Reviews

A Disappointing Follow up to a Alright First Season

I had my problems with the first season of Uncanny Counter due to various reasons but it finished off strong towards the end. That had given me the wish for more of the story and the whole universe surrounding the concept of Counters. And somehow my wish was granted, a second season was announced with the entire cast which I loved, would be returning. I don't know if the wish and the hype for a second season led to this being a disappointment but throughout the entire season something always felt off about this drama.

The one major issue the second season had was its failure to commit to a specific tone. Going from a super violent scene to a goofy fight in a barn filled with poop gave me whiplash trying to figure out what the writers were trying to establish with the second season. The first season was able to perfectly keep in sync serious and comedic bits throughout it's run but the second season failed to follow the formula that it's predecessor set. Another problem was the new counter that was introduced.

When it was announced that the cast was adding another counter to the team I actually thought it was going to be a great idea. However they completely dropped the ball with Yoo In Soo's character Jeok Bong. With the season being cut to only 12 episodes compared to the first's 16 episodes, leaving his introduction until the season episode was a horrible idea. On top of that, the drama spent too much of the time on him being an annoying crying fool all the way up until around Episode 9. I understand they wanted to introduce a totally different personality to the Counter team but they spent far too much time on establishing that he's a bumbling fool and only gave his character a chance to shine toward the very end with 3 episodes to go.

The one good thing the second season had over the first was it's villain cast. The Evil Spirits group lead by Kang Ki Young's character Hwang Pil Gwang was absolutely fantastic. Kang Ki Young played a fantastic villain, I looked forward to each scene he was in as well as his accomplices, Gelly and Wong. Jin Seon Kyu did a perfect role in portraying a fallen hero/anti-hero/villain with his portrayal of Ma Ju Seok. His ability to show the conflict inside of the character was top tier drama acting, I really hope he get's more main roles in his future because he definitely deserve it after this wonderful performance.

There really isn't much else to say about this disappointing second season, after hoping for a second season with the first, I truly hope this is the final for the Uncanny Counter's series. I love the characters and everything about the concept, but the writer's have shown they didn't care for their own work that they established themselves.

Read More

Review of part 1 and 2 as a whole

The Glory, this Korean drama series struck a nerve on many occasions. The subject matter of bullying is not new. However, the production of this series brings to light the matter in a very strong way.

The Glory covers several issues masterfully with incredible acting, and a storytelling.
It portrays the devastating consequences of bullying and resilience's power. The series also highlights the courage of Moon Eun and her resurgence and courage to stand up to the bullies, and the power of trust and love.

In the series Moon Eun (Song Hye Kyo) endures hardship on many levels. Her childhood lacks love and support. The bullying she endures from her terrible schoolmates and their perceived entitlements manipulates her social status, knowing she has little to no support.

Bullying scenes are intense and don't pull any punches. You immediately feel for the main character and seek justice for her. Even the school administration is no help. One of the main ring leaders of the bullies is Yeon Jin (Im Ji Yeon) She is heartless and evil in many ways. As well as betraying her own family by her adulterous ways, she causes mental and physical pain to others. The character of Yeon Jin is one I despise yet cannot forget. Because she represents such evil, you want her punished for her crimes. The abuse by her can be seen as an example of the consequences of such behavior. Her character is very well portrayed by Im Yeon. Her performance deservedly earned her an award. (And she is on my list of favorite actresses) :)

A great feature of this series is the story telling structure. I can see why the director received many praises and a Baeksang award. Moon Eun's revenge plan has a lot of depth. In itself, the use of Mrs. Kang Nam (Yeom Hye Ran) and Yeo Jung (Lee Do Hyun) as her assistants is remarkable. Kang Nam has also been a victim. A revenge plot involves her abusive spouse becoming a chess piece. As she struggles to escape her abusive spouse, Nam's growing friendship with Kang Nam motivates her to help Moon Eun.

There is more to Yeo Jung's story than just a love interest for Moon Eun. It's different for Jung's family unit, they are more successful than Moon's upbringing. It is tragic that Jung's father was murdered. As a result of the development of this backstory, a new revenge narrative is bred against the psychopath who murdered his father.

All of these characters and stories are very well woven together in The Glory. As a result of Moon's years of planning, the bullies slowly destroyed themselves by just being themselves. one by one. Of course, with Moon's help. The message was powerful about how your own actions can ultimately lead to your downfall. Moon's journey of self-discovery and transformation also played an important role in making the bullies pay.

Part 1 was slightly slower than part 2 but overall, the series was pretty enjoyable.

