Reviews

Korea should take notes

This Drama was sheer perfection. EVERYTHING was right about it: The tone, the length, the story arcs, the character development, the music - everything.

The perfection of tone and length were closely related. Because the Drama was a perfect length, just 14 hours total runtime, the tone stayed sweet and positive throughout. I am a hardcore brony, who just LOVES a good romance Drama. In recent years, Korea has stopped producing any. Instead K Drama writers have decided that nothing says "romance" more than having a serial killer as a major part of every "romcom", or resorting to fantasy pairings like a girl with a demon, or a girl with Cupid, or a girl with a Reaper, etc. etc. etc.

What the writers of THIS Drama got write was in understanding that a simple, sweet, uncomplicated "girl meets boy and it's love at first sight" story is ALREADY pure fantasy, and doesn't need any other baggage thrown in. No need for dark scary psychopaths whose only real function is to pad out the overlong run time. No need for love triangles, stalker exes, or anything to spoil the short sweet fluff. Evefn the creepy, sleazy client was presented a brief a nod to reality and a setup for more OTP bonding.

This worked because the characters were well-written, and this leads me to the main reason why on my personal database, I scored this as 11/10. This Drama is very much in the model of Itazura Na Kiss and all its clones, but with one HUGE difference. From It Started With a Kiss to A Love So Beautiful and lots of similar Dramas in between, I have watched "cute ditzy girl falls for hunky brainiac" A LOT, and this is the VERY FIRST ONE EVER where the FL had an academic strength in which she excelled the ML and even taught him. That was ASTONISHING. My drop rate for C Dramas is high, more than 50% of the C Dramas I start I drop, and that's because of the toxic chauvinsitic misogyny rampant in modern C Dramasd especially. The heroes are good at EVERYTHING, the Fl good at nothing, except pehaps EQ. Not this one. To see an ML & FL tutoring each other and helping each other as true peers was beautiful.

This equality was openly expressed in the dialogue too. The scene where the ML defends the FL to her young cousin by telling him how good the FL is at English (sad we never hear her say a single word of it) was an example of the quality of the writing. Since I rely on subtitles, and since I know how VERY much is literally "lost in translation" whenever I see a Drama where I'm blown away by the quality of writing IN THE SEBS, I think about how awsome the actual dialog must be.

I loved the sensible, down to Earth forthrightness of the FL. She knew what she wanted and went for it, but she also grew as a person and was never passive or whiny. The ML was great too, a great example of a "damaged" ML who was NOT tsundere. His little speech at a product presentation he gave about the impact of the FL on his life was magnificent, as was his thoughtful, PRIVATE proposal.

Whenever I need a remider of why I fell in love with East Asian Dramas in the first place, and why when they get it right they are truly I magical, I will FLY TOWARDS this Drama for a rewatch

Read More

The overall pacing, cinematography and story telling is really great. I finished the drama in just 2 straight days watching it. The drama is really good in portraying the dark side of the Japanese invasion in Korea, it was diverted to having experimented to human beings and hence the creature. I liked that it was fantasy for the first time I have watched, I really am not a fan of this genre but it was a good decision to be having the genre fantasy.

Acting wise, I really like most of the characters, which a lot. I am really happy with Park Seo Jeon as the main lead, he carried the show alongside the people at the pawnshop. Han Seo Hee seems to having getting the same roles as her previous works but she is good at it.

It was a story of a mother's love.

Read More

Don't Waste Your Time.

The only reason I tried watching this disaster was for Miles Wei. I'd love to know if he's having financial troubles and did this series because he desperately needs the money or if he did it because he lost a bet.

The storyline is annoying from the beginning. FL, Tang Xie, lies to ML, Tang Yu, and doesn't stop lying and playing games. He enlisted Xie's help to attract Mingzu but apparently Mingzu couldn't be bothered to say she wasn't interested at their first meeting and Yu is "blindsided" when Mingzu marries Captain Lu, who she's known since childhood.

Yu may or may not be over the loss but Xie keeps bringing up the failed relationship and tells him he never had a chance. Yu repeatedly tells her to stop, but Xie insists that the more she causes pain, the quicker he will get over Mingzu.

The show begins with Xie posting about going broke buying cat treats but we never see a cat and Yu later gives her a cat that he ALREADY PROMISED to give to his sister.

Yu is a straitforward man and cuts to the chase and asks Xie if she likes him. How difficult is it to say "Yes"? Nope, she has to lie and play games. Yu deserves better and Xie deserves to be alone for life.

Oh, and let's not forget the creepy wall of photos she's taken of Yu. Dress them up with sparkly lights all you want, but that is truly stalker material at work.

Read More

Not for everyone, but close to a masterpiece if it's your style

Very slight spoilers if any...

This is a show that requires patience, an open mind, and readiness to analyze what you're given.
The director's main field is in theater, which shows in how the story is told and how it's filmed. It could easily be adapted into a stage play. Thus this is very different than a typical bl and going into it thinking that it is similar would be a mistake. Tbh, it'd be a mistake to think of this as a romance at all. This is neither a romance nor a plot driven show. Rather it's an emotional psychological show that stars a simple 3 member cast.

