Reviews

SEOL IN AH first love of father and his two Son's

I love this drama, i i had no problem with the ending what so wrong with being rich ML mother was born into that family and he help her reconnect with her father, and her only brother become a criminal himself, so it was common sense that she is going to get everything from her father,
only thing i i was hoping was that Seol in ah did not meet older brother first ... in new version
i was hoping for one more ep of Seol in ah meeting ML parents too as her old friends now her in laws to be....

i think there music ooo ho oooo hoooo was Show me Your Panty (MY PS Partner)
Some Nitpicking
WHY does ML only recognize his own parents after knowing there names like i know actors are different but dude, they are your parents and you have seen them when you were growing up they were not born old parents..

You have girl who look like an Angel a real Angel from heaven
And you cast a demon looking man as her father who creepily stalk own daughter,
I loved the scene where Seol IN Ah did not even recognize her grandfather. ( he deserve that feeling that now his daughter doesn't even know him at all)

Our Hero (time travel try to mess his fathers first love so he can be born..
Thanks ML did not fall for mother but daughter Seol In Ah
It focus on music but in my personal opinion it was unnecessary noise..out hero hasn't meet his mother and did not even try to search for her and is focused on his father for so long


Ep 6
we found out all ML care about is his father and his mother was just a machine for giving him birth, this man knows nothing about his own mother and doesn't even recognize her...but is obsessed with father so he can be born,
I don't believe in this love story because his father would have even thought about his mother if he would not have manipulated
Ep 8 our ML BECOME INSANE AFTER he read his mothers name on but fail to recognize his mother before
Now he protect his poor mother and its like she will fall in love with her own child if he continues like that....
yi chan did not love se kyung for sure, after getting treated at hospital dude did not even once asked for her, even after he remembered she saved him...
Fake Lover Yi Chan

How did real Se Kyung know her first love can eat spicy food because she never eat with any of them before going to ABROAD.( she eat with her husband in front of her daughter )
Now he did not give a F about his father who has him inside his testicles. Will follow his mother because she is pitiful...


10/10 for first 8 episodes
8/10 for final 8 episodes


Ep 9 ML started to act like a jerk(become Great again)


Ep 12
Yi Chan dude did you forget who you love that fast ? What a fake lover....

Ep13 Lovey-dovey
ep 14 how ML forget that this Ajushi is father of Se kyung ?
ep15 - ep16 Happy 9/10
OVER-ALL NICE AND ENDING WAS FINE, people complain that why they don't remember him, because if they remember i don't think mom can explain how there second son look like there friend, and how there both son like the friest love of there father...or her daughter who look exactly like there fathers first love..

Read More

Missed Potential

Pros:
Loved the cast
Liked the soundtrack
Found the premise interesting

Cons:
Plot holes
Sometimes disjointed editing / scene jumping
Adding new questions without answering the old questions
Adding new characters at the end
Leaving too much to a potential S2, instead of a safe 99% conclusion with a slight hint of potential for more

I have been disappointed in the finales in Kdramas the majority of the time for years now. I can usually handle it as a mild frustration. This one left me shaking my head in wonder and for a while, I had no words…

I hope the director learned that you have got to provide your audience with actual answers that they have been faithfully watching for weeks and waiting for.

Read More

To have a place to return to is an incredible relief

Ending on a positive and lovely note, the drama's run was sure a rollercoaster of emotions. While at times I felt extreme amounts of hate towards the writer for not having the female lead take very obvious logical decisions, she managed to calm me down by the second half of the drama. The journey of finding herself was beautifully portrayed. Shoutout to Shin Hye Sun, what an actress she is! The sheer amount of emotions she can convey with just her eyes is *chef's kiss*. The cast did an amazing work, especially Jo Yoon Seo, god did I hate her character's guts. Overall a good slice of life drama with great side character arcs, wouldn't go through the pain of watching the first half of the drama again tho.

The Man-Su arc was the best in my opinion XD

Read More

Heavy themes and important messages.

This series is seriously misunderstood (and I have some thoughts about why, so bear with me).

This series has a cute title, and is presented in an often lighthearted way, but the story is extremely heavy and very complex if you pay attention to the underlying themes and deeper issues. It's unique in many ways, and reflects the chaos of life in such a refreshing way. It's rare to find a bl series about the kinds of problems married/long-established and cohabitating couples face—couples who have been together for a very long time. It's quite 'mature', in that way (and, apparently, can be quite triggering for some people).

