Reviews

Epic Period Drama

Yeah, I understand now why this is an epic drama, by the end of if I was so involved with the story and all the characters. Good end as well, bittersweet, as expected of Chinese dramas.
The production did a good job, very well-made.
The actors are wonderful, they really capture the emotions. What was different for me is the age/looks of the actors, usually they look younger in recent dramas, but this is not a complaint, I liked the more realist aspect of it.
I do have to say that some plots should be better explored, like the poison thing and his relationship with the jianghu world. Also, there are some plots that made me mad that he didn't see it coming, were you not the good one?
Well, do watch it, it's worth your time.

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Great Tyme Continuum

Hello, I'm Great! No, I don’t mean I'm doing great (have you seen the show?), but that I am Great! Ummm… no, I'm not saying I'm a great person (have you seen the show?), but my name is Great! Oh… I give up. I’m the crazy cat lady. Happy?

Anyway, what did you make of me and my story? Wasn’t it fun? Admittedly, it isn’t fun to die Tyme and Tyme again for your entertainment, but you knew I was going to live, didn’t you?

I’m grateful to my creators for putting me in one of the *greatest* bodies out there, on whose head not a strand is out of place, and whose body Adonis and Antinous would envy. They also seem to have had a big budget, which they mostly spent on interior design porn, and renting cars from the Fast and the BiCurious outlet mall. *I* have no objections. I do wish the writers had been paid more… Because I really don’t understand who I am, and what has been happening to me. I also didn’t know *how* to feel about what was happening, but fortunately, the background music was always at hand to tell me.

Since I’m now alive — I’m not sure, this might be a Black Mirror kind of situation — I have been lurking around the forums online to find out the truth. I’ve pretty impressed by the hard work of the “fandom”. There are some good theories out there. But I’m still not sure I understand. (I'm a bit thick, you see, but thickness, like size, matters.)

***Ignore the following two paragraphs if pressed for time, or to avoid "plot" details. ***

What I’m most confused about is perspective. So, when I was going into cardiac arrest, as were Tyme and Tonkla and everyone else who’s ever been shot it would seem, we apparently see four (?) consequential moments where we could have chosen otherwise. Fun. (Some argue that each of these moments is an alternative “reality”, but my physicist friend assures me that this is not how the many-universe theory works. There, reality splits every second, because quantum decoupling happens every second.) But we also saw a whole storyline involving online gambling, TonKla, Korn, Win, and Nan. Did *I* see that too? Did Tyme? Or were their storylines alone real all the time? Are my parents good or bad? If good, why did I see what I see? If bad, why did you see what you see? Fine, let's allow that my perspective and that of an omniscient narrator can co-exist. But then, didn’t TonKla’s dead brother show up at one point? More confusingly, if the four minutes represent opportunities where death could have been prevented, didn’t other deaths happen anyway? Are some lives more worth than others? I mean, I know my beautiful body is worth more than Tyme’s grandmother’s life, or that bastard TonKla's, but still… Or is the universe fatalistic all the same, and our subjunctive possibilities mere hallucinations? If so, what’s the fucking point of all this?

Let me tell you, Tyme is still in a huff about the fact that *his* perspective got half a measly episode, but mine got six! Poor TonKla, he fared even worse! While we’re at it, what in crazy cat lady’s name was that last episode all about? I'm so confused, and I don’t know why my creators were in such a hurry to wrap things up. I don't even understand why I'm still alive, and why Tyme's alive, but not my brother. Why did he have to kill himself? Don't we all have blood on our hands by the end? As I said, the writers should have been paid more, if they were paid at all. But then, all those “cute” moments between me and Tyme — it satisfied you lot, didn’t it? How many of you screamed at the last shot? Good, I’m happy for you. I'm happy for us too. Not for my brother, though.

*** Here endeth knowledge. ***

I know some of you thought my sex scenes with Tyme were a tad on the soft side. Listen, I know my body, and the fact that I was listening to Limp Bizkit all of next day is no coincidence. Tyme is a Great lover, and he bore his arse out for you: be Greatful. But I will admit, that bastard TonKla stole the show from me. Never trust a power bottom is. Were you really surprised when he shot me, and revealed his face in the campest way possible? I’d say I’m glad he’s dead, but, I’d still love to have had a Great Tyme with him and Win and Korn. And yes, of course I'd have sex with my murderer if he's hot enough -- ask any self-respecting gay man. Besides, you all saw a flash of JJay's p-JJ, didn't you? How many times did you go back, freeze the frame, and thought to yourself, "I've become my mother"?

