Reviews

Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Twinkling Watermelon '' is a slice of life, music, and fantasy drama.

The drama uses time travel to its fullest, smoothly using it to push the story forward, without forgetting about it once the plot starts unfolding. Rather, it is always there, and spices up the story here and there.

Also, the family drama was at its finest, intense enough to keep things dramatic, but also with sensitivity and sweetness throughout the family interactions.

The music, in addition, was pretty enjoyable, as were the performances by everyone in the cast. And even though the romance was cheesy and not its strongest suit, it was nice enough.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

Read More

Rich in Myth, But Overwhelming

When I first started watching Tale of the Nine-Tailed 1938, I was really into it. It felt different from the first season, which was a good thing. The show went deeper into fairy tales and mythology, which was interesting and added a lot of cool details. It was nice to see the stories and characters from these old tales come to life in a new way.

However, as the show went on, I felt like there was too much happening in just 12 episodes. It was a bit overwhelming and hard to keep track of everything. By the end of the season, there were still a lot of unanswered questions, and some parts of the story didn't make sense to me. It felt like they tried to do too much in a short amount of time, and this made the ending a bit confusing.

Read More

Good Enough

Korean Drama '' The Worst of Evil '' is a new age noir drama about a man who sinks into the dark side and a villain who gets to be his friend.

The drama starts out not as strongly as it should, but, after the first bumpy episode, it picks up, getting more and more thrilling and suspenseful. The characters were interesting, moreover, and their chemistry aided the drama a lot to be more tragic and intense.

The performances were, in addition, spot on, especially by the main trio who really excelled. It was also nice that they didn't add too much romance to the drama and they rather focused on the bromance and the action scenes. The latter were nicely choreographed and smoothly embedded into the story.


Finally, the cinematography was impressive and what helped the drama stand out.

So, overall, eight out of ten.

Read More

Good Enough

Korean Drama '' The Killing Vote '' is a chilling thriller that combines many criminal cases, but mainly focuses on the mystery of the dog-masked man who kills those whom the law doesn't punish accordingly.

The drama, therefore, has an intense story, with some crimes being really dark and harsh to follow. Also, towards the ending, everything comes together, even those characters that seemed pointless to watch all this time have their own part in the mystery. Actually, all the characters were interesting, especially the professor, who was a tragic character. The performances were pretty great as well, and there should be a special shout out to the younger members of the cast who really shone.

However, on the other hand, the ending was lukewarm. Sure, there were some moments when the drama started getting blunt and tiring to follow, as they kept dragging, but the ending could have wrapped up things more smoothly.

So, overall, six and a half out of ten.

Read More

A cult classic coming of age story ahead of its time.

I did not expect to like and enjoy this show as much as I did, but here I am. Maybe it's because I'm used to teen shows like Euphoria and Gossip Girl that shows like these seem like a gem in a million. It is a simple yet beautiful coming-of-age story, it is pure and innocent at its core and doesn't aim or aspire to be flashy or edgy like most teen shows. The show captures the true essence of the transition from teenage to youth in an eloquently beautiful way, it is realistic yet has enough components of drama and plot to not make it boring. It delves into several themes in a subtle yet truly impactful way which I found to be its most alluring aspect. The themes of bullying, social anxiety, and friendship, may seem like some of the most common themes explored in various media, however, Nobuta Wo Produce's way of depicting these themes in a not-so-exaggerated yet realistic enough to relate to/or sympathize with is not something which can be replicated so easily. Anyway, I just wanted to ramble on how good this show was since these kinds of shows aren't produced anymore.

Read More

This series is really good and really worth the watch.

This series has became one of my favorite series while watching. It has an amazing storyline and an amazing cast. The cast whom were casted especially the main leads are/were definitely perfect for their roles in this series. This series wasn’t only good in itself it was also teaching life lessons within relationships and showed friendship, love, dreams, and the reality of it all. With even showing lessons on everything it was not just good but amazing. The main leads also even the female main lead and her friends had a great connection in the series and it really showed. I could feel the love, support, and more from them while watching. It’s definitely worth the watch and 100% worth the rewatches!

