Reviews

Remarkable Original Story

I don't write many reviews because I'm lazy but this drama is worth the time. Atypical Family is one of the most unique and original stories ever written with people finding and bringing out the best in themselves and the best in others. The first few episodes make you believe this family of superheroes are a total bunch of losers but then someone comes into their lives that makes them start believing in themselves again. The rest of the story is pure gold with everybody having the wrong reason for everything and ending up doing the right thing in spite of their worst efforts. The characters are very unique and deeply flawed but they all manage to rescue themselves in the end. This is now one of my top 5 k-dramas ever. Wow!

Read More

A bit different romance

I found this a bit refreshing, as in a bit different romantic drama.

Very brief synopsis:
The FL protagonist escaped a violent upbringing with her little brother, and raised him on her own. She is now building a career, and has been in a relationship with her junior colleague for over a year. It turns out he is the younger son of the chaebol family owning the company they work for.
The ML's mother approaches her with money to break up. As FL doesn't believe in fairy tale endings, she takes the money and promises to break up with him.
To brake up turns out to be harder than she thought, especially because he loves her dearly. Will he manage to keep her in his life?

What I found a bit different with this story, was that it took a well-known trope about being paid to break up, and gave it what for some might seem like a more realistic spin. It is easy to say "love should be more important", but is it really? I found the scriptwriters gave a plausible reasoning for her to accept the money, and at the same time showing that love is a strong emotion.

The sidestory with ML's brother felt a bit unnecessary. I kind of got the feeling that it was done for the writers to justify arranged marriage to balance the narrative.

The acting was OK. I think maybe Yoon Park as the brother gives the most memorable performance.

Watch it if you want a rather light, easy romantic drama that stands out a little bit.

Read More

Love, Hate, and Redemption

Rivalry" is one of the best Thai dramas in this genre. The story has a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, but it’s not just about feuding families—their children, Win and Milin, are also rivals. They grew up in competitive families and have been competing against each other since school. Milin was taught to hate Win’s family and see them as enemies, even though she secretly liked him during high school.

Their relationship develops from being enemies to allies and eventually to lovers in a heartwarming way. They both work hard to earn each other’s trust and respect, and once they are together, they strongly support each other.

Another part of the story focuses on Win’s ex-girlfriend, who ends up marrying Milin’s father. This creates complications because Win struggles to move on from their past. However, the show does a good job of showing that the people who seem like villains at first aren’t really bad—they’re just dealing with their own struggles. Win’s ex-girlfriend, for example, still has feelings for him, but she respects his decision to choose Milin and lets him go.

The real villain of the story is Tewis, a former employee of Win’s father’s company. Tewis betrayed Win’s family and started working for Milin’s father’s company. His bad intentions become clear as the story goes on, but things escalate when he tries to force Milin to accept his love and reveals his deep hatred toward her family. The ending is satisfying, with the villains getting the punishment they deserve.

The best thing about this show is the chemistry between the main leads, Win and Milin. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such a great connection between characters—they really complement each other. The music is nice, though not very memorable.

The acting is solid overall. Milin’s actress is especially impressive, delivering emotional scenes perfectly. Tewis’ actor also stands out for his strong performance as the villain. However, the actor playing Win felt a little stiff in some scenes, and his expressions didn’t always feel natural. The rest of the cast did a good job.

Overall, I recommend this series. It might seem like a complicated story, but it’s actually easy to follow, and the pacing is great. The only downside is that it’s hard to find a good website with English subtitles and decent quality. Hopefully, the production team will make it more accessible to international viewers.

Read More

Believable up to a point... with side characters carrying this drama

I enjoyed this drama but cannot say that I was captivated by it like everyone else. The story lost me as we approached the end, and the love story between the leads did not have most natural transition or justification.
"Only them understand each other fully" - ok, and?

The initial premise of getting a second chance was emphasized in the beginning, and almost completely abandoned as the show approached the end. Both Jiang Ning and Xie Wei were not strong enough as leads in my opinion.

Also while we are talking about inconsistencies -- I just did not realize why would Ning liked the partners she did. Like for instance Zhang Zhe... itis beyond my understanding, she liked him because he was a righteous man? Is that it?

As for positives, Yan Lin is definitely my favorite. He was gracious and consistent and brave and courageous, and handsome. Then Xie Wei's retinue: Dao Qin and Jian Shu, Lu Xian and Dingfei.. they were so loyal and faithful that I loved seeing their genuine encounters and friendship. Also princess Le Yang, she did a wonderful job to be impactful in few scenes she had.

Gotta say, a lot of charm of this drama comes from the supporting characters. Watch it if you like historical dramas but it will likely not be your favorite one, like Rise of the Phoenix was for me.

Thank you for reading.

Read More

Nice plot, wrong characters

Every time I find a drama boring, I skip a lot of scenes, but in this show I just can't bring myself to skip since I really find the flow of the story interesting, but the main characters are super bland. The female lead, Kang Ah Reum, has two love interests, but none of them have chemistry with her. If you will ask me, she has better chemistry with her friend Bae Durae than those two men.