Read More

It's cute alright

I have watched this series twice so far. Read the comments from various people about this series also. I admit, there are many loopholes / inconsistency / "hanging parts" in the series. However, overall the series is actually a very nice and light series to watch with alot of humor and adorableness in the series. I actually watched it because of Huang Jun Jie but I came to really like the series for the funny parts. Yes, like every other series that is existing out there, there are it's flaws but I don't see why should the entire production be shot down just cause of bad writing? Even in books we have shitty authors. I think the casts, all of them, did a good job in this series. As mentioned in the provided synopsis of the series, Tian Qi is an imperial doctor living in the General's house. Yes there are comments out there stating that there isn't much "healing" done. Are you guys expecting the entire series to have a plague or something that the doctor is needed 24/7? There are some "doctors needed" scenes throughout the movie. Also, it is not a healing movie so why should there be exaggerating amount of healing in the series?

The music paired to this series is also quite awesome.

If you are looking for something light, not too serious but alot of comedy, I would recommend a first time watch. However, it's up to you - after you complete the 24 episodes - to decide whether is it worth the extra binge / rewatch moments. I have no regrets or rants about this series.

Read More

It may not be perfect, but it was perfect for me

I don't get the negative reviews here, but to each their own.

This show was recommended to me after I watched King the Land, which I absolutely adore. I've come to need good rom-coms in my life; I've had it with hackneyed dramas with their manufactured angst and cliche story-lines. This show, for me, filled in all the blanks. ALL OF THEM.

I came to fall in love with the cast, their stories, the direction, photography, locations, etc. The OST was not quite as good as KtL, but it's background score was better, especially her theme (available on YouTube). The show correctly and perfectly developed not only the leads, but the supporting cast as well and included them in the leads story so well and logically. We came to care about them TOO.

I don't feel the story let down after the background mystery was resolved - in fact, how it was finally resolved and confessed brought tears to my eyes. And the lead's journey after that, was no less compelling. His love for her, that had been so long in coming, that he dare not reveal, was at time heart-rending for him. Her confusion about the past and her deep feelings for him kept us coming back for more and more.

Everybody talks about "chemistry". Not only did the leads have great chemistry, but this extended to the supporting cast as well. The scenes between the VC & President were not only funny, but touching and realistic. Everyone played off each other so well; I've never seen a show like this before. Kudos to the casting director!

Their fumbling and stumbling thru their relationship (the first one for each, despite their ages) was relatable. Was he a "toxic" person? No, he's just a dork. He's a clueless rich guy, whose intelligence is matched by his social awkwardness. And he was traumatized by events in his past that would have shattered lesser personalities. Is she a cold-hearted, selfish woman? Seriously? She is trying to deal with her long-time boss being someone who is more than he seems and trying to balance her affection for him with her sense of duty and uncertainty in falling in love for the first time.

The webtoon goes well past their marriage, and tells us their story in the future. I still hope that maybe, someone, will pick up on this and give us a Season 2.

I only wish KBS would give us something more like this instead of what passes for K-dramas on their network these days. I eagerly await the Filipino Version!

PS - I liked it so much I bought the DVD (tip: the translations on the DVD are OK, but not as good as those on the online streaming sites).

Read More

baby, baby, baby (times infinity)

Overall: this series was filmed and released during the covid19 pandemic, it also has a main plot point that directly ties into covid19. I enjoyed the series when it was released though season 1 is on Netflix in some countries and on YouTube without all of the many language subtitles that it had when it first aired. 13 episodes that vary quite a bit in length, average is around 20 minutes. There is also a season 2 and a movie (the movie is a shortened season 2)

Content Warnings: there is a major one, I'll put all of them in a comment with a spoiler

What I Liked
- sweet moments
- funny moments
- Gav was flirty/forthright*
- Pearl as a supportive friend
- music
- production value considering it was an indie production during covid19

Room For Improvement
- *Gave was too aggressive/ignored boundaries
- Cairo was too reluctant for too much of the runtime
- cliche plot points with the friend/ex and poor communication although it felt more realistic than most

Read More

A bad written show….

