Reviews

I mean it's a show.

I'm going to keep this short since it took me so long to finish this show. Yes there is spoilers. Yes I was bored by the end that I forgot all of the characters names and just gave them all nicknames. I had as much fun watching as the writers had interested in making a coherent show. This should not have been a 40min long episode and would have worked better as mini series with 20 min long episode.

Character-

🔥Female arrow
- she was okay she actually fought some making her not entirely entirely useless

🔥Grand master demon (ml)
- he was honestly not the best looking person in the show as the male lead really didn't give me much to work with if he was a vanity hire, he was kinda giving Mark from NCT and that is not a compliment.

🔥Trisha Paymetowatchthis(FL)
-she was absolutely the most useless character ever. She didn't even make it to the 3rd act character Nerf

🔥The child
- he is but a child. Also twist villain I guess. I don't know he was but a wee lad.

🔥 Mountain god
- the 2nd best looking male in the show.

🔥Cold steel (2nd lead male)
- he is cold, refined like his sword

🔥Climb like a tree
-best looking male in the show to bad they made him share a body with a child.

🔥Demons of the week
-if it wasn't for them I would have dropped the show. Honestly this would have been better if it wasn't them trying to pursue an ultimate bad guy but instead chasing down a bunch of demons, and ultimate goal of them helping humans and demons co-exist.

The music
Honestly it was giving marvel action without knowing what made marvel worked (being 2hrs for a movie and not over staying it's welcome until next movie). I can't say it's repetitive because of you honestly are making that complaint I'm curious if this is your first ever Asian drama, if so I'm here to apologize and hope you actually watch a good show.

The plot
Demon hunting bureau is trying to gain recognition, while someone stirs up trouble by destroying the demons home, along the way they meet demons who were tricked into helping who all have tragic backstories. While trying to find a Mcguffin of a token to help the goddess regain her powers. (It sounds amazing right 🤭) Now picture that instead of actually working to solve the issue the group is so inept that the demons basically just handcuffs themselves turn themselves in and still somehow end up only being stopped because they died trying to say the people that was supposed to be taking them in.

Something nice:
Th only nice thing I can say is that the actions scene were not the absolute worst thing ever. That's it that's my only compliment. Everything else legit felt like no one cared after a while but they were contractually obligated to finished the show.

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a fun comedy vertical series

Overall: note that the focus is more on the contentious relationship of the actors than the romance with the guardian spirits. 30 episodes about a minute each. Watched on the Vigloo app - the first few episodes can be watched here https://www.vigloo.com/video/15000105?season=15000105&episode=1 Vigloo also has: You Want Some, Match Play, Rule #1 No Dating Rule, Love in the Apocalypse

What I Liked
- the guardian spirits and their story
- it made me laugh a few times
- the group hug

Room For Improvement
- too much screaming
- kind of ambiguous with the actors' relationship


How to Watch for Free (episodes are 50 coins each, you can't skip episodes but once unlocked they stay unlocked forever, there are additional tasks to get more coins like following the company on social media)

Day 1
- watched episodes 1-8 (free on the app)
- can watch 10 episodes free with ads, I unchecked the auto unlock, clicked off of that box and another box popped up saying "view ads to watch for free 0/10" (I did that for eps 9-18)
- watched 15 ads per day for 30 coins each on the rewards page and did the daily check in (eps 19-27)

Days 2 & 3
- watched 3 more ads for the last 3 episodes

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One of the better dramas of 2024

There are some dramas that I shelved after watching several episodes only to go back to when I have nothing to watch but this is not one of them. I look forward to every next episode. The later episodes are angsty and I wanted to get over them faster.

This story is of several young people from the Merchant class of varying degrees of wealth during the 9th century Tang dynasty. We don’t often have a storyline solely of the merchant class though there is the inclusion of the 2nd male lead, a Prince Bai who is fashioned after a real Prince/King of that era. Both male and female leads and secondary leads performed excellently. I really liked the character Zheng Ye Cheng played and with his excellent performance here, I’ll look forward to his other dramas. As for Seven Tan, she did not disappoint. As usual, Brocade Odyssey is full of drama, romance, fight scenes, humor and Steven Tan feistiness and charm. It also has a good ending in case that’s important to you as it is to me,

The costumes, hairdos and jewelry were stunning but some hairdos and makeup did not do Seven Tan justice. In some episodes where her makeup was more subdued, she looked gorgeous as her natural looks are already flamboyant. Cinematography was also good so I enjoyed this drama very much.

