Mikage is thriving in her little teen-romance movie world while Hinata is essentially living a psychological horror thriller - and yet having them both equally fail at being in any way heterosexual about the whole thing.
Then, as the story progresses and the two get onto more even footing with one another, their relationship slowly begins to evolve into a deeply charming romance which is just as much of a joy to watch as the first couple of episodes, if not more so.
Sure, we only get to see the very beginnings of that changing relationship, but the story ends on a very satisfying note and is, in my opinion, great to watch as a delightful little mini romcom.
The sapphics win big time with this one, go watch it right now.

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There’s no saving a bad script

This was torture. WTF with the “misunderstanding” lasting virtually the whole series? It’s tiring to watch stupidity last all episodes. Trudged through it for the actors but… what a disappointment and wasted potential. The script was just too weak and flimsy and flawed. So much so that even the lead’s star power can’t save this drama. Enjoyed the second leads more than the main leads.

This was torture. WTF with the “misunderstanding” lasting virtually the whole series? It’s tiring to watch stupidity last all episodes. Trudged through it for the actors but… what a disappointment and wasted potential. The script was just too weak and flimsy and flawed. So much so that even the lead’s star power can’t save this drama. Enjoyed the second leads more than the main leads.

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When food is their love language

Every ep made me wonder why is watching a couple talking, cooking and just eating together so wholesome to watch. Like for 33 long episodes? with "no real plot". This is exactly the reason we liked it.

I still request everybody to not watch this drama at midnight with no food in your fridge, becoz you'll be dead-ass hungry and no Mo Qingcheng is coming to cook for you. Damn the way all they did was cook, eat, sing, kiss, cook, eat and EAT again xD.

Love me, love my voice is an all cute fluffy drama with your typical shy FL and perfect ML (that you can't help but fall for). Like how was this boy dubbing for popular dramas, a cardiac surgeon, an amazing cook (he even knew origin and history of those dishes), patient enough to let her get adapted to him... and we actually got no bitchy SFL, no love triangle, an all healthy relationship instead with all these green flag supporting characters... Are you kidding me? This is so unrealistic hahaha but gotta agree we love some simplistic romances like this once in a while.


Their romance was sort of slow burn in the beginning which might have tested some people's patience (was okay to me), otherwise you always got that skip button ;)... Zhou Ye also acted satisfactory for the shy, cute FL and gladly did not cross that cringe level. But opinions might differ a lot for these two things.


They actually had several routes to spice up and add drama like the ML is almost a celebrity meanwhile FL is still a newbie in the field but its quite nice that they sticked to this easy-going path. They didn't fail in serving this concept to us in the right way at least.

Coming to Tan Jianci's sexy voice now *coughs* I mean his dubbing and OSTs... Playing the role of a dubbing actor, TCJ himself dubbed all his scenes and sang his songs too (what a blessing for us). From the stunning OST list, I loved these the most! —

• 与君归 (Return With You) - by Tan Jianci and Bu Cai
• 万骨催沙 (Ten Thousand Bones Push Sand) - by Tan Jianci
(This guy is going places, like his acting, charisma as of getting into a character and even voice... Very talented indeed)

• 盛世之疆 (Realm of Prosperity) - by Xian Zi, Li Chang chao, HITA, Xiao'ai Dema, Alex, Lie Tian ....( in every drama there's a song which is just my type of song, this is it )


• 青梅引 (Wintersweet) - by Le Xiaotao (calm, dreamy, so pleasant, love it)
• Slowly - by yihuik (this was the theme song for the main cp and damnnn why is her voice that sweet)


So overall Love me, love my voice is a lovable, sweet drama with all positivity and feel good vibes... And if you're looking for something similar to Hidden Love or Forever and Ever, this is the one for you.