~Warning this is mostly a rant~
The focus of the drama was all over the place
At first it was more of a typical kdrama romcom with a girl with superpowers that has been lost for years coming back to her also superpower family and also finding love along the way…in typical k-drama fashion…
BUT as the episodes went by the story became mostly a drug plot where the good guys try to take down the villain behind it. That left a lot of the storylines not properly developed or to become completely irrelevant by the end. Not only that the drug plot itself was also badly written leaving a mess of an ending (which was to be expected)
In more detail the things I didn’t like:
Undeveloped characters: There was just way too many of them and we didn’t get the chance to focus too much on anybody.. even the protagonist felt like a side character at times with how much unfocused the main story was, the cop love interest was too side lined he never got much focus and didn’t feel like a main lead at all… At least the main villain had some characterisation and even a backstory which I appreciated

Inauthentic relationships: There is not one relationship that is given a proper amount of care and development. The characters are what they are to each other because the script says so, we never properly see them building that connection. Biggest example is Namsoon with her family. The moment she gets found and has the touching reunion with them, that storyline is over and she barely interacts with any of them after. It’s like she never left…mind you she had been gone for many years and was a child then so how could she be close to them now she doesn’t know these people yet?? She doesn’t interact once with her grandma, TWIN brother, uncle, she meets up with her father who she supposedly was the closest with and he was the one that lost her episodes after she has been found-has a dinner with him- barely interacts with him after, even with the mother who had been so desperate to find her most of their interactions have to do with uncovering the drug plot- No emotional connection and bonding nothing

Terrible romance: At first it was okay but a bit inta-lovey which I didn’t care for, she instantly likes him because “he is handsome” and talks about loving him in the first episodes, he also fairly quickly likes her because of her “quirky personality that is cute” (I don’t remember more specifically). Do they ever get any deeper???? Noooo. no deeper bonding (except some very rare instances like him telling her once about his brother that died), no romantic tension, no passionate moments, they barely give us anything other than some of the typical cute-moment-scenes. As the eps go by they become less and less of the focus leaving them only few if any interactions every ep. But they still go through the typical romance story beats they have to go through like a confession, first kiss etc leaving me wandering “where is all this love coming from?” It was not properly established why they would not like but LOVE and want to marry each other and I just don’t buy it
I wouldn’t wanna leave out of this the villains feelings for the main girl… What did she even do for him to start liking her and trusting her so much?? She had superpowers which got him interested in those (which is why many assumed at first he was trying to use her for her power), acted out her quirky self which apparently is enough to make any love interest fall for her without any deeper attachment and I guess she did one time told him one line that deeply touched him..that is all.. She literally made no effort in approaching and getting close to him or understanding him , He is the one that started involving her in everything, trusting her and expecting her someone he just met to keep all his dirty and illegal secrets.. someone who is supposed to be a big mafia boss.. is that really logical???

Boring storylines: I can’t stress enough how much time pointless storylines took, they were essentially half the show…. We have a storyline that involves the grandma romancing a barista and when the grandpa comes back some drama involving them, a storyline about the mother investigating a bread guy that does shady businesses (he also turns out in the end to be either the leader or a member in the mafia drug organisation it’s so funny how they made a comical and irreverent throughout the whole series character be the twist villain in the end). The mother has a lot of screentime investigating the drug case, going around in her motorcycle like Batman living a secret double live saving people from evil etc. We also had a storyline about the brother taking some diet pills with drugs in them, the ml with his cup buddies investigating the drug case and then their police chief dies cause of drugs… what else… some pointless scenes with the uncle and the mothers assistant and the most unnecessary of all a side story about the two homeless people Namsoon befriends and interacts briefly in the first episodes…

Ridiculous plot: I could talk about some smaller things like how Namsoon learned Korean in moggolia and her only language problem is talking in informal speech obviously for comedic effect and making her more quirky cause otherwise she speaks korean perfectly But things like that can be easily overlooked…
I do have issues tho with stuff like: Namsoon putting zero actual effort in but still being able to fool everyone and get information on them as a spy…. Like how she stole ryu sio’s computer without the Russian guy realising and no one even suspected her (the person that was literally hired the day before), how the dumb lady next to her would be won over and unconsciously help her simply because namsoon said she looked young, how ryu sio would tell her things like “I killed this person” and his drug operation, take her in his meetings and secret drug lab, believe in her simply because when he asked her if she was in his side she said yes??.. You can’t tell me a person that is supposed to be smart and a big mafia boss couldn’t figure her out….. they really had to dumb down the bad guys to make her succeed easily in whatever she had to do. She also was the one doing most of the work for the police and of course by the end she joins the police without having to go to the academy or anything…
Also you can’t tell me being a strongwoman in the family was not a relatively known fact when they are constantly using their powers in public without hiding at all?? Ryusio should have figured out with little investigation that the family has super powers and that she is the daughter because she also does.. instead his only clue was talking to the fake daughter….
One other thing… I know how extreme Koreans are when it comes to drugs but the portrayal of them in the show was wild. Not only is that one drug making you super strong, it can also make you a madman and it’s that dangerous and deadly that after you take it even once you die unless you have the antidote??? I don’t think that’s how drugs work in real life. I could go on and on about the plot but that’s all I thought for now.

