Reviews

Hidden Pearl

The story is not new, but the execution is great. I've seen a lot of C-dramas. This is not to be missed. ML and FL not only paint wonderfully in ancient costumes, but can also play. This was the first story I saw them in, but it certainly won't be the last. FL is beautiful, smart . ML is persistent, handsome and cunning. The chemistry, the humor, and the visuals are also great. The music with the heartbeat and the insertion into the series is perfect. Even though it's only a miniseries, I would watch the characters for a longer time.
Congratulations for the team.

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Doona! is the very best K-drama I have seen in a long time. It is a refreshing and unique take on the romantic comedy genre, with a complex and relatable female lead.

Bae Suzy delivers a standout performance as Lee Doona, a K-pop idol who is struggling with her mental health and her place in the industry. She is prickly and defensive on the outside, but soft and vulnerable on the inside. When she meets Won-joon (Yang Se-jong), a kind and innocent college student, she begins to let her guard down and rediscover her true self.

The relationship between Doona and Won-joon is heartwarming and believable. They support each other through their respective challenges and help each other to grow. There is no unnecessary melodrama or angst, just two people who are falling in love.

The supporting cast is also excellent, and the side characters are just as interesting and complex as the leads. The drama does a great job of exploring the lives of young people in Korea, and it touches on important topics such as mental health, social media, and the entertainment industry.

Overall, Doona! is a must-watch for fans of K-dramas and romantic comedies alike. It is a well-written, well-acted, and heartwarming drama that will stay with you long after you finish watching it.

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I loved the dynamics between Jeng and Meen

The story did seem a bit rushed, the two only knew each other for a few days, but it was still an enjoyable watch. I think the additional plot relating to the whole restaurant / bar was not necessary, but it didn’t really bother me too much. I do think they could have shifted the focus a bit more on the cooking aspect, especially as it says that Meen gets addicted to Jeng’s cooking. Which is not really explored enough.

I really liked their bickering and the innuendoes they kept throwing at each other. It didn’t appear forced, the two seemed very at ease with one another and made it feel normal. Both Jeng and Meen were aware of their shortcomings and were very forward with them. I liked that; it made them feel genuine. I think Putter and Cheetah had great chemistry with some cutesy vibes. But it really fit the two of them.

I also really liked Porsche and Mek as supporting characters. They were great friends, supportive and caring, but not too pushy with their friend. Noll, the ex, was an asshole. But that was too be expected. He has no redeeming qualities and I really like how Meen delt with him in the end.

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Great skinship, but felt more lusty than affectionate

This BL is a great showcase of intimate scenes as right from the start we see the pair having intimacy. The main characters felt real enough even though the story is somewhat manga-like. While the all the skinship is great to see, the story is somewhat confusing and uninteresting to me compared to some other Japanese BLs we have had. Mizuki, a secretive outwardly friendly guy meets Yoh, who he can be himself around and be intimate with. The two make a pact where Yoh can live together with Mizuki if he listens to whatever he says. Yoh ends up feeling taken advantage of even though he is physically attracted to Mizuki.

Basically, the story is about the tension between them and lack of communication that makes both parties feel frustrated, as Yoh feels Mizuki is not affectionate to him and thinks he is just a sxx slave, while Mizuki feels like Yoh is not interested in him anymore and is being avoidant. My complaint here is that there is not much of a storyline. This is obviously not the actors' fault. The only goal of the story is for the two to be more affectionate and an official couple, but I feel like it is still quite lusty rather than affectionate.

All of this is not to say the drama is bad, just that I was wondering why this BL didn't quite live up to my expectations. Still, I think every fan of BL should watch this as the intimate scenes are abundant and good.

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Best fantasy drama of 2023

First episode got me literally so hooked to the drama i love the chemistry between all the characters the ending made me shed many tears it was truly a masterpiece and it was the first time i ever spent money on drama pass just to watch the episodes early. I looked forward to ever episode when it was streaming and when the last 2 episodes were streaming in the morning i just shed so many tears truly one of the best fantasy dramas I’ve watched rewatched about 3 times now and still cry over tantai jin and ye xiwu. The ost are literally the best ost I’ve ever heard literally listening to immortal bird rn and thinking about tantai jin and ye xiw. This drama holds a special place in my heart now its my roman empire.

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Dramma breve ma carino.