This is a show with an incredible amount of details in the dialogue, and in lines (as in structural lines in the building, it makes sense once you watch). There are no flashbacks (think of this as a play), so everything is told purely through dialogue. This may be a turn off to some cause it can be more difficult to follow than a typical flashback. However I actually really like it because I can use my imagination to see what happened all while being able to watch the actor's emotions as they tell it. I'm able to see their real present emotions.
I'm writing this after my second watch. I previously watched this months ago, but decided to rewatch so I can absorb all the information and hidden meanings properly and I'm glad I did. Now that I know everything, every line as a hidden meaning. Every line has power. Despite this being a slow show there is not one moment in this show that is not important. Repetitive? I guess maybe, but that's really a stylistic thing. I'm on the side of it working to hammer in the points while also adding new info. It's also a show that works on the past and present having a significant amount of parallels. So if you're like me and like shows where you can analyze the scenes and dig deep into whats happening, this here is a gold mine.

Plot wise it's about the divide between people who live different kinds of lives, those who live trapped by the past, and those who fight to create a present they are proud of. In is a man who hides in fear from the world hoping nobody finds him, but it secretly lonely. Mol, a woman who ignores truth by living in a fantasy and rejecting anything that doesn't fit her ideal. And Wang, a young man who fights to find his truth and be free. The story revolves around these three and the emotional conflicts between them.

The acting is phenomenal. Brilliant casting choices. The acting is on the theatrical side, but because the show it written like a stage play, I say it fits. It might not work in some other shows, but here it's totally fine and I loved all the actors. Some of the best acting you'll see in a bl (if we're calling this that).

The reason I didn't give this a 10/10 is because admittedly the age gap does throw me off. I originally hesitated for a long time to watch this because age gaps are an immediate turn off for me, I gave this show a chance because I kept hearing nothing but praise for it. Now, this is not a romance and they don't end up together, so I deal with it. I also think that this emotional rollercoaster of an age gap family conflict show wouldn't work as well had Wang not been Mol's son. The show heavily relies on the parallels between the past of Mol/In/Siam, and the present of Mol/In/Wang. It also heavily relies on Wang being the young rebellious kind who grew up in a slightly more accepting society. This show would not work the say it did had this age gap not existed.
I absolutely don't blame people who don't watch the show due to the age gap, but I still think that even with it, 180 degree is an incredibly well made show that, if you have the patience for it, will take your heart, swing it around and crush it for 8 episodes, and then hand it back to you as you stare off in disbelief at what you just watched. It's quite good at repeatedly throwing emotional scenes at you when you're not ready for them. Just when you think the emotional stuff is over, it hits you harder in a different way.

Read More

Simply Philippines ... I had watched the series, now finished.
Pros: the acting side of many and also that some of the actors and actresses were watchable (Kajo made sure of it...), from the beginning it looked like a fresh piece, the music wasn't so great anymore, it seemed very, very same to me, as with other pinoy projects, the trannys were less and they weren't even that dismembering, in that they were surpassed by the affected acting maid, which in the Philippines is a "normal" acting actress.
I liked less that everything was stretched "on a shoestring", the middle part is about almost nothing, all the time, minutes of credits before and after and that some creators try to instill in the audience that everyone can love everyone, regardless of orientation and gender . It's just that everyone has a given orientation, even though they may behave differently, ambivalently or completely opposite sexually. But overall satisfaction for a pleasant finish, freshness and openness.
​

Prostě Filipíny ... seriál jsem měl rozkoukaný, nyní dokončeno.
Klady: herecká stránka u mnohých a též, že na některé z herců i hereček se dalo dívat (Kajo to jistil ...), ze začátku to vypadalo na svěží dílko, hudba už ne tak top, zdála se mi hodně, hodně stejná, jako u jiných pinoy projektů, transek méně a dokonce nebyly tak pitvořící se, v tom je předčila afektovaně hrající služka, což na Filipíny je "normálně" hrající herečka.
Už méně se mi líbilo, že vše bylo natahováno "na skřipec", prostřední část skoro o ničem, pořád dokola, minuty titulků před i po a že někteří tvůrci se snaží divákům vštípit to, že všichni mohou milovat všechny, bez rozdílů orientace a pohlaví. Prostě orientaci má každý danou, i když sexuálně se může chovat jinak, obojetně nebo zcela opačně. Ale celkově spokojenost pro příjemný závěr, svěžest a otevřenost.

Read More

The film starts slowly. Buddhism, angels, spirits ... I was interested in it beforehand just because of the symposium Boat from Check Out. Eventually, the film took off, and because it was a student project, it would put many non-student projects in its pocket. Love is eternal, it has no boundaries, time or space, and that's what I liked the most about this project - a message through a story that every sensitive soul absorbs...

Film se rozbíhá pomalu. Buddhismus, andělé, duchové ... Zaujalo mě to předem už jen kvůli sympošovi Boatovi z Check Out. Nakonec se film rozjel a na to, že je to studentský projekt, tak by strčil do kapsy mnohé nestudentské projekty. Láska je věčná, nemá hranice, čas ani prostor, a to se mi na tomto projektu líbilo nejvíc - poselství přes příběh, který každý vnímavá dušička vstřebá ...