You may ask then “why did you watch it through the end if you didn’t like it/it was that bad?” If I’m being honest I wouldn’t be interested in watching the show if it wasn’t for Byeon Woo Seok and that is because I saw his character beforehand and he looked cool… He did do a good job at portraying his character enough to give me an interest at least to see what his fate would be. I don’t understand tho what their intentions with the casting and that character was? On one hand they managed to get more people invested because of him on the other hand everyone was left disappointed by the end because 1 of his wasted potential and his bad ending (for the ryu sio fans) and 2 of the big focus the show had on him (for the people that wanted the focus to be on the main couple)

Other than that the production is good, the music and actors are okay too (I mean rarely ever have a problem with acting or anything) if it wasn’t for the writing being that bad it could have been a decent show…

Read More

8 hours, felt like 4!

I wanted to watch this Kdrama for a very long time. Now, I had some free time, and even tho, this is a fantastic show, it felt like they wanted a marathon, but eventually it became a sprint. The bases of the story are nothing special, to be honest. This is a typical revenge story. What makes it great is the acting!!! Han So Hee literally carried the whole show on her back. If you want to watch this show for the plot, just ignore it, because after 2 episode or so, you're going to figure out everything. Especially if this isn't your first crime/revenge drama.

The story is pretty simple, someone killed Ji Woon's dad, and she wants revenge. That's the whole story. This is like the female version of John Wick! Han So Hee's acting is absolutely phenomenal! You can tell that she's worked like crazy to make us feel, she's actually a badass fighter, and she is! Sure, sometimes fight scenes are weird because the camera movements are fast, and just like in John Wick the protagonist should've died a long time ago, and not just her. But if you can ignore this, and the average story, it's a really good, action packed 8 hours!

The big problem with this show is that it's too short, and I feel like the writer didn't really know what she wanted from this story. Sometimes Ji Woon wants revenge, but here comes the romance, if we can call it that, because it came from nowhere, it just happened. I don't know what was the point if they killed him in the process, just so we can have a big ass fight scene. They should've ignored the whole romance story, especially because I don't think the chemistry was there.

Also, the finale felt like they lost interest or didn't have enough money to finish it like they wanted to. We literally don't know anything about what happened with Ji Woon after she killed Moo Jin. How did she survive, why she's not in prison, etc?! It was like they cut out 30 minute.

For me: the best ending would've been Ji Woon kills Moo Jin, but she would've died in the process, because what now? She's going to live alone, without any punishment? Makes no sense. You can't just live a normal life after killing so many people.

So, yeah, this is a great drama overall, but it felt like a 1st season, and I don't think there's going to be a 2nd season, and I don't think we need another season, because she finished what she started. With 10 episode, this show would be perfect!

Read More

Different love story with a rebirth-vibe

This is a story of a woman caught in a circle of hatred and revenge. The storyline is complicated as are the characters.
Character wise:
FL is a woman who is in love with ML, who doesn’t love her. She insists on marrying him anyway.
2ML is a fierce and vicious man who loves only himself.
2FL is originally FL’s maid and best friend but also falls in love with ML, so she betrays FL.
ML is a friend of FL who loves her wholeheartedly. He is a doctor. He supports her and helps her whenever she needs it.
Acting wise this is pretty good and the actors do a good job within the limited timeframe.
So, if you like a different love story with a rebirth-vibe, this might be for you.

Read More

WHAT THE HELL?!!!?

I enjoyed the first few episodes, interesting comedy but it seemed to just work.
Wasn't sure about Nam soon but in the beginning I didn't mind her, I disliked her by the end though.
The three strong women had little to be desired to be honest, whether by poor writing and characterisation or just simply not being my cup of tea, I do not regret saying I didn't like any of them.
So much power basically wasted with bad writing and characters.
Hypocrisy everywhere and i swear some points i couldn't understand what the writer was on.
Didn't ship the mains at all, didn't feel any chemistry and just in general I found the male lead boring.
The story was so disappointing and cliche and underwhelming, i watched it all but i feel cheated. I feel unsatisfied in every way.
Only reason i stuck it out and finished it was Ryu Shi Oh. The most compelling character in the whole show.
I couldn't believe how they let him end.
This poor abandoned child made into a monster just wanted one person to stay by him, yet even the woman he fell for abandoned him and lied to him.
Yes he killed people, he's a flawed character that was put through hell. No excuses but the way this all played out was awful writing in my opinion.
I'm so upset l can't say anymore.