There is also much to know about the Silk and brocade manufacture during the Tang dynasty which I had not known about. Silk was prized all over the world = remember the silk route? An inch of Shu brocade is said to be equivalent to an inch of gold even during that time. There is a wonderful Brocade Odyssey Campanion piece that a fellow contributor, Frost_Edelweiss, had posted. It is below this review section, under ‘ recommendations’ . . It’s a weath of information about the drama, the silk brocade industry and the Tang dynasty as it relates to this drama. After reading her postings, I realized how much rich culture was presented in the drama. I encourage everyone to take a look. Here is the link
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/shu-jin-ren-jia/132940-brocade-odyssey-companion-piece

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The Male Leading Character Makes It Worth Watching

**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**

I watched this drama because I loved Zhao Yi Qin's performance in Hard to Find. I'm so glad that I did. He did a wonderful job playing a socially awkward genius with obsessive compulsive disorder and speech aphasia. As his character develops and opens up we get to see how thoughtful, caring, generous, funny, sweet and romantic he is. Zhao Yi Qin is positively adorable as Su Mu and the main reason why I stuck it out to complete the series.

The story itself wasn't well written. If the reason behind Su Mu's speech aphasia is ever revealed I missed it somehow. I kept waiting to find out what his trauma was or why he needed to consume very cold things---previously ice water but switching to ice cream when he met the female lead---but never got the answer. We don't ever learn why Tian Tian De and her ice cream are able to help Su Mu overcome his speech difficulties either. We just have to watch scene after scene about the making of, obtaining or consuming it. There are some very sweet and funny moments but they are overshadowed by the rest of the poor writing and the awful ending.

The female lead character, Tian Tian De, played by Ding Yi Yi was absolutely obnoxious. I hate to hate on characters but they gave her very few redeeming qualities. She's incredibly childish, entitled, lazy, arrogant, loud mouthed, has terrible table manners and what's worse, has the personal hygiene habits of a teenage boy, lol. I was appalled. She is a talented artist, is a good baseball player and is clever with good people skills when she wants to. She shows a bit of growth over time but not a lot.

He Yu was incredibly funny as Wang Yan Yi. The poor guy got took so many glasses of water to the face that I felt sorry for him. Liu Yan Cheng, who played Li Di, did a wonderful job too.

The production budget for this show must have been very low. The characters wore the same outfits for several days in a row for no apparent reason and had wore the same thing so many times that everyone was commenting on it in the chats. It sounds like a petty thing to mention but the characters were supposed to be wealthy. The young women were wearing plain overalls all the time. It was inconsistent.

Even though I said those negative things I would still recommend this show. Why? Because it was really nice to see a very kind, sweet man who stayed that way throughout. Sometimes we all need to believe that they exist.

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Less than an 8?! MyDramaList, let's work on this

I'm shocked to see my newest obsession and now one of my all-time favorite J-dramas (on a second watch) receive less than an 8 on MyDramaList. We gotta work on this.

Kidding aside, maybe the humor in Date isn't everyone's cup of tea, and maybe that's not the kind of "romance" people were expecting. Which is completely fine, but I think if you came into Date expecting sweet romance and gestures, then Date is... the opposite? And that's kind of the point. The two main characters are fairly unique in dramalands where every male lead is a hot tsundere and every female lead is either clumsy-but-kind or extremely competent but naive in romance.

I mean... Yoriko is extremely competent, and naive in romance, but she takes it to the extreme. Takumi is also sorta a tsundere, but instead of the Chiaki-senpai type, he's unemployed, leeching off of his mom, yet still looks down on everyone as having no taste in art. What I love about Takumi and Yoriko is how self-aware they are to a fault. They are brutally honest about themselves to the world, despite the world viewing them as weirdos, yet with each other, they still have more to learn about their own emotions and desires. There's also no redemption here. He doesn't fall in love with her and re-enter society (or enter society for the first time, LOL) as a competent worker. She doesn't become more socially adept and "feminine". They remain the same person they've always been in the beginning BUT they've learned to accept others who are different and other ways to live.