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That was... a show I watched

This show is fine. It's just... fine. To be honest, I wasn't sure whether to archive and review it at all or whether to let it fade away and never think about it again. But I have to admit that it did get one or two chuckles out of me so I suppose it at least deserves to be remembered for that.
The plot here is basically non-existent and the editing is somewhat disjointed, but the series does have one strong point - its characters. I do find them all genuinely interesting to some degree and I think there's a lot of potential for a really good story starring these people, but this unfortunately just isn't it.
Such a short runtime just isn't a good fit for a story with a large-ish ensemble cast and the script simply isn't good enough to make up for that disadvantage. The characters therefore all end up feeling fairly underdeveloped and unfamiliar.
I really wanted to root for them but since the audience are given so little time to get to know even the leads, it was frankly quite hard to care about any of the characters at all.
Don't get me wrong, the show never does anything particularly offensive or problematic, it's honestly just... boring. Which is almost worse, in a way.
If you're looking for something completely devoid of substance to put on in the background and which will occasionally make you chuckle a little bit, then you might as well pick this show.
You might just as well pick literally anything else though, too.

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Well executed

A very good detective story with romance and comedy. I love drama that brought new thing to the table because beside the usual detectives story, this drama told us about the coroners work which something new and we didn't knew that much at all.

Male Lead, Commandery Prince Xiao Jinyu was a calm, wise, righteous and meticulous man. People's impression of him as a weak scholar and sickly which I think work in his favor coz he would take them by surprise. He would make sure no stone left unturned if he get a case handed to him bcs he wanted to do justice to people who were wronged by the villains. He definitely protective of Chu chu coz when he lost his temper..... He was also a bit silly when he got jealous *eyes rolls*

Female Lead, Chu Chu, a female coroner that smart in her field, passionate and definitely unusual but her job kind of explained it. I was a bit taken aback by her demeanors bcs she really showed that she was from the village and not refined like the noble ladies we usually seen which really different bcs it stayed to true to the character of a girl that was from a town that was far away from the capital and her family was generations of coroners which people usually don't mix with them . She knew what she liked and she really pursued it. I'm talking about her with ML. Some of her moves to get him to like her were a bit silly. I think she managed to make him took notice of her coz it worked.

I like that they gave us another love story of 2ndML Jing Yi with 2ndFL Leng Yue. I really admired Leng Yue for being straightforward with ML telling him, that she just want to be his good friend and how the ML was relieved to hear that. This drama also showed about strong friendships and brotherly bond of Jing Yi, Leng Yue and Jinli with Jinyu.

It just... I was ready to give this drama a nine star rating but the ending was so abrupt??? Why?? Sure it was HEA. Why can't you give me just a little bit more for closure? I want to see all of the couples happy in their daily lives T-T I want to see Senior Jing passive aggressive banters with General Leng

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Feelgood series, perfect for Christmas viewing!

December 2023
First off, I like that Netflix has started calling one-off dramas that won't have a S2 or more, 'Limited'. As they seem to be pushing the western style of multiple series onto many K-dramas they make, it helps distinguish those made in the traditional K-drama format of 1 series (although they often seem to have fewer eps per series; 12 or even less, not 16).
I do wish they wouldn't mess with stuff!

So, on with the review :~)

I loved this; the cast were great and Park Eun-bin has yet to disappoint. I also loved both young actors (Moon Woo-jin and Lee Re) who portrayed younger versions of older main characters. Chae Jong Hyeop and Cha Hak Yeon were both a pleasure to watch, too.

It is very funny at times, but there are also moments of true angst and some tears.

Seriously far fetched, but it somehow gets away with that and I am sure it's totally down to PEB's acting and how she (and her young counterpart) portray the character stranded on an island, plus the other MCs and supporting cast.

The episodes flew by and the story is neatly told in the less-than-usual number of them; I'd have happily let it be stretched out for one or two more... I rarely say that!

Definitely worth watching, especially over Christmas, as it's such a feel-good series about having faith, self-belief, never giving up and staying true to one's self.