Read More

Right, wrong? They're different for everyone, especially heroes.

If only they haven't met, if and more if, this is an if only drama.
I knew how it was going to end, but It still hit me hard.
The drama started out slow, I was thinking of ditching it until I reached episode 6 and from then on, well...I wouldn't want to say 'the good times began' but the story really started showing up to the job.
This drama reminded me that in real life, right and wrong are different for everyone and no you can't use your moral compass to judge other people's action, because everyone of us have their own difficulties.
I used the weekend to binge it, I'll definitely rewatch it again when I have a chance.

Read More

The drama is an excellent interpretation of the original story, which is a short, simple, and straightforward sweet love story. It brings the voice acting and gufeng music to life and with extra performance as well. About 70% of new and extensive details to the original story are well developed and intertwined with the original characteristics. I like the development of the 10th Anni stage and the Gufeng Music Festival stage, it helps exhibit the core strength of Qiang Qing Ci as the main character, it also gives a complete end to the story of him as a voice actor. Somehow this detail helps to make him even bigger than life, more heroic, like many of Mo Bao Fei Bao's male lead. They don't list her here as the screenwriter i'll make a "guestimate" that she also participates in the scriptwriting.
Another thing about the story that I love Feng Ya Song and Dou Dou couple so much, maybe it's just because of their good looking, and looking cute together. But I do feel that the 5 brothers part around Gu Sheng can be omitted from the storyline, I just don't understand why they put that in.
This drama also compiles a great collection of gufeng music. I normally don't watch historical dramas (I dont like SE or OE) but I do like gufeng music though. So this is a great way for me to get them.

Read More

How sad

IQIYI and Mandee should be ashamed of themselves and the CEO's & script writers should have to give personal apologies to both Tutor & Yim. This was horrible!!!! I 1,000% percent watched it to the end because of Tutor and Yim. For fans to wait so long to be handed this pile of crap is aggravating. It has potential, especially if they hadn't made Yim's character and total freaking clueless idiot!! Had they left him the way he was in Bed Friends I feel like it would have been so much better. I'm hoping the novel isn't this bad. Anyway..
. It sucked and hopefully Tutor and Yim can bounce back because I freaking love them in everything else.

Read More

Adorable Youth Romance

If you are looking for a drama with an amazingggg plot, this probably isn't for you. This drama wasn't made for its incredible plot line that will keep you invested every episode and wondering what's going to happen next. If that's what you want, choose something else. So for the people that are saying that it's weak in plot; they aren't wrong, but that doesn't deduct from the overall enjoyability of this drama.

This is a very enjoyable youth romance. That's it. That's all it is. So if you are looking for something simple that will make you laugh and smile, this is the drama for you. I think the leads pair great together. The ML is a total green flag. The side couples just add to the drama. There's no breakups or any dilemmas that will make the viewers worry. So it's nice to sit back and relax and enjoy the show.

Overall, this drama is so under rated and needs more hype. Is this everyone's cup of tea? No. Is it going to be the most amazing romance drama you've seen? Probably not. But, if you don't want a show that will stress you out over the drama, or plot twists, and just want to enjoy a sweet romance, then give this a watch.

Read More

It surprises me every episodes

This drama literally has all genres. At first, it may seem predictable but I too was wrong… it kept unlocking so many plots, so many twist and turns. The mystery to the story is what kept me hooked up. I’ve read so many discussions, theories and assumptions of viewers around the world and its so interesting how mind boggling it is. The actors are great at portraying their roles, they gave me all sorts of emotions. The romcom, the fantasy, the thrill, and the historical drama w/c I loved about kdrama was present too. It’s so hilarious, heart warming and heart breaking at the same time.

Read More

Véanlo

Es un drama realmente hermoso y emotivo, la química de la pareja es otro nivel tanto en la actualidad como en el tiempo histórico. La pareja secundaria también es muy bonita. Realmente lo recomiendo es 10/10 ? denle la oportunidad no se van a arrepentir, me rei mucho con esta pareja y me hicieron muy felíz.

Este drama se volvió parte de mis favoritos desde el primer capítulo, sumamente gracioso y divertido lo que hizo que esperara con ansias cada viernes y sábado. Mentiria si dijera que no quiero otra RomCom con los mismos protagonistas, hasta creo que es una necesidad por la química desbordante que que tienen entre si, espero se nos de y si no es así que sean muy exitosos por separado ya que actúan muy bien ambos. Espero verlos en más protagonicos.

Read More

I loved this. I loved their love. When they got into a relationship they chose each other.
I honestly hate it when couples listen to the outside world and fight with each other.
It’s us against the the world ❤️. They almost gave me a heart attack at the beginning of the last episode ?. I’m glad it ended well. I’d have to watch the 2 episode special in Our Sky 2. I really hope there’s no drama. I highly recommend this series

PS. If you’re looking for a BL with lots of NC scenes this isn’t for you. If you’re looking for a romantic story you’d love this

Read More