Reviews

Sometimes less is more

Good drama with a simple plot and fast-paced so no dragging misunderstanding. It was a cute silly rom-com with some cringey moments : definitely not the best but for what it worth it was cool.

Some scenes were boring but not to the point of dropping the drama. I liked the relationship between the main lead because it was everything the past rom-coms I've watched weren't : good communication, no silly misunderstanding, no breakup that made no sense. It was mostly peaceful and not overdone. Even the SML was not that annoying compared to the last dramas I've watched.
The plots around the ML and the FL were in itself simple, everything was wrapped up nicely at the end even if it was fast-paced. I would've loved to see more scene between Han-gyul and Jae-gyu though.

The only issue I can't overlook was the romance between Han-gyul and Se-jin : she was highly insensitive, very stubborn and he was clearly a pushover with her which I didn't like at all. In other dramas these kind of romance are a breath of fresh air but here I was really annoyed to the point i skipped past several of their scenes.

So overall I recommend this drama, that's not the best but it's entertaining enough. We need to see more k-dramas like that, not throwing away different plots without any consistency, wrapping the end nicely, basically going back the basics

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Surely Idol — Fame Doesn’t Cancel Humanity

The biggest takeaway from this drama? Celebrities are human too. 💔✨
I really liked how the show highlights something fans often forget — idols also deserve personal space and the freedom to live their own lives. Lately it feels like there’s this growing expectation that idols must behave exactly how fans want, and this drama quietly pushes back against that mindset.
Story-wise, I enjoyed the overall flow. It’s engaging without being overly heavy. Good news: there are no major heartbreak bombs here (okay… except for our poor second lead, of course 😅).
Acting is solid across the board, the music fits nicely, and the emotional beats land well. It’s one of those easy watches that still leaves you thinking a little.
If you end up liking this one, I highly recommend checking out So I Married an Anti-Fan — I’ve personally watched it at least three times, and it gives similar industry vibes. 😉
P.S. – Sometimes the real message isn’t about fame… it’s about letting people breathe. 💫

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A Rushed Continuation

The second season of *Falling High School Girl and Irresponsible Teacher* did not disappoint me when it comes to acting. Once again, the performances carried the story.
I genuinely think this series is one of the best manga-to-live-action adaptations I’ve seen. And that’s not something I say lightly.


What impressed me the most is how naturally it translates classic manga elements into live action without feeling awkward
Things that usually look cringey in adaptations; exaggerated reactions, typical manga-style behavior, even characters wearing things like paper bags over their heads (a common quirky trope in manga) — somehow work here. Instead of feeling forced or unnatural, they blend seamlessly into the world of the drama.
Most adaptations struggle with this. When they stay too faithful to the manga’s style, it often feels exaggerated or strange in live action. But this series manages to incorporate those elements so smoothly that I didn’t even question them. It feels intentional and balanced. That alone deserves credit.

That said, I did feel that Season 2 was weaker in certain areas. I haven’t read the manga, so I’m judging purely from a viewer’s perspective. Compared to the first season, this one felt rushed. It wasn’t as deep when it came to exploring trauma and emotional layers which was something Season 1 handled beautifully.

The chemistry between the leads is still there. Their dynamic still works. The romance still feels authentic. But I wish we had gotten more backstory especially about her brother. The show touches on why she is the way she is, but it moves through those explanations too quickly. It almost feels like they rushed to push Season 2 out.

The male lead’s storyline also felt somewhat fragmented. Instead of gradually unfolding, parts of his narrative felt like quick explanations rather than fully developed storytelling.
Another noticeable difference from Season 1 is the smaller cast. The first season had more supporting characters, more faces, more emotional layers around the main story. Season 2 feels more limited in comparison, which makes the world feel smaller.
I just wish they had taken more time more episodes, more depth, more emotional blending to properly finish and expand the story.

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"He was just so rude to you!"

The standouts in this show are the
1. The acting - The two main women were incredibly good in their roles in this show. The resilience of their characters is nothing short of admirable, likely even breathtaking

2. The critique of the justice system - I think this got swallowed up in all the noisiness of the 'who dun it' mystery, but the story does show us how the legal system fails its people.
For example:

a. Mo Eun - They saw that she killed and didn't seem remorseful, and quickly wrote her off. Sure, she didn't do anything to disprove their assumptions, but had someone taken a minute to wonder why she did what she did - rather than write her off as a psychopath - likely, none of this would have happened.

b. An Yun Sun - A victim of the 'fundamental attribution error.' Her fault was that she was too smiley and didn't cry. They saw a woman who didn't act the way she was supposed/expected to once her husband died, and they (the people doing the investigation) quickly assumed that she was guilty. And then did everything to prove themselves right

c. Prosecutor Beak - This man pissed me off the entire show. If I were to list his crimes, I'd say he was guilty of having tunnel vision and confirmation bias, largely against Yun Su. He saw her smile, found that sealed orphanage record, and immediately decided she was guilty. He did everything to prove that she was guilty, sending her to spend the rest of her life in prison.