The support cast is so charming, and Fubuki Jun does it again here as mom (I watched her as mom first in 0.5 no otoko, so I had a good laugh seeing her as a very similar mom in Date). Kuninaka Ryoko is so so cute as Kaori, I half wanted to root for her, but the script is so good it also makes you want to root for Takumi and Yoriko. Washio is sometimes annoying but you have to admit everything he says makes sense, and it's just hilarious that in a battle between him and Takumi, he - the true "prince charming" - always ends up the loser. If this is not satire at its best, I don't know what is. Yoriko's dad is such a great dad who's of course worried about his daughter but also very progressive and open-minded, it's refreshing to see.

I was so sad when I finished Date. So sad I ended up rewatching it a second time and still can't believe how clever the dialogues and the comedic moments are. I mean... double Santas? Snake receiving CPR then being in a cast? The koi being flabbergasted by Yoriko's attempted assault? I don't know if I'll ever come across another drama this funny again and that kinda breaks my heart. So yes, MyDramaList, this is a 10/10 for me.

PS: if you do watch Date, please please please watch the SP. A lot of SPs are redundant but this is a great SP and IMO should have been included as part of the main drama. It had so much to say and made the drama much more complete.

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A Dark and Brutal Ride Through the Underworld

I aim to keep my reviews short, spoiler-free, and focused on the key points to help you decide if a drama is worth your time. I never fast-forward and always strive to watch the entire series to give a fair and thorough perspective.

This drama delivers an intense and violent depiction of South Korea's underworld, exploring themes of drugs, corruption, and survival.

The first episode is intentionally disorienting, leaving you questioning how the characters are connected and what their motives are. While the premise is intriguing, the series struggles with character depth. It's hard to connect with anyone besides the pimp, who himself feels so hollow that it’s challenging to fully invest in his journey.

The action scenes are a standout, with well-choreographed fights and relentless pacing. While the drama includes the familiar trope of 1v10 fight scenes, the choreography is generally well-done and satisfying. However, the violence is graphic, and the themes of drug use and prostitution make this show unsuitable for everyone. While the latter is cautiously portrayed due to its taboo nature, it still aligns with current social issues in South Korea, including runaway youth and systemic corruption.

The drama does well in explaining how the main characters started working together, but more character development would have made it easier to care about their fates. Most of the cops and prosecutors are shallow caricatures of corruption, lacking the complexity that would have made their motivations more compelling.

Despite its shortcomings, the show remains entertaining, with a steady stream of chases, murders, and kidnappings. For once, the villains are smart, and the main characters don't have to make foolish decisions to drive the plot forward. However, the story falters in the final episode, where poor writing and unnecessary missteps by the villains drag down the climax.

The OST is understated, complementing the action scenes but not leaving a lasting impression.

Ultimately, the show falls short of the best in its genre (like My Name), but it’s still an entertaining watch for fans of gritty, action-packed dramas. Its depiction of the harsh realities of the night life, including drugs and corruption, feels relevant but occasionally theatrical. With a stronger ending and more nuanced writing, it could have been a standout series.

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Is that all?

While it initially showed promise with the interesting premise and strong initial chemistry between leads, it ultimately felt rushed and underdeveloped. The first few episodes were engaging, but the plot lost momentum after Episode 6 or 7. The story suddenly turned sharp, leaving many unanswered questions and unresolved plot points. The build-up of the romance was promising, but then it was a letdown. The ML was really good; after watching him from Marry My Husband, I thought it was good to have a different character that balances different character portrayals. Despite the initial promise, it ultimately fell short of its potential. The rushed pacing and abrupt ending left me feeling disappointed and unsatisfied.

Should you watch now, watch later, don't waste time? For me, if you don't have any other drama to watch, perhaps you can try. But I will not spend another hour to rewatch.

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A staple in terms of idol shows : give it a go if you know the artists, otherwise less interesting

The Idol Star Athletics Championships (often shortened as ISAC) is a sport competition between idols divided in teams. The teams can be done based solely on members of the same group, but sometimes teams are mixed across groups and even across genders. The program is a regular staple of idol show entertainment, which occurs usually once a year since 2010 (except in 2021 and 2023). In 2024, it was back and broadcasted as part as a special tv show of 3 episodes during Chuseok.

I saw a lot of legendary clips on YouTube of the best moments of the previous ISAC and even watched part of episodes featuring the groups that I love. This year, I wanted to watch the full program which featured quite a bit of the most recent groups that I follow : BOYNEXTDOOR, &TEAM, TWS and ZEROBASEONE. There were many more groups of course but those are the ones I was the most excited to watch. In terms of casting, there was a good mix I feel of groups, a lot of popular rookies but not the most established and famous idols groups (which participated to previous years when they were themselves more rookies).

