Reviews

Well put together, filling every aspect, the happiest cast of drama ive ever seen

First i must mention the Female Lead, her smile man.., damn especially the earliest episode was so pure and bright, i literally would fight the world to protect that damn smile. And dthe director really know how to maximize it.

A Romcom with a main plot a little bit dark usualy feels cranky and weirdly put, but this is wo well put that it can separate the genre so well that we can greatly enjoying both of the world.

This is the first drama that ive got to like everyone character, even the cameo, its just a fun and delightful experience seeing them interact, it feels so honest that i thought they werent acting, just like seeing our happy neighbor interact with each other.

Just job welldone i have no complain, really really enjoyable experience.

Thank you really, for all the drama cast and staff, for brighten one of my days.

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Intense but meaningless in the end

Joseon-ish supernatural horror. Royal family and palace are terrorized by spirits and given what all's gone on there, it's no wonder. The King brings in a ghost hunter and pairs him up with his daughter who has been ostracized because she can hear spirits, but the King figures she can be of help in this instance. Meanwhile, a rival nobleman hires a shaman to rile up any vengeful spirits that might be around, thereby improving his own chances of grabbing power for his family.

Our ghost hunter goes to and from the spirit world of Gwi, which is a lurid, chaotic mess where it's hard to see what's going on, whereas the "real world" scenes are beautifully and crisply shot. Unfortunately, we spend an inordinate amount of time in Gwi in indistinct, if intense, combat between ghost hunter and spirits.

Throughout, this drama tries very hard to be something--but what? Important? Meaningful? Unfortunately, it just swirls and roils, intensely, forcefully, and sometimes beautifully, but in the end goes nowhere. Except for the ghost hunter and the princess, there's not a sympathetic character to be found or anything to be learned. The evil shaman's rituals were impressive, though. I liked those.

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WOW! What A Surprise!! I LOVED this!!!

I'm a die-hard POJ and Zhange Linghe fan, but after watching the dark and sad Overdo drama, I needed some joy in my entertainment choices.
A Splendid Match gets a 10! The plot and atory line is wonderful! I have three areas of comment but all three areas are equal in my esteem and praise: The illustrations, the actors, and the story.
First of all:
The opening & closing graphics! They are truly the most beautifully artistic and expressive I've seen! I usually skip the opening/closing graphics because, unfortunately, I don't read more than a handful of chinese characters (but "wo zhengzai xuexi zhongwen!") So, at first, the opening/closing credits & graphics didn't make much sense to me, and I skipped them. But after watching several episodes, the graphics caught my attention -- because I understood them, having become attached to the characters and the story line. Bravo to the art team!! Now I watch the opening and closing!
Next:
Ren Min, Chi Sha -- master of the art of saying so much without speaking a word! Not over-expressing or over-acting! But not under-expressing or under-delivering the dynamics. True artists! They embodied their characters with sincerity, flawless commitment, and it was beautiful to feel that sense being there in the scene, watching it unfold, never having a moment where one of the main actors showed a glitch in their craft that reminded us they were acting, not truly the character we believed was real.
And finally:
The music - no one masters drama series lyrics like the Chinese music professionals. I'm older than 60 years of age, lived in USA my whole life, and our government leads peoole to believe that China is bad. And I've been listening to my own music & TV favorites for decades! But since last year, when I discovered IQIYI, Tencent, etc, I've cancelled Spotify, Apple Music, Starz, HBO, and paused Netflix! Compared to Chinese and Korean film and music, American TV and music just dies on the vine and I feel like our country is a declining civilization. Chinese musical lyrics are intelligent, fully literate, non-cliche, well-thought-out, emotional, memorable, relatable, respectful, and beautiful. The music composure and arrangements are fabulous. It's pretty much all I listen to now.
After a year or more watching Chinese historic dramas, documentaries, and educational programs, I now speak up to others when, in ignorance, they speak ill of China. I appreciate what China is doing for the world in technology, science, education, sustainability, engineering, morals, arts and culture.
Lately, when I hear a fellow American say we should all be afraid that China may take over the world, I say that likely would be a better world.
I never would have known about so many of the advancements in China, had I never discovered their entertainment productions!
In my country, most (not all) film and entertainment professionals and productions degrade make us look like a degenerate civilization running toward a garbage pile to feast on our own waste. How lamentable. :(
In China. most film and entertainment professionals and productions bring honor to your country's reputation and challenge us to do the same. :)

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proof that perfect pacing and insane chemistry can fix your drama slump!!