The anger I felt in me when he admitted that he (1.) sent her to prison simply because he believed she was guilty and (2.) when he admitted that he'd had doubts of her guilt in the 1st round but buried them to find anything to prove her guilt... Oh Lord. And in the end, he got to keep his job.

He's so frustrating, but what makes me angrier is that Baek is an unfortunate reality of the people we have in law enforcement IRL. People with biases who will send others to prison just to prove that they are right. Or just so they can win. It's all about ego, not the human behind the accusation.

d. The investigation team - Victims of group thinking and authority bias. When Beak came in to say that Yun Su was for sure guilty, they all went with that line of thinking. Which is crazy because in the 1st episode, they clearly had nothing on her. She was weird, yes, but weird doesn't equal guilty. And throughout the show, none of them had a single disagreeing thought with Beak. What he said went. I still can't believe that they let that old man walk around after he'd assaulted a prison guard and stabbed Mo Eun

e. So Mang - Yet another victim of a flawed justice system. Money greased hands, and her rapsit was not only allowed to go free, but to continue tormenting her and her family, leading to their deaths. And their lives would have just been swept under the rug like yesterday's trash had Mo Eun not come back for revenge. Had the women not worked together, no one would've cared or remembered. That trashy boy and his parents may have actively led to her and her father's deaths, but everyone who turned a blind eye helped quietly nudge her onto that rooftop.

f. The prison system - The amount of bullying that goes on in there is crazy. Idk how, but prisons everywhere need to find ways to keep all that from happening. Or at least minimize it. Idk if increasing guards would help, but the ratio of prisoners to guards is always crazy low IMO

3. I think the women were written rather well in this show. Apart from An Yun Su, who remains good throughout the show, all the other women who had a lot of screentime were nuanced humans.

i. Mo Eun looks like a psychopath at 1st but she isn't.
ii. The main prison guard actively fights against her bias against the criminals in her care. Wanting to see them as and treating them as human, even though she fails at times.
iii. Yun Su's probation officer, like Yun Su, is a little naive and too smiley. But her heart, which matters in this case, was always in the best place. Instead of letting her work with criminals taint her, she tries to help and gives the benefit of the doubt. This specific case needed that


🚨Things I Didn't Like/Thought Could've Been Better🚨
1. The pacing - It's not all bad. Actually, the 1st say 4, maybe 5 episodes are well paced. The last 3 or so episodes also did a great job keeping my heart racing. However, those middle episodes.... I was so frustrated and was super close to dropping the damn show.

2. Decisions made in the middle episodes - Especially by Yun Su. She made very little sense. Somebody explain to me why

a. She kept visiting that house, even taking her kid, without considering that the tracker actually logs her location.
b. When she finds out he died, she goes back to that house and lets herself be seen as if she is not among the most infamous criminals at the time. Her face was everywhere!!!
c. When she becomes a fugitive, she keeps the most obvious feature about her - her hair - open for everyone to see. Logic dictates that when you're on the run, you hide your most obvious features!!! Cover up tattoos, switch up piercings, cut your hair, or tie it up if you cannot cut it. Maybe even dye it. But no. She keeps her super long, beautiful, wavy hair just flapping around in the wind

How no one in the streets ever saw and reported her is beyond me. She didn't need to be an expert in all this. I get that. But in this age of technology, and for someone who said she's watched all episodes of CSI, she was being hella dumb.

3. The ending - Like many reviewers and commentators, I'm torn about the revelation of why Yun Su's husband was killed. It really does seem like such a weak reason. However, if I look at it from another angle, maybe it makes sense. As shown in many dramas, there is a lot of classism in Asia. They pay a lot of attention to one's reputation.
Now, if you consider how the lawyer and his wife saw themselves as better than the artist and his plagiarism statement as tarnishing their reputation, then the anger could make sense. Someone they deemed lesser than threw figurative mud at them, making them lose face among their peers. To them, that was unacceptable.

4. The lack of justice (regarding the villains) - In my perfect world and perfect ending, that lawyer wouldn't have died. He'd have had to go to prison. That reputation he cared so much about would have gone straight to hell after a very public trial.
I hate that the wife seemed like she'd get away with it, or rather, have a lesser charge. After all the women (especially Yun Su) went through, that was annoying to see.

