Reviews

There are a lot of standard K-drama tropes in this one, however, Kimcheed Radish Cubes has one of the best surprise twists at the end of any drama I've ever watched. And that alone makes it worth watching at least once. The story is well written and keeps you engaged mostly. There are a few places that could have been edited out. There's not really a need to use 2 or 3 minutes or more to show someone walking around thinking. The acting is a bit better than average with a great cast of veterans in supporting roles like the mothers, fathers, and grandparents. I didn't really expect much from Park Shin Hye since this was one of her first starring roles, but about halfway through she really shows the potential that has turned her in to an A-list star latter on. I was disappointed with Joo Sang Wook's performance though. It was way too stiff and robotic for most of the drama. The best acting in this drama goes to Na Moon Hee who easily played the most annoying grandma ever, and Bang Joon Seo for playing the best little scene stealer ever (3yr old daughter). I wouldn't really watch this a 2nd time but I do suggest watching it if your a Park Shin Hye or fan of family dramas.

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Stand by Me is a great drama for anyone who enjoys a good slice-of-life, coming-of-age college drama. I really enjoyed it for the way it realistically shows the characters going through struggles with friendship, relationships, family, and leadership. All the characters and conflicts feel real and relatable, and the portrayals of the friendships between all the characters are heartwarming and fun to watch.

This show follows three best friends, two guys (Lu Qiao Chuan and Ren Yi Fan) and a girl (Zhong Bai) as they go to college together and make new friends. Their friendship is put to the test when Lu Qiao Chuan starts liking a new classmate, creating tension between him and Zhong Bai (who has a crush on him) and Ren Yi Fan has to try to mediate between the two. The show also takes a peek into the lives of some of the new friends that the three meet in college.

The characters are real and complex and the show avoids painting anyone as exceptionally perfect or exceptionally villainous. The show pacing can be a bit slow because there isn't a greater overarching plot. Instead, there are a lot of plot arcs that span a few episodes and each deal with different issues that come up in college, friendships, and relationships.

I really enjoyed that the show gets a bit meta with regards to the drama genre as a whole. At various points in the show, our two "second leads" (romantic rivals who aren't really romantic rivals, but are just people who also happen to like our main characters) frequently refer to themselves as "Girl 2" and "Boy 2" and talk about how their lives would play out if they were in a Korean drama. That got a few laughs out of me. And it's great because the show doesn't play out like a Korean drama.

My favorite character in the show is probably Xiao Hai Yang, one of Qiao Chuan and Zhong Bai's classmates who has been held back for two years in a row. He immediately takes a liking to Zhong Bai and is such a sweetheart throughout the show. I definitely liked him way more than Qiao Chuan, who appears to be the main "protagonist" of the show (a lot of the situations revolve around him.) One of my favorite plot arcs/episodes of the show involves Hai Yang and his past.

Overall, Stand by Me is a really great drama for someone who enjoys watching a show that can be a little slow, but feels very real and relatable. You won't really get any of the melodrama or excitement that you would expect from other more plot-driven shows, but you'll still shed a few tears and laugh a few laughs because the friendships are so beautiful.

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I just watched the last episode of Leh Ratree this Monday and it was a fun ride. I haven't seen the original so, I can't really comment on the differences between the two but I plan I watching it to see how they compare in the future.

The story seems a very typical lakorn theme of father ends up in some trouble and has to "sell" his daughter to a rich family. Kate, our heroine, runs into issues when her loving stepfather robs a ton of money due this gambling addiction from his job. Needless to say he's either going to prison or his daughter can be the the "baby carrier" for the rich and powerful family he stole from.At the time, our hero, Sake, is married but his wife lied about being have to children and apparently she's some sort of gold digger although, even though she behaved very badly, it seemed like she really did love him. Needless to say she's kicked aside, Kate is moved in, and suddenly options for impregnating Kate are being discussed.

Along the journey a lot happens and of course, like most lakorns things get more and more ridiculous but as I heard someone say before, you just have to go along for the ride when watching a lakorn and allow the drama to take you on a weird and wild journey.

There are a lot of things that happen that aren't necessary to the story like the fact Kate's father develops cancer and is miraculously cured with one surgery and a round of chemo.

But I digress.... I thought the drama was fun.