Without spoiling too much... essentially, this series starts with established couples who have unintentionally let their personal insecurities and (genuine) hardships, damage their relationships and self-esteem. The series follows them as they try to navigate the many complexities of life, grow as people, and repair their unhealthy relationships. It's heavy stuff. Each couple has their own challenges, so a lot of issues are touched on—equal rights marriage, the nature of marriage, love languages (and love-language clashes), social hierarchies, economic hierarchies, societal judgement and bias, age-gaps, respect, miscommunication, secrets, lies, guilt... and more.

This series is not for everyone. It is very unique, and the issues it addresses are very serious and can be very triggering for some people. From some of the reviews I've read, I think some people go into this show expecting a lighthearted comedy, and are completely caught off-guard by the seriousness of the issues the couples face. People also seem to misunderstand because of the fun tone, and think the issues are being minimized and/or romanticized. I promise you, the issues are not being downplayed. In fact, the whole series is about the couples learning how to love and respect each other properly, and how to love and respect themselves.

Then there are the people who struggle with the age-gap. Personally I think the show does a remarkable job of exploring the complex nature of age-gaps, from many angles. Frankly, if you don't like age-gaps (or tend to over-sympathize with the younger partner and demonize the older one) it's probably best you simply don't watch shows with age-gaps. But to be clear: in this show, all romantic relationships are between consenting adults, and the younger partners are not oppressed by the older ones (that's stupid bias, and not what the show presents at all). I promise if you pay attention, watch ALL characters carefully and consider their point-of-view, you'll understand. As the show tries to say: don't judge!

Honestly, though, I think the beginning actually does a pretty good job of warning the audience that this is not a fairytale. Sure, it's cute on the surface, but it's actually a heavy series about complicated problems and tough struggles. I think it's very true to how chaotic life really is. The couples have to fight really hard to stay together. The characters are very flawed. Their relationships are flawed. But the important thing is that they know what they want, and they put in the work to achieve it. The character growth in this show is seriously impressive. And if you actually pay attention, I think the show handles these sensitive topics very well, and has a very important message (which is ironic, considering how much of its audience judges the show, in the exact ways the show is trying to tell them not to judge).

But, I've rambled enough, so I should stop. I just really loved this story and it breaks my heart a little that so many people seem to misunderstand it.

Before I go, though, I have to say.... the acting in this series is phenomenal (particularly Zee. But everyone else too). The acting is so, so brilliant. The music is amazing. The production quality is fantastic. Honestly, I have no complaints about this series at all. I adored everything.

Read More

Kim Joo Hyuk

I started this without knowing about Mr. Hyuk. I finished because of him; to his memory.

This was very enjoyable to me. I just like the type where the male lead is cold and so different in personalities from female lead you deem it impossible for them to end up together. Here, they both disliked each other a lot.

I was conflicted because this story has a very kind hearted second female lead. I would have been okay if she ended up with male lead. I criticize the writing for making these love triangles, actually four people and they’re all so nice.

There’s plenty of annoyances. Female lead is clumsy, gets into plenty mishaps. Regardless, I looked forward to each episode. RIP to Mr. Kim Joo Hyuk. Seeing the bts scenes at last episode was bitter sweet. He is seen laughing a lot, full of life….

Read More

Average one time watch copy paste fantasy rom-com

It is an okayish and average one time watch.The leads looks adorable together.They were the only good part of this half baked show.The story was messy and there were line by line copied scenes from other shows.The show started decently then turned into a messy watch.Also the show villain was poor his character didn't gave me villain vibes.His villain revealation and era was poor too.The things he did as a villain was stupid.Then there was SML character who got wasted he was just a catalyst and supporting character in the show hell other characters got more plot than him.He would have been a better villain even if it would have been a predictable twist.Star Jin was useless and annoying too.But there were some iconic moments that I
liked like the tango fight scene of the leads.The gangstar gang & ML employee -FL secretary were hilarious they brought the comic element in the show.The past backstory was bad and unnecessary there was no need for a Joseon past backstory also unnecessarily adding FL to that backstory was a bad twist.The last two episodes were bad and stupid like the villain burning his own face,him returning to death without any scars after falling from so much high,then ML dying and returning on the same day there was no need to make him disappear for bringing angst in the show etc.The last episode was disappointing too with having only romantic scenes of the leads I was expecting a good iconic ending for the show it doesn't necessarily have to have been a sad ending though.The last episode felt like as usual ordinary other rom-com episodes of this show.