Incutiosita da un tiktok ho cercato la trama e mi piaceva e poi una volta trovato dove vederla l'ho divorata velocemente.
Non è un dramma particolarmente brillante come storia perché piuttosto banale dove la bella e ricca ereditiera diventata cieca temporaneamente,ingannata dal fidanzato avaro e dalla miglior amica doppio ginocchiata si avvicina troppo alla sua guardia del corpo fino a finire tra le sue braccia.
Lei sembra la classica ingenua lui il tipico duro ma che per amore è capace di tutto anche dimenticare che si è avvicinato a lei solo per vendetta.
Dramma corto di trenta puntate da meno di 15 minuti però anche se scarna si riesce a capire la storia e ci sono dei momenti anche molto emozionanti tra i due protagonisti.Molto belli e dolci il loro momenti romantici e passionali.
Attori bravi anche se in certe scene leggermente esagerate.
Lieto fine anche se avrei preferito qualcosa di più.
Nota di merito per la canzone che trovo meravigliosa.
Dramma corto abbastanza banale ma carino .

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Boring and cringeworthy acting

I have been binging ZLS dramas ever since I fell in love with her in LLTG. ZLS cannot even save this drama for me. I can't even get past episode 4.

The story is so dumb and the ML looks like a big tall kid and it's so awkward. His acting is so stiff and I just don't find any appeal with him. And the sound quality on this show is so bad!!! I cannot stand poor sound quality. I even tried watching on different websites to see if it was just VIKI, but it's everywhere.

So FL meets this guy by crashing into him on her scooter moped thing. She takes him into her home without knowing anything about him and starts caring for him. He catches her kitchen on fire, floods her house, etc. The thing that irritated me the most was when he flooded her house she was barely freaking out. The damage that floods cause is crazy! She should have been infuriated but instead (out of her good heart I'm guessing) cares for the ML because he's like having a panic attack bc of the water and then everything is pretty much okay after that. Like seriously.. the flood was caused by a damaged kitchen sink faucet and there was SO MUCH water LOL. How?! I think it would take a much longer time for it to get THAT flooded... and were there not any neighbors who saw the water coming out the door of the apartment? Zzz.. soo dumb.

There was another scene where he put a metal utensil in the microwave and it caught on fire. Then later on in another episode he suddenly knows how to cook and makes a rice cooker meal. Like bro... you know how to cook this nice little rice cooker meal but you didn't know not to put freaking metal in the microwave? Even if you're supposedly so rich & don't use microwave at home, it's universal common sense!

Just too many things irritating me in this drama. It was also poorly paced in my opinion. I'm all for slow burns, but this was almost moving too fast in my opinion. You barely know this guy!!! AGHHHHH. Okay I'm done.

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Ofc it's rushed!

For whatever reason K-dramas want to take 20 something chapter mangas/webtoons and cram them into 8, 15 minute episodes.

I think given this trend in these BL K-dramas the cast and crew did just fine. The two leads especially, I didn't have issues with their acting. They did lightyears better than the "Naughty Babe" cast. ?

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner was also a victim of long story crammed into a tiny show, that was not a good experience for me, it made zero sense. It was, quite frankly, a hot mess. Bump Up Business is rushed at worst. The plot made sense. It was a cute and pleasant watch. It was good, sure if it had more of a time slot it could've been great.

I'm not familiar with this K-pop group so I don't have any bias nor did I have any expectations. I think it's worth a watch if you're looking for something bite-sized. It's not riveting or amazing, but it's not bad at all in my opinion.

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will Yu Chen be able to walk again?

this drama is a very great drama, its very eventful so you will not feel ‘draggy’ or boring.

on episode eleven, YunShen got into a car accident and became a cripple since then. However, after going through a period of hard time, ZhuJiu manage to completely heal him.

AND

unlike other annoying dramas where the FL got scared of the Mother in Law and decided to give up on the relationship, here YunShen and ZhuJiu are very honest and holds on to the relationship.

Yes there are a lot of annoying character in this drama (especially YunShen’s mother) but it is still bareable imo :)

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a story about friendship.

this series is a beautiful story about friendship. it's about facing struggles and leaning on one another when the going gets tough. i love ALL of the characters, and they're developed in a clear and senseful way. this show takes place mostly in a prison, but it reminds you that all of the people in a prison are indeed people. with their good sides, their bad sides, and their crazy sides. the ML is just incredible, his personality blossoms and grows throughout the series like a flower as he's faced with adversity and has the trajectory of his life hit by an asteroid. characters you started out hating, you'll grow to love, understand, and root for. watch it now.