Honestly going into a 36 episode drama where i usually stick to short form series is a huge commitment but cases between us actually delivered it if you are on fence about the episode count then it is worth the binge..
The narrative pacing carries the entire show it never drags to the point where you want to drop it nor is it so fast that you feel confused you know that perfect spot where every episodes keep you hooked .. talking about the dynamic between the leads is insane what makes the writing stand out is how balanced the screen time is while the main leads do have their own time ..the side characters also get the genuine depth and realistic arcs instead of just you know existing as in the background..
Also the variety the different cases kept the show going and the way the overall plot links everything together is super satisfying even though I felt a tiny plot holes but the show surprisingly addresses and clears it in the later episodes.. the cast is amazing .. esp zhaoshang being an absolute highlight
Overall it's just actual comedy emotions and realistic elements... really hoping for s2

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Utterly disappointing

I had loved Jung Hae In One Spring Night, A Piece of my Mind and Something in the Rain.But this show was such a disappointment. Despite knowing that the plot was nothing earth shattering I had watched hoping the narrative of the show would be good but no, even Jung Hae In could not make me watch any further--and to be honest--I fast forwarded at several places by the latter part of ep 3.
This show has a poor script to begin with and a lousy plot. But it isn't the only one.
I don't know why but I haven't been able to see that spark in most recent Korean shows that have come out.

I think K Drama writers and makers really need to go to their drawing board and see how to amp things up--most recent shows have had plots that are rehash of what we have already seen--even if the plot be similar the execution can make all the difference but most shows now show lazy writing, or may be they are getting too dependent on AI, though budget wise shows are often seen to grow bigger. The only show that I absolutely loved from Korean drama in recent days was Agent Kim Reactivated.

The K Drama slump seems to be real while Chinese shows are really coming of age in recent times, especially with international audience.

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Beautiful messages about life

This is one of the dramas that I put into my on-hold list because I got spoiled about the ending when I was watching it years ago. Recently I had some time to pick it up again and watch it with my mom.

I have mixed feelings about this drama. I already knew the plot twist from the start this time, so I didn't have the first time experiece with it like other viewers. I'm sure it would be less fun this way. But I still enjoyed the drama very much and I understand the messages that the screenwriter and director were trying to tell viewers through each episode. Instead, the fun for me this time was to watch my mom's experience with the drama without spoiling the twist. Plus, I paid attention and realized how everything made sense from the beginning, knowing the twist behind it.

Even though I already knew the twist beforehand, it didn't stop me from crying a lot in the last two episodes. I think the team did a great job in casting Kim Hye Ja for the female lead role. She's the star of this drama. Her acting is amazing. I would totally believe her if she told me she's really a 25-year-old young woman trapped in the body of an 80-year-old lady. Her voice is also beautiful and soothing. I think it had a big impact on making me tear up in the last episode. I also loved the acting from the others, from Han Ji Min, Ahn Nae Sang, Lee Jung Eun and especially I was really impressed by Nam Joo Hyuk's perfomance in this drama.

There are a lot of relatable messages in this drama, aiming at both young people and the elderly. I think the core and strongest message is to encourage people to embrace life and love themselves more, to live more in the present and enjoy every moment we are living.

Besides that, I can feel the struggles of young people while chasing their dreams and trying to survive in this modern capitalist world. I see the importance of a healthy bonding between parents, between children and parents, between family members, friends, and lovers. I see different types of loneliness that young people and the elderly would experience. I think this drama also did a great job in raising more awareness about aging and how the elderly view the world and other people around them.

The drama also touched a few issues in the society, such as scams and fraud targeting the elders, elder neglect, and toxic abusive parents who bring nothing but misery to their children and never deserve to be parents in the first place. It also touched a bit about the corrupt Korean police and government in the past who would frame and kill off innocent people for their own purpose.

There are a few things I didn't like in this drama. Most of them were from the comedic scenes in the drama. I think Hye Ja's loser brother had too much screentime. I mean, a lot of his interactions with Hye Ja and her close friends were funny and I enjoyed them, but at some point, it was a little too much. I also didn't like that they paired him up with one of his sister's best friends. This trope was not new in kdramaland anymore. However, I think I know the purpose of his character in this drama, so it didn't bother me very much. Without him, the drama would be much heavier and full of sorrow.

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Fun watch!

I really enjoyed this show and really only got bored duing the last like 6 episodes. I know that dosent sound like a glowing review but this show never had an dead spaces where nothing happened and it only got boring because the political plot line came to a head there and I didn’t care that much for that part. Now back to the parts that I liked. The characters were amazing, both the main, side, and villain characters. The core group of characters were so funny and interesting and the villians were very believable and you really could understand why they did what they became what we saw in the show. I was also suprised by how funny this show was. The synopsis and trailer had me thinking it was going to be and intense and angsty enimes to lovers story, it had its moments but it was manly just cute, sweet, and funny romance. Now the things I did not like, this is a little harder to talk about since a lot of them would be spoilers so I won’t talk about those. I can talk about the political drama part that became the whole show at the end. It felt very sudden and then rushed. It also was like the show became a totally different show toward the end.

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