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way too long & this relationship gives me indigestion

Sheng Sheng Man is a senior college student who composes Chinoiserie music & participates in a chat group with celebrity voice actor Qiang Qing Ci. They connect through chatting about food & cooking, but don't formally meet face to face. QQC also happens to be a doctor working in a hospital across the street from SSM's family convenience store where she works part time. QQC & SSM are attracted to each other's voices, & QQC begins obvious pursuit online. When they finally meet, they discover that they'd actually run across each other many times.

It was great to see Zhou Ye get a grown up lead role in the highly enjoyable Back From the Brink, so it's disheartening to see her take on this rather brainless role. In too many scenes she is either hyperventilating or looking stunned, or both. Likewise Tan Jian Ci, who was absolutely electric in Lost You Forever, has now wasted his time in this vacuum of a show. The writing ("What do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do? How is this dish? Mmm, it's tasty!") is excruciatingly mundane throughout the entire show, & ZY's & TJC's talents can't make it any better.

The show feels like an infomercial, where all everyone talks about is voice acting & Chinoiserie music, with a sprinkling of recipes & food shots. SSM & her college friends seem to talk only about QQC & nothing else. Where the heck is the story? As the episodes drag along, it becomes apparent that the only thing anyone talks about is shipping SSM + QQC. The dialogue is juvenile & only serves as a bridge between music or food scenes. The leads don't know what to do when they're together, and other characters exist only to enthusiastically cheer them on. When SSM's mother meets QQC for the first time, within minutes she's giggling while highlighting SSM's talents to him like she's trying to sell a cow. Their relationship status is discussed almost every single scene. This one dimension barely lasts 2 eps, nevermind a mind-numbing 33.

There's a certain creepiness in a man who's almost 30 years old, never been in a relationship, suddenly developing an obession with a young college student just by hearing her baby voice online. What's even creepier is how everyone around them encourages it, inspite of QQC's own warnings about falling in love with a random voice on the internet. SSM repeatedly points out the fact they don't know one another that well, but is thrilled when he unexpectedly shows up at her classroom because he "knows her schedule". Is this not stalker vibes? QQC ends up driving the relationship every step of the way, including buying a house for them & planning a wedding without her knowledge or consent. She only follows along brainless & submissive. Even when the 2nd couple arc starts, it involves QQC's colleague, who's even older, pursuing SSM's schoolmate. What is wrong with this show?

Not until around Ep24-26 does the focus finally change, with QQC making a big career decision. He asks SSM if she loves him only for his voice. She denies it, but acts like his voice actually is the only thing that matters, "as a fan". She isn't mature enough to separate being a fan vs being a girlfriend. Tell me again how this relationship is supposed to work?

When the age gap is with an older female, there are scenes of the female being ridiculed for her age by the younger male's group of friends (Nothing But You, Find Yourself). However in LMLMV, the older males are idolized by the younger group as heros. This double standard is frustrating.

Is it really a college girl's fantasy to be pursued by an older man with her family's blind support? This drama is so unrealistic that not even the gourmet food shots can make it digestible. This show might have worked if it actually left out the romance arc & just focused on the performing arts scene, which did start to get interesting, & the show should've ended with the big music festival. The final 6 eps are a complete waste of time. So unless you just enjoy watching music videos sprinkled with too much mindless PDA this show will not offer anything else.

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Good to see mental health being addressed in K-drama at last

December 2023
Not your usual K-drama topic, but the negativity and ignorance around mental health, as well as other topics that get swept under the carpet, seem to slowly be getting the stage they need, so spreading awareness and highlighting inappropriate behaviour / unfair treatment.

It starts fairly light heartedly, but later becomes more serious with each episode.

It is not, surprisingly, depressing, although there are both frustrating and emotional scenes.

Whilst some might feel it doesn't go far enough in addressing the topics involved, it must be remembered that attitudes there are very behind (generalising now), countries like the UK and USA. I feel it pitches just right to keep the domestic audience engaged, whilst hopefully making those viewers think, without turning them off.

I enjoyed it more than not, loved the cast and the pace suited me.

The romance aspect is rather lovely and the lead characters not typical. Various aspects of mental health are covered, but what stood out to me rather, was how those cases seemed to need a reason behind them, which was usually around family or work, or both.
There is not always a reason, or trigger, and some are unfortunate to simply be born with conditions that become more prominent and obvious, as they grow.

