Reviews

Values and characters worth to learn from

It was an unexpected day for He Huan. On her 10th year marriage anniversary, her husband went MIA, and 4 debtors soon came to collect million of debts owned by her missing husband. As if this news weren't shocking enough, her long term program got cut due to critical reviews by her friend, her mum diagnosed with cancer, oh and her missing husband - turns out he cheated.

Thus, we have our story's premise for Be Your Own Light, a story of a woman requiring to step back up on her own feet after her world crashed oversight.

What works well for a seemingly cliche plot is the element of surprise. The show smartly use our bias to make us enjoy the show. It has grounded and likeable characters. It has smart, witty slightly over the top approach for moments that were supposedly cringey or dramatic. It has sincere dialogues and positive messages for us to learn from - on career, on life struggles, on beliefs.

And the show smartly turn its focus to He Huan's, Bai Yang's and Yuan Yuan's career line after the necessary context of He Huan's situation was established.

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Starting with our main female lead, He Huan played the role of a woman who seemingly had it all, with stable career and loving family. When her world crashed before her, I was impressed with how the show laid out her growth and development. Here, we saw a strong woman who picked herself back up steadily and decisively after going through the proper stages of grief. Yes, there's a tad teeny idealistic cliche-y moments. No, there is no domineering CEO boyfriend to the rescue nor some untapped special potential that He Huan unlocks. If anything, her talent is always recognised before she left the news industry 13 years ago to prioritise family.

I like that He Huan is kind, but not a Mary Sue, principled but not a preacher. She had clear and admirable motivations for her actions. He Huan accepted the reality that her skills may not be able to meet the current fast paced environment and humbly chose to start again. She worked through the ranks again, and gained the rightful recognition through effort, sincerity, and tenacity.

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Bai Yang played the foil of He Huan's character - the successful career lady who remained single. With her blunt, no nonsense, demanding, rigid and prideful personality, she can be a character that's easy to dislike or sympathise. To Bai Yang, she says what she means and she means what she says. If anything, Bai Yang, though the most expressively critical of He Huan, is one of the few that truly believed in He Huan's capability and often helped the latter in tangible ways.

While Bai Yang's arc may feel a little outdated in 2023 for some modern single ladies, I enjoyed how the show highlighted her vulnerable sides and how the few perceptive ones in the show could see through as well. I love they knew the right opportunities to offer words of comfort which Bai Yang needs to hear. Sure, Bai Yang has a strong steel of armor, but she is no machine. These moments ground her characters and made Bai Yang real.

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Last but definitely the most refreshing, we have Yuan Yuan. Yuan Yuan resembles a lot of more what people who term as "masculine" traits. She is ambitious, competitive, assertive, courageous, calculative, and decisive. With people, she is direct in expressing her thoughts whenever the moment is right. She is the first one that helped He Huan and gave the latter a much needed dose of reality checks. At work, she is resourceful and almost never let emotions get in the way. While certain actions toe the line, Yuan Yuan has her principles that she doesn't cross. With the right reminders, she focus on her own pie and value. In relationships, she is clear with what she wants, and is quick to honor her thoughts when she changed mind too.

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To wrap up my review, Be Your Own Light shows that light can come in many forms - so long it is our own effort.

While my review did not highlight much of Liu Yu Ning's character and arc, he did a great job too and his character, Jiang Jun Hao, is one of the cutest onscreen debtors. The pacing is by and large okay, with the last part a little rushed. I don't quite get He Huan's husbands' motivation / actions, and I personally also didn't feel we need Jiang Jun Hao and He Huan falling in love. But I guess we won't have a story if the husband isn't a jerk and each of these lovely females having a "worthy happily ever after" partner. Oh well, the silver lining is their love stories aren't that forced, cliche or not.

And thus, Be Your Own Light is an enjoyable series with admirable characters, especially the ladies.

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The most beautiful masterpiece I've ever watched.

"Alchemy of Souls" is a beautiful story about love, friendship, and fantasy.

The plot really made me think about how some people can be selfish by putting their souls into another body, craving youth, fame, and power. Every episode made me curious and engaged. Each of them brought a mystery and solved it; then, at the end of the episode, the drama would raise another subject. I was addicted to everything!

The worldbuilding is detailed but not messy or complicated to understand. The magic system, combined with the fighting skills, suits the drama so well!

The characters are well-written and developed. I love the friendship of Jang Uk, Yul, and Dang-gu. The crown prince is such a fun character as well. The main couple, Naksu/Mudeok and Uk, has the best chemistry and development. Their relationship was multifaceted: from strangers to "we are master and pupil" to "we are friends" to "we are lovers."