5. The prosecutor kept his job.

Final Thoughts
1. This was an engaging watch, albeit a little frustrating in the middle.
2. There was no standout music in this tbh. Aside from that song that played in the finale, you know the scene showing the scenery in Thailand and the credits on screen? Yeah, that one. I regret not looking for it.
3. I wouldn't rewatch this tbh. Not only am I not huge on rewatching shows, but thrillers and mysteries especially lose their appeal to me after the 1st watch

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boring

nonsense drama
the female lead is so annoying
why on earth will you broke up with the male lead
you left the male lead and already dating the second male lead (if though he deserved the broke up at the end)
I don't want to even start with that jobless and senseless second male lead
it is only the female lead that's on Earth.
okay, you've seen that she has taken already
you should have left her alone
but No, he was busy showing himself up and down to the family and friends
wait, is the writer mad?
i can't endure this nonsense anymore
we will buy subscription and then data to watch this drama and at the end of the day NONSENSE

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Nonsense comedy drama

I watched it last year and found out in Tiktok ads and turns out it was entertaining but somehow they got some nonsense plot like COVID-19 like what did scriptwriter eat when they making this? The romance part was quite lacking since they choose to focused on comedy plot (It can't be helped since its Wang Nan and Sun Qian Xun combo). The beginning was quite great FL was transmigrated into ancient while found ML was tyrant king who actually got transmigrated before FL (It reminds me of How Dare You especially the "How are you" part to check ML identity) but somehow got missed on COVID-19 plot and try to make angst but somehow it lacks the feeling and the ending was quite not memorable.

Still decent watch though.

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More a comedy with some sincere moments than a romance

This quirky rom-com (featuring an aspiring pâtissier possessed by a demon and a jobless guy) is much more focus on the comedy aspect than on the romance which is never very deepened.

However, I did not mind at all that is was not really a romance. On the contrary, I liked that the writing put the focus on the demon / human relationship. The ending opened the doors to more and even if it felt a bit abrupt, overall it was a nice watch.

Yoona really did an excellent job showcasing diametrically different personalities while giving the male lead (played by Ahn Bo Hyun) full whiplash effect.

I would recommend this to people looking for a comedy with some heartfelt moments. The romance is really not the main aspect of the story but I think it is worth a shot as I found the storytelling around the fantasy elements super interesting with some very well made background regarding the curse.

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The worst adaptation.

I watched this last year and felt the plot is somewhat similar and turns out it was Duan Meiyang and Peng Yao pseudo incest drama. The plot is good, but the acting of the two main actors still lacks compare to previous version.

The plot is clichéd, and the entire plot relies on the villain. The female villain is omnipotent; she can hire hit-and-run drivers, commit murder, bribe judges, bribe bars, and various outlaws, all without any repercussions.

They clearly had examples to copy, yet they still managed to produce this mess. A terrible script wasted the hard work of the crew. The costumes, props, acting, and looks were all above average, but it was all wasted. What a pity.

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Decent drama that felt into declining on later half

I watched this because of Chen Si and it was decent but not make you gasped since the first half drama was okay and it was declining on the latter half.

The pairing of Chen Si and Liu Xiyu; they have nice chemistry, I love watching. This script is quite novel. ML is reborn into his uncle's body to save FL, who was driven to her death by his own obsession in her previous life. Mature and repentant, he becomes a guiding lover, no longer like in his past life, determined to break her wings.

The interactions between the two in the first half are somewhat ambiguous yet restrained, and quite enjoyable. I quite happy at Chen Si recent role since he choose to leave his CEO persona. Personally i am not fond of Liu Xiyu acting but she can make nice chemistry with her few MLs.

The second half has a strange pacing and doesn't quite make sense. After the truth is revealed, the FL seems to suffer without cause. Perhaps the screenwriter didn't quite figure out how to portray the FL's inner turmoil and eventual acceptance, focusing mainly on "You lied to me, I'm leaving,"

I was really looking forward to the love triangle between the three of them but there is almost none of this and the ending felt a bit unsettling.

Still decent watch.

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Slow, disjointed and quite depressing

I tried watching this C drama because of my favorite actors Chen Xing Xu and Dilraba Dilmurat. It was a disappointment at the start as I barely recognized Dilraba Dilmurat, in fact if her name wasn't on the casting list, I would not have recognized her at all. Is it just me or something happened to her face? She looks extremely skinny and appears that she may have had some work done on her face that resulted in a somewhat unnatural look that kind of froze her face not allowing any emotions to show. What a shame as she was one of the best young talent/actress around.
As for the movie, the storyline is not very original, somewhat familiar, pretty close to the movie the "Alien" Also the directorial style seems to resemble quite a lot of M Night Shyamalan's directing style, dark, mysterious, spooky in slow motion, disjointed scenes etc. however, this one, really didn't hit the right effect for the audience. The cast was really good, playing their part well but it was really hard to imagine a rag tag bunch of people as heroic, talented hunters with ancient fighting skills and teachings. Most of the action scenes were truly amateurish, disorganized and boring.
I really, really loved the soundtrack and music as well as the beautiful scenery/photography. However, I honestly can't continue watching this slow mo, depressing, disjointed movie. Some of the scenes that meant to look "artsy" unfortunately came out as plain boring instead. Sorry, I had high hopes for this movie but won't be putting it on my watchlist.

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