Patients were often spoken to in a cajoling manner, as though talking to kids, which I found patronising and irritating at times.

I did like the storyline around Park Bo-young's character and thought it quite unique. Her mother's chat with someone in a later episode, I thought very realistic and pertinent

Definitely worth a watch, though there is self-harm and suicide references, which may be an issue for some.

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Hard pass

This is suppose to be a sweet romance series but I couldn’t really like it so much. The female lead seeme to play so many games that I started to find her self centered. Of course we have access to her internal monologue but it didn’t help her character. I found her manipulative and arrogant. She would do things that would bother her partner and she turns it around and he ends up apologizing to her even thought she should be apologizing. The second encounter was terrible as well. She was rude and snobbish to get rid of him. Even the 2FL character was annoying.

Sorry, I don’t find the character’s behavior cute, innocent or funny, just arrogant, judgemental and more. I’ll admit, she got better but the games killed it for me.

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Beautiful and heartbreaking

This is my first historical k-drama. It was released in 2012 but I only got to it now because I just recently joined K-drama “fan wagon”.
I don’t know how to rate this drama. I’m not a fan of historical dramas and only started watching it because of Kim Soo Hyun. He is superb! I also learned to love all of the characters. All actors were great!
This drama is beautiful and heartbreaking. I will be honest, I skipped some of the palace politics parts and not because it was difficult to follow but because there were way too many of them and it could have been wrapped up in standard 16 episodes, not 20. This not a romcom and though there were some funny and lighthearted moments this story is about unconditional love and ungodly amount of obstacles to go through to keep it. Many painful moments, many tears. But also it makes you believe that someone out there can fall in love with one person and be each other’s sun and moon for the rest of their lives. And the music is so breathtakingly beautiful! Watch this drama if you want a break from romcoms and want to experience some serious emotions but be prepared to pay attention, to cry and develop slight anxiety as story unfolds and leaves you with an aching heart at times.

It deserves solid 9 stars.

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Unique mix of humor and serious topics, but execution may feel uneven.

This drama is a mixed bag of highs and lows. It starts strong, breaking away from cheesy drama tropes, but as the story unfolds, the unique approach falls a bit flat. The attempt to mix humor with serious topics feels awkward at times, making it hard to connect with the intended impact.

The standout feature is the lead actors' performances, bringing relatable and endearing characters to life. The ending is okay but leaves a sense that something more profound could have happened.

It seems like individual expectations heavily influence how the drama is perceived. If you're craving a break from the usual, it might scratch that itch, but for those expecting flawless execution, it might not hit the mark. In the end, it's a mixed experience—ambitious but with room for improvement.

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A throwback to the era of Stairway to Heaven

A total throwback to the era of Stairway to Heaven and early Korean dramas, which makes it a deliciously guilty pleasure. Everything about this revenge drama is way over the top. The bad guys are so bad you want to strangle them and the good guys are so adorable you want to pinch their cheeks. There are orphans, lost memories, murders, return from the dead, fake relatives, 2nd wives, step sibling rivalries, chaebols, bad guys who ultimately redeem themselves, bad guys who get what they deserve, and lots of other craziness that is only found in kdramas. This is not great literature come to life. This is ridiculousness in its full kdrama glory. Thumbs up!

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This made me wanna watch Soundtrack #1 again.

The vibe and directing were super different, but this second iteration had the same simplicity and realness of the first one.

However, I do have a major gripe with it. Hyeon Seo's inferiority complex was such an important part of the story, I feel like more time should have been spent on her figuring it out—at least, the last two chapters. Su Ho totally captured their personalities in a nutshell when he told her he walked around with his head high, enjoying the stars and rainbows, while she was constantly looking at the ground.