On the other hand, both Jang Uk and Naksu/Mudeok are great main characters. I am passionate about how Uk started as the weaker wizard and became the most powerful one. I love that he is both sunshine and moonlight. He doesn't discriminate against the kind of magic you use to save someone, and I think this side of him is what makes him so attractive to me. Plus, Somin is the best female character ever. Naksu inside Mudeok's body was funny and amazing to watch. I must confess, I miss her in S2; she was the star of this show. My baby suffered a lot by always being manipulated, a puppet, a pawn in another nasty game. She deserves a happy ending, it doesn't matter the body.

The second couple, Dang-gu and Cho-yeon, were the sweetest. They truly represent summer and spring falling in love. Moreover, the place where Cho-yeon came from has many interesting artifacts that make the story richer.

Finally, the villain gave me goosebumps; I was really afraid of his ambitions. By the way, I hate everything he did to my Naksu.

Then, I must add: nothing I write here will truly convey how I felt watching this show. My mother and I relished every minute of it, finishing the first season in 6 days! The cast is amazing, the photography, the soundtrack. Everything is perfect.

I truly will never get over this drama.

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Koshiba Fuka does it again

I've had this Drama on my PTW for ages because I wanted to compare it to the Korean original. Then recently I watched Yuganda Hamon and was stunned by Koshiba Fuka's performance in it, so moved this up the list. She did not let me down. Her performance here, in a role that could not have been more different from the restrained, downbeat introvert of Yuganda Hamon, proved that she is a very good actor.

It was her performance, and that of Sakuma Yui as her BFF, that ended up getting this Drama 7.5/10 from me, versus the 4.5/10 I gave the original. The storyline is VERY problematic, but the portrayal of the relationship between the two friends in this Drama really shone. Both actors sold their roles well, and their interactions made this a pleasure to watch. The ending scenes were cute too, and a nod to what I really WISH they had done with Ms Koshiba's character at the end.

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Shocking and fascinating reality

I have watched three episodes and I can say that I already like it. This drama has a good storyline that is unexpected or even has the effect of surprise, even though many Korean detective dramas are already recognized, this story is fresh and has unexpected twists and turns in every episode - it's exciting and keeps me in suspense like it.
The acting is first-class in all GG. Especially Ji Chang Wook - his transformation as an actor is impressive. The battle scenes are so real that you start to worry on a physical level about the condition of the actors. The fight scenes in the drama were perfectly staged without equipment, everything was real and raw.
I also like the interaction between Jang Wook and Ha Joon. I think that this will be revealed to a greater extent later in the plot.
I also liked the OSTs. All without exception.
Looking forward to further episodes.

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REALLY WORTH WATCHING

Very good. The story is similar to a novel I once read. By the way, the novel title is called "Don't You Like Me" in English, if you're interested in reading it. I don't know if this drama IP is an adaptation of the novel or not. The most important thing is that this drama really satisfied my imagination of the novel. Moreover, in terms of the cast; especially for the two main actors, both in terms of suitability for the characters of Jiang Chi and Bu Xia, as well as their acting performance. Apart from that, there are no problems with the other components, except for the duration. Hey, I really need more episodes??

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Figuring out as we go along

Central business district (CBD) - a place where people come, meet, and go.

In CBD, we talk ambitions, we talk schedules, we talk business. As CBD folks
(1) juggle through various demands of bosses, clients, parents and colleagues,
(2) keep up with (or ignore) trends and assumed social expectations,
(3) battle with conflicting desires at different phases of life, there is little to no energy left for dreams, relationships and rests.

Every characters have various fake "masks" CBD folks would be familiar with.
(1) Tang Ying's 躺平 "tang ping" boss is a worker who have lost all work motivation after decades of high stress lifestyle that broke her health. Translation: The western equivalent social trend to "Tang Ping" are quiet quitters.
(2) Tang Ying's cringey client, Liu Mei Ling, is a lonely woman who wants to maintain her happy marriage bubble.
(3) Tang Ying's materialistic younger cousin, Xin Zi, is a young 20's who thought that successful and good enough man can provide her a stable life she wants.

Enter our main character, Tang Ying, a seemingly professional elite lawyer who had it all. But 1 episode in, all her fatigue looks, polite smiles and "yeses" on phones break this bubble. Indeed, the life of a true blue working class.

Her meeting with Xu Zi Quan, an investment banker who works nearby her workplace is a series of coincidences that unexpectedly turns to something more. I love the pacing of how they develop their relationship - the push and pull, the tango, the cautious (and kinda fun) testing. I love their individuality, and emotional stability - they are no prince charming nor damsel in distress. They have their life priorities and similar outlook that remains consistent and in tact throughout the stories - sure, Tang Ying and Xu Zi Quan are attracted to each other and enjoy each other's company, but they also have deadlines and demanding stakeholders to take care of first.