Oh, one last thing. Why 4 minutes, you ask? It is, apparently, the length of time it would take for consciousness to fade after the heart stops. That’s what the last-minute narrator (where the fuck did she come from?) says. Turns out, not true. Anoxia induces loss of consciousness in 6 seconds, and inflicts permanent brain damage within 2 minutes. (You should have seen the first draft of this review. There are parts of my brain to which I no longer have any access.) So, I can only guess that my creators were listening to Madonna on Spotify as they fell asleep (or doing cocaine), and concluded, with Mr. Timberlake, there were only 4 minutes left to save the world…

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Top C-Drama Rom Com of all time

This is just so, so good. I can't believe it's not on every favorite rom com list all over this site. The story was so fresh and innovative, the themes were outstanding, but the leads' chemistry was OFF THE CHARTS. Luckily, it was a romance-focused drama, which meant we were treated to a ton of scenes with them together (episode 16 being my favorite and the cutest). And since it was only 24 episodes, there were few draggy / filler parts. I usually fast forward about 60-70% of Cdramas and only ended up fast forwarding 10-15% of this one (all of which has to do with the eldest sister's storyline with the musician, those actors had zero chemistry but the storyline seemed interesting).

Again, I have to stress how electric the chemistry was between the leads. In my top 3 C-Dramas of all time, which for me includes:
1. Love Between Fairy and Devil
2. Till the End of the Moon
3. The Romance of Tiger and Rose

I'm already planning a re-watch.

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If you're looking for a male mermaid story...

This is one to watch if you're looking for a male mermaid story. It's a cute, funny, silly mini drama. It kind of reminded me of The Starry Night, the Starry Sea (with Feng Shao Feng but not as good nor as sad).

At first the male and female leads grated on my nerves a bit but by the second episode it was better.

It tries to get a little angsty with the second pairing but honestly she irritated me so much I wouldn't have cared if she had ended that way. But of course true love works miracles (ain't that always the case).

The last episode (all 6:10 mins of it) is the happy ending for both couples.

Overall I'd say this one is worth at least a one time watch if you like adorably cute (but sometimes not that bright) guys who happened to be mermaids.

On the other hand if you like your dramas with a little more 'teeth' to them this isn't the one for you.

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nothing exciting but still enjoyable.

this series is very standard, even predictable but somehow I still enjoyed it.
the only thing that really bothered me is the female lead.... she has such a dead pan expression. everybody else is good but the FL is just so dead in her expressions.

plot: a chaebol is trying to avoid his "future" by marrying a friend that he thinks his family will disapprove. this friend is the only one he can marry because he is also hiding the fact he is actually gay.
his brother at the beginning is opposing the wedding but then something happens....

the actors are all good except for the FL which I can really bring myself to appreciate... sometimes it seems she doesn't even want to be there.

overall this is a simple, nice show. nothing special but if you want to see the same stuff you already liked this is fine.

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More of a special episode with no stakes

So, calling this a sequel is a bit of a stretch. I mean, yes, it technically does take place after the main episodes, but content-wise it's more of a special episode, meant to give the audience some cute fan service and nothing else.

If the original drama had been more satisfying with answering questions and providing closure, I might've been more receptive to something like this, but since I went into this hoping it would add more depth to the story, I was ultimately disappointed.

It sort of has the same issues that the main story did, which is how passive the leads were. The time travel happens and they just accept it, barely asking any questions. We get scene after scene of them going through everyday, domestic tropes, before the time travel problem arises again and forces them apart.

Ultimately, I think people who loved the original series and just want more of the main couple would enjoy this, but don't expect any new substance.

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Oddly flat

While I did finish this drama I ended up f-forwarding through at least a third of it, largely because I just wasn't that invested in most of the characters.

High points:

I loved the relationship development between the ML and his step-father. Loved it! Actually cried real tears when ML finally calls step-father dad.

Also very much liked the secondary relationship between the coach and FL's best friend. Given their respective romantic back-stories it progressed suitably slowly and was quite sweet.

It was very nice to have a FL who was highly competent, intelligent and with just enough character flaws to be interesting.

FL's boss's wife's story of empowerment. This was change I could believe and really enjoy! Watching her despair and lack of agency turn to quiet self-confidence was a joy.

Low points:

Redemption of the FL's boss (and to a lesser extent the boss's business rival) . I find the idea that someone who is utterly self-absorbed and quite ruthless would somehow change so dramatically to be absurd and honestly felt that the changes went so far as to be OOC. Probably my own cynicism showing but there you have it.

I didn't like the third romantic couple, both of whom also had dramatic personality changes over the course of the drama. Personal growth I'm certainly here for but once again I found the changes to be extreme, OOC and not believable.