In terms of sports, there are various events. The 2024 edition features 60 m, 400 m relay, archery, futsal, dancesport and breakdancing. It is definitely the archery and relay events that I found the most interesting, probably also because a lot of the members of groups I follow participated in those. Some of the breakdancing performance were very exciting as well to follow. I must admit though that some events were a bit boring for me, especially when I did not know the participants. It is much more easy to be energized when you are watching idols you support. Some performed better than others, but it was all done in good spirit and overall very fun to follow. I loved to see the groups I follow interacting with each other and encouraging each other as well.

I would recommend this to people that are fan from groups participating to the event. I think if you don't know anybody, it might not be very interesting. Actually, I think I might even rewatch some of the events in which artists I like participated, but other than that I don't think I will ever rewatch the full broadcast again. There are indeed some parts that are less interesting, and the commentators discussion are quite boring overall. Fancams done by the fans might even be better at providing a view on the various interactions and what happened on the day.

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Legend of 2nd Lead SRQ and misplaced direction

This had the potential to be an epic hit because the comedy, drama and politics was the right amount but the production team and writing team just decided to say wth let's fuck it all up coz we can.

It started of well then in the middle the story archs are not well developed. A lot of characters were not given airtime to develop their stories all because of SRQ screen time to make him into something he was not and palatable. I wanted to see more of the other clans, the crown prince, SRQ brother and his love interest. And the conflict between the concubines and empress which spilled to the children. But no the writers were like SRQ is the one you need to see like 😡

SRQ is not anti hero or someone who was a good person who happened to make bad decisions. He is a downright evil selfish person who seeks his own benefit not even his family's shame . He lacks self reflection, accountability and thinks he is the smartest person on earth when he is not. In the 1st life his bad decisions affected his family in the 2nd life he made the same dumb decisions affecting his family and putting them again at the risks of being rebels, but the producers were like nope this is the person you should focus on and love.

Its not lost on me that the whole lighting on him and LR is cinematography meant to highlight that these are the main characters that are meant to be for each other. And there was nothing for PWX the so called real love interest for LR. The shared screentime with longing gazes, slow motion shots and the soft romantic music and the stupid twirl to the bottom of the lake all meant to say this is the real cp that you should look at and ship. Now let's look into the characteristics of the person person I am supposed to support

SRQ

1st life time he manipulated everyone to kill the king and the so called woman he loved LR . Reason: he wanted to put on the throne a bastard child not belonging to the king and the Li clan. Qualification of the child he is the nephew to SRQ and has Su bloodline. And this is precisely why the noble clans were dangerous and needed to be dealt with. This type of bs they are capable of pulling. Mind you let's forget that the child was conceived out of adultery and making the king a cuckold. That does not matter coz the child is a Su everyone else be damned 😂😂. Mind you it was these actions from these people that made Li Chuan make the extreme decisions he made. Also he happily came in between LR and PWX. Exacerbated their issues and essentially killed PWX and LR to get ultimate power. But yes he is a good guy 😭.

In the 2nd life time again he wants to kill the future king who is really just a sweetheart, pure and kind and genuinely loves his family and sister. He is caught in the power struggle and he is powerless but of course let's forget about all this but I SRQ I want again to put on the throne a substitute who knows where this fake prince comes from. The fact that he is commiting treason that leads to a clans death is treated like eating ice cream. He supports the consort who hates his so called love of his life and wants to put a fake prince on the throne. How is this even acceptable morally. Let's say this had worked out did he stop to think the implications of his actions on LR. Every change of dynasty means the losing side gets killed LR and her whole clan would potentially have been murdered of that concubine fake son sat on the throne and the writers are selling me this as a long enduring love.

This is f'd up big time. They must be mad and on shrooms. I want what they are smoking. There is nothing good and reedamable about SRQ and the fact that the producers and writers liked his characters is a cause for concern. He is not a morally grey character he is an outright evil person who manages to convince himself that he is good therefore continually makes wrong decisions placing everyone around him in danger. He even says it that he can't be wrong like with his own mouth. His path is the only right one. He is beyond mad. He is a downright psychopath and they tried to romanticize him with all those shots and wanted the public to feel for him and root for him. I'm sorry I don't root for evil people who show no remorse or repentance. Goodbye my princess is how you write a good antihero.


For Pei Wen xuan I have no words except I hope in your next life you make smarter choices in your love life and fall in love with a better person with better morals, virtue who is willing to give the same amount you give out and not a person just wants to receive.