Read More

Different faces of love

I enjoyed watching this series and I liked it very much. The story is really interesting, different faces of love. Will bring you to a different scenarios of love stories. Will explain how will emotions invade you in an unexpected ways. Very awesome castings. The matchmaking of casts are good. You picked perfect matches of couples to portray the lead roles. They did great job! And the themes, so so good! You will love the soundtracks of this drama too. I highly recommend this drama for interests in watching Filipino series. Me myself, I actually watched the whole drama twice and I can re-watch it all over again maybe in the future. Overall this is really good! You'll love it!

Read More

Surprisingly I didn't hate this

I only watch these types of dramas for some noise on the side as most of the storylines falls into the typical drama tropes.

Surprisingly its decent. Few interesting parts:

1. The topic of AI over human translator. AI language translator will continue to advance, and I believe it will close the gap between different nations.
2. The beauty of languages. "lost in translation" happens a lot. It's important to capture the essence of true meaning. I think it takes a lot to be a good translator so, it's a cool profession!
3. Some decent supporting cast: The single mom that became successful w/o needing a father for her child.

What's NOT working for me:
1. Beginning quotes in terrible Chinese accents. Honestly there are plenty of Chinese English speakers that can deliver the quotes better.
2. Over skin smoothing. Typical for modern dramas. What's wrong with texture of real skin? The anti ageism is overboard with K and C dramas.
3. Weak 2nd lead. the "spare tire" is childish and not even worthy of a 2nd Lead no fault to the acting but the actual character.
4. Typical drama tropes. Yeah ... there's a lot... if you hate these just don't watch.
5. Nonmatching dialogue. You can tell when the original dialogue changed for whatever reason so then it doesn't match the lip sync.
6. FL/ML mediocre chemistry. I don't find Victoria Song having strong chemistry with any male leads. Her acting is enough for these types of roles, but when there's an emotional breakdown scene that's when her acting cracks.

Is it a worthy watch? On the side yes..... If you love the main leads, then Yes.... If you expect unique story, then NO. Literally there is nothing new to this story line. It's very typical other than the topic of AI vs traditional translating service.

Read More

Very refreshing

Shows like 2019's A Little Thing Called First Love are what keep me kicking and screaming in the Drama community's cast iron grip. The acting is superb. The leads are superb. The side characters are hilarious. Wang Yi Miao steals the show as the feisty Lin Xia. The show's main theme is a BOP.

The storytelling is refreshing. It's a cute story about how a FL's crush turns into journey of self-improvement and self-discovery.

One thing did irk me, though: I was surprised that after spending the majority of the show watching Xia Miao Miao blossom into a respected artist, in spite of her looks, suddenly she couldn't complete her transformation into a successful careerwoman until she adhered to the suffocating Asian standards of beauty. I think 99% of the show's budget was provided by advertising from those few episodes. Numerous brands of cosmetics bombarded the screen as the FL was transformed... and her skin whitened.

But that didn't ruin the show for me. I'm going into this with an American ethnocentric lens, and this show was primarily developed for teens and young adults living in China. The ML is a pop idol and this show did the job of sustaining his fame so he can join a second pop idol group... Sub-group. There are so many idols they have subgroups now. Good grief.

Regardless, it was a banger show. Give it a watch.

Read More

The Jungle is something you must watch from Thailand

The story line was really good. They're really exciting. The story of every cast was wonderful. The thrill was perfect! Every cast was really awesome portraying their roles. Their acting was convincing they're a perfect pick for their portrayed roles. Made a perfect matchmaking of partners and loveteams for the lead roles.
The soundtracks was also good. Showcasing the casts singing skills is also good idea to catch audience's heart.
If I were to be asked, I highly suggest to watch this Thai drama. The thrills and suspense are awesome. You'll loved the twists and the suspense.