For the rest, sadly it was kind of meh. Wu Lei was himself, a touch more animated than I've seen so far and ofc very pretty to watch. I agree with many others that there was very little chemistry between the two leads and as a result this drama distinguished itself by being the first where I f-forwarded through main couple interactions on several occasions.

Can't see myself ever re-watching this one!

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"We'll meet here again."

"Mare" is my 17th asadora and I confess that I was a bit disappointed. I wish I had watched this asadora earlier on in my journey, especially since I've had it downloaded for quite a while. I think "Mare" would appeal to newer viewers of asadora but if you've seen more than 10+, I think it'll leave you a bit frustrated.

Let's talk about what I liked first. Tsuchiya Tao plays an aspiring patissier named Mare. Tao basically sells this role because Mare could've easily been annoying. [Though if you don't like Tao, you'll probably hate Mare lol.] I really enjoyed Mare's journey. Her initial hesitation to chase her dream was a tad exasperating, but I also felt that it was realistic. Not everyone goes head first into doing what they want like most asadora heroines. I'm not such a fan of her relationship with Keita, but we'll get into that later. However, I do like Mare's struggles with marriage and motherhood. Essentially trying to "have it all." Though the storyline stumbled a bit, I think this is an important storyline for modern day Japanese women.

I also liked the supporting cast, except for Ichiko (played by Sengen Yoshiko) during her "I hate Mare" phase. It was a delight to see Tanaka Yuko again. She starred in the 1980s hit asadora "Oshin." [Ishimatsu Guts from "Oshin" was also in this asadora.] Tanaka plays Mare's adoptive grandmother and my only complaint that we don't see her nearly as much as I want to. Then there's the patissier, Ikehata Daigo (Kohinata Fumiyo), whom Mare apprentices for. He's one of those typical eccentric mentor characters you see a lot of in asadoras. I really disliked him at first, but he ends up being so sweet by the end. Tokiwa Takako as Mare's mother Aiko is a delightful mix of emotion and comedy. I really like how she supports Mare and encourages her to leave when she realizes that Mare is trying to protect her. I'll stop here, but there are a quite a few interesting and fun characters.

On to Mare's father, Toru (Oizumi Yo). I honestly don't know what to think of this character. He abandons his family not once but twice. But in a sort of noble way... I guess? I liked his character at times when he was trying to do things for his family. Him being a big dreamer wasn't really the problem like the drama tries to say. It's his bad decisions in the process of trying to achieve that dream. And honestly did the writer hate Toru? Lol this man literally could not do anything right.

Now on to Mare's backstabbing friend, Ichiko. Oh my good I hated Ichiko even as a child lol. She was so rude even then. The real hate came when she started dating Keita (Yamazaki Kento). Mare had not said that she liked Keita to Ichiko, but I will maintain that that b*tch knew what she was doing. She only gets worst tbh and I could never forgive her after she said that she hated Mare. I don't care that they essentially made up and became good friends again. I really don't care.

Finally, on to the last thing that irritated me. I'm not a fan of Mare's love interest, Keita. Not only does he date Mare's best friend after confessing to Mare just a few episodes before that he loved her, but his personality is also just annoying. And he's a freaking hypocrite. Him and Mare then get together and married way to quick. There was hardly any romance to it. There relationship gets better once they become parents. I like them as a family unit and I think Keita is a good father. I really Mare had dated Daisuke (Yagira Yuya) for longer than one episode. I preferred him as her love interest. He was more interesting and was showing a clear interest in Mare, while Keita was still all about Ichiko (for some reason). Anyway, justice for Daisuke. He was way better than Keita.

In conclusion, I think "Mare" is a good asadora but the romance aspect of it is a dud in my opinion. It also left me wondering why every asadora heroine has to get married. I wish in this case that they had decided to focus on her career instead. I would recommend "Mare" to beginners since it has a lot of good points to it. I especially liked the music, which a lot of effort was put towards. However, veteran viewers will be able to spot the flaws easily.

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Copy and paste of Chinese republic era drama

It has worst story
They tried to potrate intelligent female mc , but ended up making stupid thing.
She is intelligent agent yet believe in anything that common man can find suspicious, easily manipulated without efforts by any character in drama

It has common trope of Chinese republic era drama
1) female lead(FL) parent are killed
2) she is taking revenge
3) marries to male led relatives
4) male lead is supposedly the perpetrators of fl family massacre
5) fl is sexy seductress ( dancer, some successful merchant)
6) plot is driven by misunderstanding rather something that matter
7) fl is brain ded or at least with rotten brain or not working
8) no character development
9) male lead is military officer
10) rather than developing character they are tools to progress stories

This formula is used by 90% of Republican era short Chinese drama,
If anyone know drama with something else than above mentioned mold pleaz let me know
Thanks

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