Her inferiority complex was the defining factor in her breaking up with Su Ho after all, and something that was very intrinsic to her character and which she'd been dealing with for a very long time (tied to what the friend had pointed out about her being unable to accept help). I don't like how they rushed it and suddenly she was magically ok. I feel like those life changing realizations should take more time and introspection. It would have been much more poignant if it'd happened—even off-screen—while she was doing the Santiago thing alone, to kinda mirror what Su Ho had done.

A bit of a disappointing last episode, but I liked the series overall, and hope Disney will continue making more of them.

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A realistic and poignant journey of personal growth and self-discovery.

This drama left a deep impression on me. It's a story of ordinary people. The characters are not always likeable but ultimately very human, and I quickly became attached to them. Just as many laughs, moments of joy, as tears. A drama that really explores love, with beautiful philosophies of life. A more introspective male character than usual, which is rare in romantic dramas, a beautiful soundtrack, and finally, excellent actors (Esom & Seo Kang Joon - I'm fascinated by the emotions they convey in this drama, as well as playing their characters over 3 periods of their lives in 12 years while remaining believable and in different mental states). The drama dates from 2018 and you can tell it's not a high-budget production, but truth be told, the fact that it's not a high-budget production makes the drama seem even more natural than it already does.

If realistic stories that delve into the complexities of human emotions and relationships aren't your cup of tea, skip it. When it's less scripted, it's very easy to misinterpret, to dislike the drama and the characters. Why? Because this is real life. It's all in the feels. What you have to do is step back, be patient, look at it from their point of view and empathize. The drama doesn't shy away from portraying the aspects of life and love that people would rather not enjoy watching. People like to judge other people's lives and choices, but at the end of the day, they are human beings just like us. In The Third Charm, there is no villain and no one is to shame. To conclude, The Third Charm has an indie feel and is clearly aimed at a niche audience. If you are into arthouse films for example, I would recommend it.

Not everyone would rewatch this, but I would, I already did, and I will again. For some it will be nothing but frustration and depression, but for me it will be a way to relieve my emotions. This is a drama that I will rewatch whenever I need some time alone. When I rewatched it for the first time, I unexpectedly binge-watched all the 7 last episodes, which is something I never do even if I have the time.

I'm looking forward to the next works from this director and writers. That was a masterpiece and there's so much to say that I will just stop there.

Also, thank you The Third Charm for showing the beauty of Portugal. I have portuguese origins and I go there sometimes for my family, it is such a beautiful country.

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Make your life twinkle!!

Twinkling watermelon is one of the first k-dramas I've watched and I have to say it left a very big impression on me. I've seen like 4 other k-dramas and they were all very good. What makes this k-drama diffrent tho, isn't just the amazing and creative story it has, I can really feel a connection with the characters of the show.

One by one you get to know them. You get to know their motives, their past and what made them the way they are. By the 8th episode, I hade already fallen in love with all 4 mc's. They're all so diffrent but match very well with eachother which makes seeing them interact with one another and become closer, even more satisfying and fun. Despite their obvious persoanlity traits, they also have a more coplex side to them that you wouldn't be able to see without looking closely. Understanding the characters made the show feel so much more alive and enjoyable.

Besides the great characters, I think the show has some great lessons for us. We not only learn that we should not do anything eun gyeol does if we ever happened to be stuck in 1995 (cause he coulda handled it a lot better imo), but so does it teach us that we should do what we can to make the best out of our lives, no matter what obstacles we might face. We should make our lives "twinkle".

Overall I don't have any complants about the show at all. I did hear some people say it had pacing issues tho. I myself didn't feel that because I started watching right after all episodes had aired. I feel bad for the people that had to wait a whole week after every episode that always ends on some crazy cliffhanger. I would've loved to see more of Yi chan's life after the accident happened tho. THe ending might've been a little rushed but there isn't much the creators could do about that. The ending was great either way.

Overall I'd say this was the most enjoyable k-drama I've ever seen. It was fun to make tour own theories about the story while slowly getting the answers you've been pondering. I've enjoyed the acting and the storytelling a lot and it will definitely have a special place among the list of many k-dramas I'll be watching from now on.

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