None of them were chasing for marriage or forever. They just happen to connect and enjoy the flirting, one interaction after another, until they decide to take the leap.

In the era where many people (and series) idolise "finding purpose", "chasing dreams" and "romance where women must have it all", I am glad to see a relatable contemporary dramas of people with relatable struggles that perhaps hit slightly too close to home as well as a grounded onscreen CBD partnership that I can believe happening in real life.

"Fake It Till You Make It" is a true blue, hustle bustle lives of busy professionals in CBD. We can feel the characters' pressure, anxiety, confusion under the layers of masks.

Some eventually decides to take down these masks, while some decides to push on. More importantly, none of them dwell on their past choices nor stay down after a fall or two. They regroup, and start again...until they make it.

Some of my favorite relatable quotes from FITYMI, just because
~~~
There is a phrase that suits you a lot - it's called 拧吧 (twisty - refers to someone who awkwardly makes things more complicated than it has to.)
Actually there're a lot of things, you think too much. It's better if you can keep it simpler.
The world isn't as complicated as you imagine.
But it's okay. Youth is a process of twisting. I was like that when I was 20.

~~~
Do I really want to be a lawyer? I don't know.
Between the lawyer I had in mind and my present life - the stress, anxieties, insomnia, and walking on thin ice I am facing now - which one is more authentic?

But I do know, there is nothing more absurd than talking about dreams in CBD.