8.3/10

Read More

Romance republican drama

This drama is quite interesting plots and good romance story.
I tried to watch this drama mainly because of main lead actor.
Main lead actor Chen xingxu’s acting skills is quite ok and confident on screen. It may be due to he started his acting career since 3 years old.
I am not ok with actress’s acting.
Actor Chen xingxu can show detail acting with eyes , control facial expressions, changing his acting within seconds when plot of drama was needed.
firstly I thought the story will be typical propaganda political plots.
After watching it, it is quite solid political plots with romance stories.
Good Drama

Read More

Good Romance Drama

This is just idol romance drama.
I am smiling while I am watching this drama.
Although it is old typical idol romance drama, some of plot lines and characters are quite okay. Both main lead actor and actress are quite fine in acting skills and good in chemistry and their chemistry is so lovely and sweet!!

The main reason I watched this drama is because of main lead actor, who I know actor from goodbye princess drama.

Although he looks older than his age, he is good at acting and quite confident on screen.
It may be due to he started acting on drama since 3 years old.
I enjoyed and keep smiling while watching this!!
At the last 5 episodes, the plots are shown different perspectives of female and male characters which is good!! They show independent women character who is working as professional career, is quite well and respectfully..

Read More

My head hurts, my eyes hurts and my heart hurts

By the way it's 3:54am and i just finished the series (like literally a few minutes ago), so apologies if i seem a little touchy. Mysterious Lotus Casebook was an experience. I don't know why but whenever i watch wuxian drama's they always end with me crying. Now let's go through these one at a time. If we talk about the story and the plot, i personally think it was great, i mean it had to be if it kept me entertained for 40 hour long episodes. I think the different story lines were well thought out and the way everything unraveled itself was......heartbreaking but it fits the story line i guess. The actors were amazing as always and the music was perfect (whenever literally anything happened and the music started playing, i would start crying). Now lets talk about what i didn't like. "Li Lianhua is going to die, oh wait no he's fine we got a cure...no, no, no he's going to die again we lost the cure, yeah but it's fine we'll find another cure, aaannnnd he's dead.........i think?" Do you understand how stressful this whole dying thing in the series was for me. Everyone betrayed him in some way and now what does he get as sorry, DYING....ALONE!
But i can see why the writer wanted the ending to be open, we could say oh he's alive in OUR version of the ending and he is in peace now. BUT NOOOO, not me in my ending he's dead there's no way he could possibly be alive, it just doesn't make sense. I cant see him as alive and that HUUURRTTS!! That's why i hate open endings, i would just like for the writer or the director to just say he's alive because otherwise in my brain he's just dead.
First it was the Untamed, which by just thinking about it makes me want to cry into my little hole, then it was Guardian, which was bad for me at the time but now i feel like i can handle the ending, will i go back and watch it though......absolutely not. Then it was Killer healer, that series just absolutely DESTROYED my mental health and now it's this. Guys, I'm crying again by just thinking about it.
I read some reviews that said in the novel he lives, but i can't find the novel so i can't give myself that comfort.
But at the end of the day i think the show was really good and if you liked the untamed or killer healer, word of honor, really any of those, you should watch (grab your tissues though).

Read More

Excellent Heartbreaking Drama

I just watched this goodbye my princess drama (2019) in 2024. This is very late.
Because I mostly watched happy ending romance drama and crime thriller drama series.
The story, plots, acting are excellent.
The story is itself strong, solid and deep!!
I still can’t move on from this drama.
Both main lead actor and actress are really deep and excellent in acting.
I prefer actor’s acting skills. He can show detail acting with eyes , control facial expressions, changing his acting within seconds when plot of drama was needed.
This is really really heartbreaking, heart wrenching, heartfelt.
Although actor character is red flag, he has own reason to do those cruel things.
I feel sorry for both actor and actress characters.
💔💔💔😭😭😭😭
Best Heartbreaking Drama

Read More

A unique monster story set in Japan-occupied Korea

STORY 9.5/10
I found the concept of a monster thriller set in the world of Japan-occupied Korea incredibly intriguing. The combination of the monster and period genres reminded me of Kingdom, which was another drama I loved. By combining the genres together, Gyeongseong Creature created an interesting dynamic that made the story more unique.

The shorter episode count gave way to good pacing throughout the entire series. However, one of my gripes with the story is that the show tended to give the answers away TOO quickly. Mysteries would sometimes be introduced and then revealed within the same episode. Delaying the reveals would've heightened the suspense a bit more.

I also disliked how the relationship between the male lead and female lead was handled. The hate-to-love trope was too exaggerated and the romance was rushed. It would've been more realistic to have the leads develop a relationship of mutual trust and understanding after the events of season 1 and then maybe have that develop into a romance in season 2.