Read More

SO SO GOOD. I can't get over it.

This is my first time writing a review, and I know I'm kinda late, but I just had to write one. Before watching S2, I saw a lot of people comment about how much they disliked it. I also thought S2 would be bad because I found out the actress of the FL changed. Obviously I was biased about S1 at the time but I decided to watch S2 just out of loyalty for AOS.

I gotta say I had little to no expectations for S2 but watching it completely changed my mind. Maybe it's because I'm a romance girlie at heart but in my opinion I like it way better than S1. In S1, it introduced the world of AOS focusing on more of the character development and world building, but this season tied everything together, focusing more on the romance between Jang Uk and Cho Yeong/Naksu.I know people were not happy about the change of the FL, but it makes sense as in the start of S1, GYJ originally acted as Naksu. I've also seen others complain about how they didn't like this season as Naksu's personality completely changed due to the amnesia element. But in my opinion, what we saw was the true side of Cho Yeong, the girl she would've been if she weren't trained to be Naksu. We have to keep in mind that she was only guarded like that because she was trained to be. I like how this was 10 episodes (although it would've been nice if it was longer) because it was more fast paced and I also like how we got to see a different side of Jang Uk. All the heartbreak just made it better. Or maybe it's just because I love angst.

This drama was DEFINITELY worth watching, and it's so good that I'm rewatching it. If you're hesitant about watching it, you guys have to give it a go.

Read More

Intriguing at first, but the suspense fell flat around halfway.

A violinist Cha Se Eum (Lee Young Ae) returns from her study abroad to conduct the Han River Philharmonic orchestra. When Yoo Jung Jae (Lee Moo Saeng), an unwanted man from her past, returns to her life and becomes the new owner of this orchestra, he threatens Se Eum: either the orchestra never plays again, or she divorces her husband and gets back together with him. Thus, Se Eum has to survive in her cutthroat profession while protecting her passion and secret. All that while resolving her personal relationships that have gone awry.

The premise is intriguing, it sets a good tension. I liked how Se Eum is ruthless and fiery, stands out for herself. Also, I was curious about Jung Jae, who seems so crazy and obsessive over Se Eum because of their past, and Se Eum's husband was very suspicious.

However, plot becomes predictable from ep 5 and the suspense really fell flat through the end. I feel the characters become one-note and just written for a plot device. Although the final climax is quite stylish, I had to suspend my disbelief and rolled my eyes at how 'convenient' the closure is. The most interesting character to me was Lee Ro Na (Hwang Bo Reum Byeol), a violinist who idolizes Se Eum. Her performance is excellent, despite my overall impression of the drama.

-Jan 2024, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

Read More

I enjoyed it but...

The acting carried this drama. Namkoong Min steals the show in this series, delivering a powerful performance that keeps the audience hooked from beginning to end.

The problem with Jamie Leighton, don't live up to their special roles, feeling like regular officers rather than FBI or special agents. On god, she is just a burdened for everyone. The way Do Jung Wo dodges capture doesn't seem realistic. In this world, even thou he is a serial killer, you would think that his face would be everywhere in korea, but nope, he can just go anywhere he wants. And Jae Wong's Arc just sort of fizzles out without a satisfying ending. After his multiple identity merged together, he became nobody, and just a "Third child".

The Glass Fake Hype. I though DJW need that glass to have an insane focus inside his brain. They introduce this mysterious glass thing, and you think it's going to be a big deal. But nope, it's just a virtual reality tool for the bad guys to have the formula. It could have been cooler, especially for Do Jung Wo's plans.

The story is good, but it gets bogged down in places. Trimming about three to four episodes could have kept things moving along without unnecessary stuff getting in the way. The last episode feels rushed, cramming in too much at once. If they had taken a bit more time in the last two episodes, the ending could have been stronger and more satisfying.

Read More