People who stay here only have goals. 5 year goals, 10 year goals. Their thinking is realistic and rational, having weigh all the pros and cons. Those crazy people who wants dreams, have already escaped.

~~~
This city is still bustling, and it will not stop for anyone, just like life.
Recalling the people I met, who didn't wish to have a great head start and stay ahead?
Boss. Subordinate. Friend. Rival.
Trapping oneself in one role after another.
Say what one should say. Do what one should do. Believing that this is our life.

But they, somehow seemingly have great tacit understanding.
When they have perfected their pretense, they somehow come to one truth.

Happiness, success, and joy can't be determined by some scriptwriter. It can only be our own tangible experience.

I've met many people in this city.
And they eventually taught me, that the world is very big, bigger than what we can imagine.

So walk your own path, and not according to a written script.
Throw away the script, and struggle to find your own life. It's okay to fail. It's okay to walk the wrong path.

Live freely [at your own terms].
Isn't this classy?

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FINALMENTE UN FINALE COME SI DEVE

allora, per capire questo titolo si deve andare alla mia recensione di Alchemy of Soul 1 dove ho detto che i finali tristi/aperti mi piacciono tantissimo e sono il mio tipo di finale preferito, quindi ovviamente questo è la mia cup of tea di finale. adoro. bene spiegato il titolo vorrei fare un appunto: credo che rivedere la serie potrebbe essere piacevole, si vedono molte cose con occhio diverso, non essendo in ansia per “chi è big mouse? chi ha ordinato l’assassinio del professore, cosa succede di qua, cosa di là?” solo che proprio per questo fatto si entra nella storia già pronti, quindi si sa già chi è big mouse, chi ha fatto uccidere il professore e sia cosa succede di qua che di là, ecco perché al netto di una serie bella e godibile dal punto di vista di un rewatch, credo si debba darle un voto basso. passiamo adesso alla storia (gli attori? bravi tutti, soprattutto i cattivi, ma non perché i buoni non lo siano stati (ho adorato tutti), solo che i cattivi mi hanno fatto veramente venire i brividi di in alcuni punti. la musica, bella.) che è secondo me il punto forte. allora, primo consiglio: preparatevi perché comincia lenta e nonostante ci siano scene interessanti nella prima parte (fino a circa l’episodio 7-8) è solo dalla seconda che lo cose cominciano ad essere frizzanti. e per frizzanti intendo, molto frizzanti. quindi torniamo alla storia: il nostro protagonista non è nessuno, un avvocato che non funziona e un marito che voglio dire funziona solo perché le aspettative di base non sono altissime, ha una moglie (e per una volta i personaggi femminili mi sono piaciuti tutti, la FL, la moglie del sindaco e devo dire anche quella del capo come si chiama o la moglie del dottore, storia molto triste la sua, non sono molto ferrata con i nomi, sì diciamo che i personaggi femminili sono pochi) che invece funziona molto bene, un suocero che fa quello che può per aiutare questo genero che ha una bocca larga e fa più promesse di quante ne possa mantere. c’è poi l’amico (big, tanto per, colpo di scena sull’amico, nel senso che lo capisci solo nella puntata in cui vogliono fartelo capire, ha senso questa frase, forse si forse no, quello che intendo è che nonostante a posteriori sia non dico ovvio, ma una delle poche opzioni possibili, finché non ti dicono che non solo fa parte dell’entortourage di Big Mouse, ma ne è anche uno dei suoi pezzi grossi, puoi solo supporre, ma non essere sicuro al 100%) che funziona anche lui, diciamo che almeno uno dei due in quell’ufficio di avvocati la parcella deve portartela a casa. ecco questi sono i personaggi che ci vengono presentati all’inizio, un avvocato inetto, suo suocero ex poliziotto, sua moglie infermiera e il suo amico. e poi arriva la gang: il sindaco, la moglie del sindaco, il presidente, l’altro presidente, la moglie dell’altro presidente, il medico, l’avvocato, il direttore della prigione, un prigioniero sofista e un altro truffatore, un altro dottore ucciso e la sua amante che è anche la moglie del dottore (mi pare di aver detto tutti i principali) cosa hanno tutti questi personaggi in comune? sono tutti alla mercé di Big Mouse, questo tizio ce non si sa come e non si sa perché ha rubato 100 miliardi di won e che sono scomparsi nel nulla e che sta cercando in maniera quasi disperata questo fantomatico articolo, articolo che è in grado di distruggere tutto quello per cui il presidente e i suoi hanno lavorato e forse anche tutta la città. bene, i personaggi ci sono e tutto ciò ricorda un mix perfetto pronto per esplodere: i colpi si scena ci sono tutti, nel senso che quando ti viene rivelato chi è BigMouse, beh, onestamente dubito che ci sia qualcuno che, senza essere andato a cercarlo abbia capito chi fosse dai soli indizi che veniva dati, quando scopri il vero ruolo del sindaco devo dire è un colpo di scena meno intenso di quello di BigMouse, però la profondità della sua perversione stupisce, perché io almeno pensavo che quello che faceva lo faceva per vendetta e invece era solo per essere migliore di chi aveva condannato suo nonno e suo padre; altri colpi di scena? dell’amico ho già parlato, del figlio del presidente del gruppo che è stata la ragione per cui l’assassino condannato a morte è stato messo in prigione devo dire che, nonostante non sia la parte più centrale della storia è una scena che non ti aspetti, anche perché il tipo si comporta da psicotico per tutto il tempo. un altro colpo di scena totally absurd è che il presidente psicopatico (e a tratti disgustostoso) diventi un alleato di BigMouse, anche questa non ce lo si aspettava. l’ultimo colpo di scena invece è la morte della moglie: e qui voglio aprire un come dire separé sull’argomento. primo punto, affinché l’avvocato diventasse veramente BigMouse c’era bisogno che lei morisse, quindi me lo aspettavo (e lo sapevo, grazie ai tanti edit su instagram che ho visto), anche se devo dire ha fatto molto scena quando lo ha detto davanti a tutti durante le riprese. però ho un po’ un però, da qui deriva il separé, allora, premetto che io quando non vedo serie dalla mattina alla sera studio medicina e non sono quindi ancora un medico (e di questo passo chissà se lo diventerò mai), però qualcosa di danno radioattivo lo so e conosco anche qualche cosa sulle leucemie quindi vorrei che parlassimo un po’ della situazione: allora, premetto che la parte medica in generale mi è piaciuta (forse sarò l’unico studente di medicina a cui piacciono le serie mediche) e si vede c’è stata della ricerca sull’argomento, non cose fatte a caso come ho visto altre volte, però visto che si doveva velocizzare