ACTING/CAST 10/10
I absolutely LOVED the ensemble cast. I enjoyed seeing Park Seo Joon's anti-hero evolve throughout the series, but each of the characters had their moments to shine, even the minor supporting characters.

I was impressed that a lot of Japanese was spoken in this series by the all-Korean cast. I haven't watched any other dramas set in Japan-occupied Korea, but the fact that about half of this series was delivered in Japanese, and pretty adequately at that, further immersed me in the story.

MUSIC 10/10
The soundtrack to this series was phenomenal, elevating the thrilling action scenes to the more emotional ones. This series had an epic soundtrack and I wish there was a more comprehensive soundtrack released so I could listen to it again.

REWATCH VALUE 9/10
While most of the mystery is already revealed by the end of the series, I think the pure entertainment factor of the story is enough to make me want to rewatch this again. Also, the shorter episode count makes rewatching this series a lot more manageable than a 20+ episode drama.

OVERALL 10/10
Gyeongseong Creature impressively combines the monster and period genres, showcasing excellent execution by the production crew and cast. If you're looking for a drama with suspense, mystery, action, drama, and a dash of romance, then I highly recommend this drama.

Read More

This is the first cdrama I’d rewatch over and over again

Wonderland of Love is truly a gem in the cdrama world. The thing I loved most about it was the healthy and bickering relationships between all the characters. They made me feel good, happy and hopeful.

I love that the female lead is a female captain in the army. She’s courageous, strong, witty and loyal. But the male lead is the one who truly got me all the feels. I think this is Xu Kai’s best project yet, his performance was sincere, he showed all his emotions starting as a carefree boy and then as a victorious general and so on. I loved his character, his intelligence, his jokes and the fact that he only has eyes for A’ying. Their dynamic is thrilling and engaging till the very end.

The OSTs, the costumes and the scenography are so beautiful too.

This is the only cdrama that I would rewatch over and over again.

Read More

The name should have been “The Rustic Charm and Hardships of the Rural Living”.

I started watching this drama almost at random; romantic things don’t attract me much and neither does the farming. Zeng Shunxi must have been the one who attracted me to watching it after all. But there was a delightful discovery: I simply loved this series! Firstly, I never expected Realism to be there in a drama! But it was the closest one to a slice-of-life series (which I haven’t watched before) that I can imagine. The plot follows the realistic logic, the desires and grudges of the characters are realistic, as well as their relationships. The problems the series raise – oh my, they are so believable! You might ask why strive for realism if we’ve got enough troubles in a real world. But way off the mark! For some that’s a kind of an escape, for others it’s a thing that, on the contrary, will wake them up to see the reality. But that’s what shows a true quality of the work. It seems not at the least the show for solely entertainment but a solid and considerate work of art – something I never hoped to find after reading a title. The name of the series is misleading; it should have been called “The Rustic Charm and Hardships of the Rural Living” based on what we actually see in the drama.

Speaking of the plot and the storytelling, it was a bit strange that everything began from a game but the main female character got stuck in the game without coming back to her world during the whole plot. I believe that it could have been more understandable if she showed more anxiety about being unable to go home (she seemed to be quite busy and sometimes happy about the game family affairs and never worried about the amount of TIME it was going to take her to finish the quest – in other words, the time she would be missing from her reality). I also think that the complexity of the NPCs and the depth of the problems she faced (the family ones, please note – and she is the person who actually has the problems with her ‘real’ family) suggested it was not the gameplay but the quest from Heavens for her. Only provided that she matured and solved the unsolvable family problems could she return to a real family, ready to deal with her real problems, too. I haven’t read the novel if there’s any – probably it was that way there, I don’t know.

As for the characters, they are all great (in the end there is a scene where the FL is asked to rate the NPCs – what she does is the same I would have done characterizing all the cast, and, evidently, the heroes of the story). That’s the great ending of the calendar year – I have seen some dramas where I finally feel that not only a couple of characters can be appealing. The people are quite different here: the timid and caring members of the family, the ones showing spiritless tenacity, the selfish cowards, the manipulable enviers, the ones who undergo a serious character development or stick more or less to their original personality but somehow become smoother and more tolerant. And this describes only the family members (there are many – the original Chinese families are so big!) and there are others! The corrupted officials, the secret agents who have to act on their own, the outlaws so realistic and at the same time righteous that they reminded me of Robin Hood’s men – and the main characters, of course!