Anyway get Shi Oh's actor a main part in something mafia or anti hero because he was the best thing in this. Raised rating slightly from 2.5 to 3.5 for him and some scenes in the beginning.

Read More

THE DARK HORSE OF K-DRAMA IN 2023 !!!!

Well hello look what we have here.....the wild dark horse of the kdrama world in the year 2023 !! I don't hold bias against makjang shows but I can be picky. After reading so many rave reviews, my curiosity got the best of me and man was I not disappointed.

What a fun, fast paced, satisfying guilty pleasure of a show. So much plot squeazed in each ep, constant twist & turns, excellent romance & great ending. Definitely worth watching if you don't mind k soap operas. There's nothing new in this show which hasn't been seen in other dramas of this genre....family, revenge, toxic relations, betrayal, fury, psychopathic characters, twisted bonds & love. However the execution of the story was top notch and the production was appropriate for the times we are in....unlike the usual case when makjang shows are produced with 2010s aesthetic.

Both the leads were great & had brilliant chemistry. They are the perfect glue that brings the whole story together. I highly recommend everyone to give it a watch if you're bored watching fluff shows with zero plots or slow slice of life dramas. This is the perfect in transition drama.

Read More

If Only the ending...

Like a lot of other reviews have pointed out, this show wasn’t very eventful. Not a lot happened and even though it’s only 8 episodes, I don't feel like it even needed all of those. But my main gripe of the show, isn't even with the uneventful episodes, it's with the last ending.

For anyone who's seen 'My Beautiful Man'(another Japanese BL), I kinda feel like this show was trying to do what they did. MBM, for those who don't know, is a show where the two leads are also in a relationship with a severe power imbalance. And just like in this, one of them is in charge and kinda unlikable throughout a lot of the show. And just like in this, the entire show was set from the pov of our main character aka the ‘underling’ or ‘submissive’ one in the situation. The entire show, except for the second to last episode, which was from the pov of the other lead. And just like in this, they resolved things in the end.

Unlike MBM tho, this show doesn't do a good enough job at explaining and redeeming everything Segasaki did. I understood him more yes, but I still didn't really like him or felt like a lot of his actions were now justified.
Another thing MBM did a lot better is the resolution in the last episode. The conversation they had on the bed very much felt like it was supposed to be them resolving all their gripes in a big meaningful conversation, but to me it kinda missed the mark. Yes, Segasaki clarified his feelings but they didn't really address the biggest point of contention. The ending failed to wrap up and explain to me how they are going to navigate a healthy relationship in the future.

In MBM there is also a power imbalance, maybe even more severe than here. But the entire point of that ending is that they address that and promise to navigate a relationship trying to treat each other like equals.

It's a real pity bc the characters clearly love each other and if only that conversation at the end had been done differently than I strongly believe I would've loved this a lot more. The actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters and I strongly believe that Higuchi Kouhei is the only reason I didn't HATE Segasaki's guts by the end of it.

In summary, I strongly believe that your level of enjoyment of this show will depend on what kind of viewer you are.

If you appreciate sexual scenes and if you are the type that doesn't mind 'toxicity' and enjoyed couples like VegasPete in Kinnporsche, than you'll probably like this show. But if you're like me and find it difficult to watch a show of a couple you're not really rooting for, than this show might not be for you.

It’s filmed beautifully, the characters were interesting and it had potential but I can’t help but be disappointed at the way the ending was handled.

Read More

nothing

i stopped on the first episode and i saw my fav actor w a baby face i had t stop myself ? i couldn’t bare watching it no more so it’s dropped

…………………………………
BRO WHY DOES IT NEED T BE 500 CHARACTERS LIKE WHAT DO I HAVE T SAY
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Read More

There both babes at this point

I truly loved this series, this is what I want from a BL.... being extremely wholesome with some drama and sad moments mixed in with that added spice that we all want.

Forcebook is literally my whole grail, I love them so much and I need them in more series together, they have so much chemistry that its insane. Fluke and Ohm also had amazing chemistry together and I loved there characters, even when three kept getting upset they remained calm with each other.

I honest could've watched like 50 Episodes of this show and not get bored. We need more shows like this one, BL or not

Read More

there one problem jus One for me

Everything was good fine, more the fine it was good
but why did our Female lead shows Sympathy toward cheater wife that she become her secret keeper
she did not tell kim soo jin that his wife is cheating on him so he won't be hurt, but everything that happen in this show was result of her cheating
she kidnaped her own child for that very reason
even after knowing everything our Lead hero isn't that angry on his wife but even try to save the man that was screwing his wife and was plan to ruin him
ML is so perfect that he become emotionless machine at the end of it.

Read More