There's some very cute romantic moments between Kate and Sake and they seem to play off each other nicely. The only thing that ever so slightly annoyed me about the drama was the fact a lot of time was spent developing the relationship between Poo and Pa, two secondary characters in the story. I actually felt like they had more time on the screen than Sake and Kate. Sake and Kate's relationship seemed to be rushed and on the back burner. Their scenes together were very, very short. Where as they'd spend a ton of time on Poo and Pa.

Lah Ratree isn't without issues but it's a fun drama with action, romance, and suspense. It's worth a watch!

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A decent crime / mystery with solid acting. The pros of this drama: I watched the plot unfold with enjoyment. The pacing is good so it keeps viewer engaged. The acting is good - especially the little girl and Ji Sung as the Jeong Woo.

The reason I do not rate it higher is that I found it really derivative of other shows. Though I did enjoy it, it was pretty predictable. I usually don't care about this so much, but here it was so obvious that it distracted me from getting emotionally involved with the characters. I didn't find the characters very realistic or complex. The characters felt so much like stock characters from very other crime mystery story of this type. It's like the writers decided they wanted to write a show like "Prison Break" combined with "The Fugitive" and just went with that without trying to add any originality or twist of their own. At first I thought the references to Prison Break were kind of cute, but after awhile the similarities became tiresome.

I didn't love the characters - not even Jeong Woo. There were details about him that bugged me, so though I wanted the bad guy to be punished, it's not because I loved the hero so much. The setup for the villain really didn't make sense. The crime that is the catalyst for the whole drama was psychopathic and impulsive and really without thought or reason. He gained nothing from it and just did it because he felt like it. Then he spends the rest of the episode impulsively covering it up. And then we are supposed to believe that he magically transforms into a resourceful, manipulative character who plans and thinks enough to get away with all that he does for the next 17 episodes? The motley group of inmates was kind of funny, but too glaringly cute for this type of story and obviously just there for comic relief.

I don't regret watching this, but didn't love it. It's one of those shows where I just wanted to see the story play out even though it was mildly disappointing along the way.

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Another oldie, a true classic. I can't say it is my favorite, nor that I understand why it is the most popular J-drama ever, but I enjoyed watching it, and I met good actors that I have never seen before (except for a couple of them).

The guy who played Onizuka was the best. He WAS Onizuka. He looked silly but cool; nice but a bit tough; handsome but naive. I love his bickering with Fuyutsuki-sensei; they had a good chemistry (and then I read that they are actually married in real life!). I would have never thought that it would be romantic to get the condom of a virgin guy (condom that he is keeping for years) as a form of love confession. But it was!

In many ways it is similar to Gokusen, like:

- both are naive, virgin teachers that get tough when the situation requires it;
- both are pretty much rejected by their students at first; but eventually they win their hearts thru a series of events;
- both of them have the head-teacher after their positions... meaning, the head-teacher is trying by any means to get this new teacher fired;
- both are very charismatic and very much loved by their friends.

But also, they have their differences:

- Gokusen is more of a familiar-drama; while GTO is more mature. There is a student in underwear, trying to seduce him; there is an attempt of rape and gang-rape (probably); the students in GTO are MUCH MORE angsty. Why, in Gokusen the boys never said "I want to kill Yankumi", while Miyabi and Murai said this several times. Guh, these guys took their "hate" too personal, one of the things I did not like too much in GTO.

- On the other hand, what I liked more in GTO was the way Onizuka won their students over. It was less forced than Yankumi (who, hello, once she worked extra-time to get money for her student who owed a lot of money!). Onizuka was not over-the-top in his actions; he was subtle and once or twice he fooled around, but it was funny and made the situation less dramatic.

Taking aside the education (which is the most important thing for a student, but that is irrelevant in a dorama), GTO was fun to watch. Definitely a must.

Special mention: to the handsome police friend of Onizuka, played by the handsome Fujiki Naohito. He was so young here and so pretty. He is definitely like the wine: the older, the better. His role is not as tiny as I thought: he was a good friend but also a pervert (with that angel face!).

2nd special mention: we have a very young, tiny Oguri Shun. One of the first students to surrender under Onizuka's spell. He was being bullied (the worst kind) and it is funny because once he grows up, he will never again play bullied boys but tough guys. He looked like a 12-years-old boy, although I think he was around 15. But well, all his classmates were 20-years-old playing 16, so I guess that is why.

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This drama is ok, but not transcendent i saw far better !