il tutto, ovviamente hanno dovuto velocizzare anche la leucemia che è venuta alla signora. il “problema” è che succede tutto in fretta, ora vi spiego: allora, la signora viene esposta ad un ingente quota di radiazioni intorno all’episodio 10 (o addirittura oltre) e voglio dire è stata inondata da acqua radioattiva e si è presa una nube di esplosioni, il tutto senza protezioni, quindi ci può stare che sia successo tutto in fretta, anche la sua malattia, avrei però preferito vedere una progressione di malattia un po’ più lenta, anche perché diciamolo, a parte questa prima esposizione non è che ne ha avute altre e non sembra essere durata chissà quanto questa esposizione, quindi fosse avvenuto un po’ prima l’incidente nelle tubature avrei compreso la malattia meglio. oppure se a essere allungato un po’ il tempo della storia dopo la presentazione televisiva, perché da quello che sembra in forse un mese succedono elezioni, processo e dipartita, se avessero allungato un po’ il tempo della storia magari non sarebbe sembrato così rushed. bene, fine degli spoiler e fine della recensione che se voglio commentare altre serie completamente mediche devo andare a studiare… bene, ovviamente consiglio di vederla a tutti.

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It's really enjoyable overall, except for some parts

I really like it for the 1st 7 episodes or so and it just dropped....I mainly love how fluffy and cute they are at beginning, esp when they are bickering and teasing each other. I especially love Shin's attitude. He seems to be way more mature than Minato despite the age gap!

I'm glad eventually Minato sort things out and it all work out, but the drag makes me feel a bit frustrated at some point, honestly. I continued watching bcoz I wanna know the ending, which luckily didn't disappoint

I'll still say its worth the watch overall. I was really really happy for most part, just a bit draggy towards the end, which actually is so common in many dramas. Or maybe, im just impatient lol

Oh, I love the music, its so cute that I didn't skip the intro and actually enjoy watching. I also love the setting where we keep seeing ocean, makes me feel like im healing too. Makes me wonder how it feels like to stay in a town like that where the beach is clean. not overly commercialized, just locals hanging out, like big communal family. Must have been nice

Shuuu sensei is so cute!! Thats a brownie point as to why I keep on watching too

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everyone has their own backstory.

i enjoyed this series! i happen so to randomly come over this series but oh man, i do not regret it. this show is severely underrated btw!

this show has its comedy side, touching side and each main character has their own tragic backstory that will be revealed slowly. everyone might be slow, dumb yet goofy but their backstory really breaks my heart. the build up with the backstory is amazing, the way they have healed but the wound opened up again to get the actual closure needed. my top few eps are 14, 16, 18 and 22. if you watch the scene, you would understand why i really enjoyed these episodes.

they are fated that they all met at by jumping of the cliff and naming themselves by the wording 3, 4 and 5 inside in. it was so funny! they are "found family" as they found comfort within each other while facing their struggles, while understanding each other without saying much, while supporting each other and stay with each other no matter what.

i enjoy the friendship between all the characters and if you are wondering if there is any romance... it is like lowkey and not that obvious. you get to enjoy many different cp types of feels. if you are wondering how i am shipping, its 3+5 and 4+ji. i am waiting for the next season as the ending wrote, "the first season ended"

however, mango's subbing is bullshit because as a chinese, i saw the chinese wordings and the english subs, i am closed to vomit blood. it is so so badly subbed. so for those who does not understand, you might need to wait for better subs. like they subbed 你相信我吗? - it was supposed to be "do you believe me?" but they subbed to "do you miss me?" ...??!!

as for the acting, i think they did a good job! the main characters ranges from '97 to '02 and their acting is good! what i love is that their are a lot of dramatic and big expression type of scenes but they are able to not overact and overdo it. with the right amount that you won't think that it is too over the top and get annoyed about it.

it might seem boring at first but as it goes on, it will get better. trust me. anyways, please give this show a chance! thank you~

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Don't like zombies, but like this!

Full credit to the star power of Park Hyung Sik.... I really don't like anything horror/zombie/gore/jump scare - just not my cup of tea, at all. But I love PSH so I gave this a try solely for him, and ya know, I'm glad I did. Sure the gore was there, but honestly it was well done and not over the top. It was never "gore, just to be gross and shocking", and I appreciated that. PSH knocked it out of the park with his character, which, I fully expected - he never disappoints! But an unexpected gem for me was the FL. I absolutely loved her. She was so badass, but believably so, and stayed true to who she was through the entire series. I can see why ML harbored feelings for her all those years ;-) I'm half in love myself lol. This show is worth watching just for the two main leads alone - they really were terrific!

Overall score: 8.5/10. I want to give this a 10 (because PSH lol) but I've got to take off .5 off the bat for the zombie theme, and then another full point because I thought the whole plot line surrounding Andrew was a little silly... like, what are the odds of not one but TWO run of the mill killers living in the same apartment building... yikes. I think they could have built drama at the end with a different storyline, but it definitely wasn't so bad that it ruined the show. I'm also taking off .5 because I thought they could have built up the romance throughout the show a bit more... that really would have **chefs kiss** the whole thing... some glances, some light touches, more hugs - there was a bit of that, but I wanted more... more to build the romantic tension so that you really felt it when you finally got that kiss. I also would have loved a second kiss in that final scene when everyone was healthy and happy. Kinda bummed that the only kiss we got was wrapped up in zombie stuff.

And yes I know all that equals 2 full points, but I'm adding back in .5 just because I enjoyed PHS so much. Turns out I'll watch anything he's in... even zombies ;-)

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