I will never understand LR justification for her treatment of PWX and demanding of PWX love, trust and affection. She was not the only one betrayed by her family so was PWX, they murdered his father and tried to kill him too. Yet he remained a beautiful soul, who kept giving his best unconditionally. PWX deserves the same from the person he chooses to love it's a shame LR did not deserve PWX at all. I found LR character very selfish, unwilling to take accountability for her actions and extremely entitled especially towards his brother.

In the 1st life she played a major part, shaping the environment that turned Li Chuan into the person he was. She never listened to him yet made decisions saying they were the best for him. How can they be the best when you don't listen to your brother or understand him. I am very salty about this part becauseLi Chuan was a good person but had an overbearing father, mother and sister. Worse I t he 1st life she never accepted his love and LR hated her brother's child who came from the love of his life. Please spare me I would never ever want a sister like LR.

LR and SRQ deserved each other if we are going to be honest. Both were extremely delusional they made extremely terrible decisions that affected heavily people around them but they think they are smart and are doing making the best decisions. The only thing that saved LR was PWX decisions that gave LR a safe environment to have character development and girl was not even grateful I'm looking at your stupid decisions in the last episodes.

The only good thing about this drama is I discovered Zhao Jin Mai and girl can she act. She deserves everything the other characters I know them from other dramas. The crazy concubine from the Xiao clan is sublime in joy of life. The way she was directed in this drama you would never think she is that amazing of a veteran actor. Zhang Linghe showed a different side of himself and he has such great comedic timing. It's something that cannot be taught it's either you have it or you don't. And he has it in spades. I was pleasantly surprised. He should try a full on comedic drama. The character I desperately wanted to see more of was the crown prince but damn that production crew. SRQ was a downright terrible person and character and I probably would have loved him more if he was played by a person with better acting chops like the bad guy in the double.

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Uncomplicated, predictable and straightforward which can be good or bad

9/10 is my rating. This is a 2024 South Korean romantic drama series with 12, 60 minute episodes.

First I provide a unique synopsis then review

Synopsis

Chae Young-ju (Kim Se-jeong) is a tough, smart ex special forces agent who has made a name for herself as a top sales queen for a company that sells various alcoholic beverages. Trauma in her past from special forces activities has led to her supressing her emotions. When a branch of her company is on the verge of closing because of profitbility concerns, Young-ju is not only concerned for herself but for all the other employees, who look up to her, who would be out of a job. The one hope they have of saving their branch is to get master brewer Yoon Min-ju (Lee Jong-won) to develop a new beer in collaboration with their compay. What Young-ju does not know is Min-ju is an empath who senses and absorbs the strong emotions of others. Thee distessing nature of some emotions he experiences, has caused Min-ju to spend a lot of time in solitude He is also determined to keep his craft beers small batch and not calloborate with a large company on mass production. As Young-ju sets out to convince Min-ju to work with her company, will the two give in to their growing attraction for each other?

Review

This was a light hearted, predictable romance with a lens into beverage sales and craft brewing. Minju was such a sincere and sweet lead male character there was little not to like about him. Young ju was very heroic in all she did so it was actually a good pairing. If you want a relatively light, uncomplicated romance then I recommend this. It ends well and does not drag out the story with only 12 espisodes.

Spoilers

My daughter and I always watch dramas together and when I asked her how she would rate it she said a 10 she could not think of anything she did not like about it. I had a slightly different perspective and might have went 8.5 but she liked it so much I figured, overall, somewhere in between our two opinions was a good indicator.

I think the main thing I did not like about it was how mean Minju’s employees were to him in the beginning. I thought perhaps Young ju would set them straight but they just seemed to get better toward him sort of on their own, when she entered the scene. Up until that time they were not nice to him about being sensitive and an introvert.

I really did not ike Young ju’s company at all. So I did not want to see them succeed. It made no sense to me that they wine and dined Minju to make a beer for them up until there started being some problems he had not even caused. Then the company started treating him poorly and that made no sense with someone you tried so hard to recruit. Master brewers are typically in high demand so I couldn’t see a company wanting to get on his bad side.

I really liked second couple and how they explored PTSD. Depictiing it as the world changing and reality shifting during episoodes is what a lot of veterans have described. Their story was almost more interesting and complex than the main couple’s.

#BrewingLove. #KimSeJeong. #LeeJongWon #ShinDoHyun #BaeksungChul

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