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The CASTING is impressive, that's why i watched it ! If you are a fan of Seo In Guk, it is a drama for you, his acting is quite good in this drama and his character embodies the cuteness ^^ The other actors are good also, i discovered Im Se Mi as a beautiful and skillful actress.
The STORY is interesting at first sight about the rich guy who loses his memory and becomes a homeless man. Thus, the chemistry between the two main characters is spellbinding, it's a pleasure to see how much they are deeply in love !!
Moreover, there are a lot of funny characters such as Cha Joong Won (Yoon Sang Hyun), Baek Ma Ri (Im Se Mi), Jo in Seong (Oh Dae Hwan)... and my favorite one is Hong Jae Sook (Yoon Yoo Sun) which is a refreshing character !!

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BUT, despite all these good points, the plot bores me at the highest point... The bad guy isn't a bad guy (i don't ask a manichean drama, but even with subtlety, he isn't one and his acting is not as good as the others), there's nothing at stake in reality ! So i sadly finished this drama in fast-foward :/

It remains entertaining, but nothing very profound :)

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I love it! The character of the main lead and how much he trusted the female lead despite all the secrets she hid from him makes me love him. He might seem cold-hearted but he is really affectionate to the ones he loves.

I loved how the female lead decided to stay loyal to him, the male lead saw the good side of the female lead and fell in love. I loved everything about this drama but I do not want to spoil it.

I never usually write reviews even though I watch lots of dramas, but I really wanted to recommend this drama. This is one of the dramas where I want to watch it again.

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Strong Woman Do Bong Soon introduces a character trope rarely seen in the Korean dramasphere, one of a strong woman (as it says in the title) who isn't necessarily harsh and cold-hearted, but rather quirky, compassionate, and courageous. I was immediately reeled in by this aspect of the drama. The show includes the genres of supernatural, action, thriller, and from time to time comedy (the cheesy and slap-stick kind). But the investigation ('frontal' episodes) and romance (latter episodes of the drama) elements are the most prominent. The pacing of Strong Woman had me hooked when I initially watched the show, but I kind of drifted away towards the end of the series; the main plots had finished much earlier than I expected, so I felt that the resolution dragged on more than it needed to (the drama could've been condensed to 13 or 14 episodes). Nevertheless, the well-rounded cast, especially the chemistry seen between Do Bong Soon and Ahn Min Hyuk (and the actors who play them). I was also a fan of the soundtrack and score of Strong Woman; they mostly reflected the romantic components of the show. My favorite song was the main theme song, Super Power Girl; rather than a romantic ballad, it's an upbeat alternative/rock song that definitely matched the quirky personality of protagonist, Do Bong Soon. Overall, I would recommend Strong Woman Do Bong Soon to those who typically like romantic/investigative K-dramas but would like to spice up their tastes with a unconventionally supernatural twist.

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I love this drama!! It was so much fun to watch. I started with 5 episodes for 1 night and rest 11 episodes the next day. Made me happy all throughout! Gong Yoo was so adorable the whole time! I was hesitant to watch this at first because it would not appear on the best kdrama lists I've seen, I watched it because I want to see Gong Yoo at a young age. This is underrated drama, I like full house,only you and coffee prince, but surprisingly I enjoyed watching this Biscuit Teacher Best! It gives me that feeling of being in love and loved by the man of my dreams :) Brings back good school memories. And ooh I love watching Gong Yoo!!!

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The movie is good, and it made me cry a lot specially during the last episode but this is really not a review I'm going to give, but a realization I had after watching the series again.


At the end of the day I am happy, thankful even, that I watched Zettai Kareshi again. It reminded me of a few things I've almost forgotten.

Everybody deserves to be loved unconditionally. It doesn't matter how "ugly" you look while sleeping with your mouth open, or if you snore loudly, or if you're moody, clumsy, clingy, fat, thin, or even if you have an ugly scar, or even if you had a child while you'e unwed -- always remember that somewhere out there your very own Night Tenjo is waiting just for you.

Everybody wants, no -- needs, to be loved unconditionally, the same way Night loved Riko. There will be somebody out there who will be willing to love you flaws and all. Believe that there is someone somewhere in this world who was made just for you, who will be happy just seeing you happy, who will cry with you, who will hug you even if you're mad at him/her, who will love you just how you deserve to be loved.

:)

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