Lian Man Er seems a typical traveler from one world to another in the beginning but later she proves to be a very strong and cheerful personality. Perhaps her image illustrates what a good businesswoman should be like far better than those in the business-oriented modern dramas. She’s come up with so many ideas of how to make money – and actually succeeded! Sometimes she uses knowledge from the modern world but she would have failed if she only relied on that. She’s just born to be a founder of start-ups. At the same time, she a believable and charming girl with very human emotions whenever it be love, family troubles, business or injustice of the world. I believe that this type of a role suits the actress very much and I was never bored of watching her – which cannot be said about many other Chinese representations of female characters (in various genres portrayed by different people) who usually come short of the character development compared to the male characters. This girl is lovely and she’s a genuine core of both the plot and the family she acquires.

Shen No is the main male character and he’s excellent… and seen really seldom. Actually, the plot doesn’t suffer as it is planned this way – Shen No is for sure a mysterious character if not for the audience, then for the characters. But ah, if only we could see more of Shunxi! His portrayal of the secret agent is so brilliant and the personality of Shen No is so attractive! And yet he is shown less often than any other Man Er’s family member. If you ask about the romance, well… it still can be found! But you better say to yourself ‘less is more’ as it is of a very good quality and not the main topic of the narration at all. It is given as a subtext; it is always there as the characters keep their identities a secret from each other and both suffer from a perspective of being driven apart. You can feel how deep their relationship is when they just help, trust and forgive each other for granted, the things which are so rare both in life and in series. And no! There haven’t been all kinds of these stupid misunderstandings just for the sake of melodrama! The characters are so reasonable and mature that my heart is grateful to the script writers. Well, returning to Shen No, he is smart and a rather good strategic thinker, he is brave and righteous as a hero should be, he’s an excellent fighter and not so brilliant farmer especially when he tries to avoid the job but actually, he learns extremely fast. Add to this that he does not look at the family that gave him shelter only from this perspective; you can tell from his behavior that he is a kind and a noble man. Ah, again, if only there was more of him in the plot!

A young doctor, Wang You Heng, who is Shen No’s rival in love, also deserves all kinds of respect. Not only he doesn’t do anything that would put the viewer off liking him (to resolve the love triangle) – he does many noble and selfless deeds. He does not fight with Shen No for Man Er’s love when he sees where her sympathies lie. He saves the lives of the villagers working as the doctor even if he has to do it in secret. And, more importantly, after a crisis in his work, he does not give up continuing the most difficult path he has chosen to be his calling. He is a very likable man who, I feared, could have met a sad ending if the script writers wanted to solve the love triangle in a common way. But no, everything settled quite peacefully and harmoniously.

As for the settings, they’re gorgeous, but this has been noted by many reviews before mine. And I also appreciate that even though we don’t get as many locations as in other dramas, the sights don’t get old.

Now to the topics that are raised in the narration. Actually, there is nothing you cannot find in dramas and life – but the proportions are so accurate that it is not just a brutal life – it’s a masterpiece. The corrupted officials and the illegal syndicates leading to higher taxes, the forceful removal of the villagers, pressure on the family members to get what the officials want, and people not knowing how to confront this oppressing force. The power of the officials seems so devastatingly omnibus that it is very true to life indeed. And you never know how a bunch of the good characters would stand up against it. In a reality, they would not have had a chance; but in a game they DO (because finally – it’s a game, remember, they have quests and even though a player can lose a game, she/he is supposed to win after some attempts!) It is so inspirational but creates a sense of longing as well – where to find enough chances, guidance and characters as brave and upright as these ones to raise and bring justice to the people? I am just being wishful but the good questions should be stated before they can be solved, too.

I never expected this drama to be this good (and I’m telling this after watching a ‘Mysterious Lotus Casebook’ – but again, they are so different that you can’t compare them – if only in the way how well-rounded both stories are). It may be not everyone’s cup of tea as the topics are serious and the characters are sometimes painfully realistic probably reminding of the people we might know in real life. If you want to see a love story – that’s a very specific one, a piece of art but hidden from the sight. If you want to see a farm – you see the atmospheric setting with growing rice and (thank you, script writers x3) without (almost) any harm done to animals which you must expect when you deal with a ‘farm’ topic. There is no animals protecting topic here, of course, but at least some family members treat their ox and a dog pets and not meat and that’s a start. But if you think from this description that there is no humor at all – no, there is some, and it is decent and unintrusive. The interactions are really interesting to watch.

To sum up, everything has been really well developed, beyond expectations. I fell in love with the visuals, with the issues, with the music and songs and with actors – even more. Sometimes you should give a drama a try even if you don’t understand from a title or an abstract or a poster what genre and depth it is going to be.

Read More