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An excellent drama

Ripe Town is a thoroughly watchable, neo-noir-style mystery thriller set in a prosperous rural area during the late Ming dynasty. The drama follows the investigation, by multiple official and semi-official actors, into what appears to be a ritualized serial killing spree. As the mystery plotline unfolds, so do multiple intricate backstories filled with bad behavior, conspiracy, outrageous social inequalities, and additional unsolved murders. We follow the action through a group of young sleuths (constables and their friends) connected to one of the murder victims, but other interesting characters (a brilliant but traumatized judge, prostitutes, local mobsters, well-to-do businessfolks with questionable backgrounds, and a seemingly inept magistrate) play critical roles in the action. The acting is excellent all around, and the mystery plotline is exceptionally logical, unfolds at a good pace, and is unveiled gradually so that the ultimate resolution is both eminently plausible and yet still a surprise.

It's impossible to review this drama without commenting on its superior production value, which greatly exceeds that I've seen in any comparable piece (and even that of larger-scope historical dramas). The sound, visuals, cinematography, and editing are all top-tier. It's also worth noting that this drama has a very unusual tone for a Chinese historical piece. It's very sober and ultimately quite bleak, but not oppressively so (there's a surprising amount of fairly dark but genuinely amusing humor, as well).

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Not bad

I feel sincerely that some points of the story ruin the whole picture.

I had to choose whether to write with spoilers or not. The spoiler will be in the comment below. DON'T click it if you don't want to be spoiled.

I liked the first few episodes, we come back to a world we left..well for me it was last year. I like the starting point of the story. The re-introduction of characters and the world overall. The action scenes in the first episode were well-made. The story picks its pace, but the writing makes it so the pacing is broken quite fast and becomes inconsistent. It hurts the story, especially in the last 4 episodes.

What hurts the story even more is the introduction of new plot points, those points didn't have time to develop and were brushed over so shallowly that they make little to no importance to the story. I like that they tried to expand the world a little, although they failed at that point too. Also, everything feels smaller than in the first season, even after introducing a new unknown region, that region has no weight in the story.

The music: to be honest, I can't even hum it, even after watching the last episode a minute ago. The music is forgettable. I don't remember feeling strong emotions from the music alone. Except for only one of the episodes, the music is lacking in supporting the scene.

The acting did pull on some heartstrings on a few occasions. Overall I think the acting was good during most of the scenes. It's the opposite of the music. The acting was great except for a few scenes.

For 12 episodes x 90 minutes, nothing much happened and too many new things were introduced.

I don't think I will rewatch this season. For me, they miss big time on building the climax of the story. That last episode left me with a blank face and a ''whatever'' in my head. ''Whatever it's over now''

Note; it's no bad and I am glad I watched it. I also don't care that they changed the actors, it did not influence my rating.

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An Epic Conclusion to a Saga and Perhaps the Prelude to another.

This is gonna be one long rave review cus I rarely even write reviews. :)

I really think the world of Arthdal is one with such great lore and infinite potential and it is so satisfying to see it being told in such an immersive manner. Season 1 was a tale of hopes, dreams, struggles and beginnings for all the characters. Season 2, despite the long wait, immediately had me immersed in the lives of these characters yet again.

I had my slight doubts if I would still be able to accept the new casting but over the first few episodes I found myself rather enjoying comparing the old and new cast and appreciating both in their own way. Especially the trio of prophecy, i admit I was quite satisfied with how things turned out. As much as i love SJK as young Eunseom and Saya I think LJK perfectly pulled off a battle-hardened Eunseom and a Saya who has mastered the manipulative ways of the court. Tanya is the first character I've seen being played by both KJW and SSK and i feel that the growth is reflected here too - from a naive and inexperienced young girl who is desperately holding on to her ideals to a tougher woman who will use people and bend some ideals if it aligns with the greater good.

And of course Tagon and Taelha. They were my favorites then. They are my favorites now. Im not sure if I can even express in words how much I love these two characters. There is so much depth to these characters. Their bond that stays so strong beneath despite the struggles, betrayals, anger and hatred on the surface. (They deserve a series of their own really) I especially loved Taelha in this season and how surprisingly these two are amazing parents to Arok even when the world is falling apart around them.

So many of the side characters are great too. The Momo tribe, Tachukan, Neanthals to name a few.

Im really happy with how Season 2 has ended too. Yes there are many open endings and unanswered questions but that just gives my imagination so much more to dream with. Whether there is a Season 3 or not, Arthdal Chronicles for me has been one memorable journey.

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