Other than the characters, the plot is nice. I find the mystery of this drama entertaining; knowing the truth behind the two husbands of the female lead will keep you interested and who is behind all of the problems. The ending is so midway and dissatisfying, though. All of that mystery for that kind of finale. Why do a lot of Korean dramas have the most mid-endings?

I rate this a 4.5/10.

Read More

NOT YOUR TYPICAL K-DRAMA..IN AN UNFORGETTABLE WAY

After wwatching Oh My Ghost and Jo jung Suk award winning acting, I was left wanting more and without skipping to another drama,
I wanted to see him more and Jealousy Incarnet seemed like a good plot where he is the main lead,Hospital Playlist was there but
He is not the ML so i skipped that,I might probably pick it up later because of Yoo Yeon Seok,out of curiosity how they interracted.

I wanted to marinate this review for few daysm,but i realised i might forget how good the OST was,I think this is is the first drama that
I have watched and I want to download the entire OST.It was the best,not repetitive,mixed of korean and english,emotional,funny with
beautiful tunes and sounds that accoumpanied any comic lines and action.

What do you gert when you put Jo Jung Suk ,Gong Hyo Jin and Go Kung Pyo in one project? The bet love triangle in the history of love
triangles but in a good way.Because this is liteerally the whole plot,If you dond like love triangles,you might miss out on a great drama
if you misjudge it quickly.This plot keeps you on your toes and probably might give you a sencond male lead syndrome but everything
ties up nicely.Its love hate relationship..In the ednd you will come to fall in love with the least loved character of the drama.

The writers did something that i havent seen in mamy dramas,there was no typical relations here.Everything wednt opposite of what
the society expects.It broke barriers and taboos about a man who gets an illiness that is often assiciated with women...
THis is a packed slice of life drama and I loved that it was set in a televion network news room.we got to see what goes on behind the
scene of a news production.

Overall,I loved it and am glad it was 24 episodes long

Read More

Please make her stop screaming

A new judging criteria should be added: scream level. FL starts as a little girl always smiling hoping that a happy and nice child will be more easily adopted than a sad and crying one, but as an adult she cries and above all screams a lot..maybe too much. A good story is somehow ruined by this interpretation, like it happened with Kill me Heal me.
And talking about comparison, here you can't help but compare Woo Do Hwan with Kim Woo Bin (Uncontrollably fond) and Lee Jun Ho (Just between lovers) and I'm sorry to say that the result is not so positive. Maybe his performance is ruined ruined by the over the top acting of Yoo Mi Lee.
Anyway, I enjoyed whatching this drama even if it didn't involve me emotionally as I thought.

Read More

Delightful and Intense

Okay... First of all, we must know the background of Chinese Drama lately, there are some lack of amazing drama in the 2024, and 2024 are coming to an end. We, as a Chinese drama lovers, are kinda lost in the middle of war of two big actors and their dramas last November (you must know what I mean). Although I must admit that a sad ending that disappointing from ZLS, and an oblivious "bubbly" drama character from YSX, both can be characterized as two good dramas. I like the concept from both drama, the execution are amazing, overall, those dramas are satisfyingly enough. But 2024 is not a good year for Chinese Drama Lovers (a dry year I must say). I can only count few dramas that really amazing, and this drama (Blossom) really give me a new breath in this drought. Okay, that was the background.

What can I say about this drama? Welllllll...........
I like the way they present their story, the story telling is so engaging. I know that the concept is rather old, a going-back second chance, many dramas attempt to grapple in it. I can count a few dramas of the same theme that I really like, and Blossom is one of them. This is so unexpected, the drama that people not expect to be so good, indeed started so impressive.
I also like the camera angle and cinematography, they really support the story-line. Beautiful and a little bit dramatic i must say.
Must I also add, they choose the right actors this time, the beauty and acting aren't disappointing. Pleasuring for the eyes and also connecting to their character.
Well... of course I can't say that the ending will be a satisfactory, but at least they start with a good blow. From this drama I must say, that even without big shot actors for the main role, a drama can still have a good quality and is addictive. I quite love the story so far, maybe not relatable as human being coz I never experience a second chance in my real life haha, but at least they use logic to drive each character into doing their job in fulfilling the main story resulting a good beginning in a wholesome story. And my guess is that it will end not in a very happy manner too, but don't be afraid, not every good story in a drama will have a happy ending too. What people say "sad ending" can also be satisfying, depends on how you want to look as real as it can get.

Have fun waiting for 5 pm everyday!

UPDATE!!
I never been happier to be proven wrong, it's a happy ending and possibility of 2nd season with different title.. hahaha.. I love the character of ML's father (Dou Shiying), at lastttttt he stand up for his daughter and stand his ground till the end. I guess people do do that, better be late than never..
I really like the main CP's chemistry, they are so cuteeeee and the funny scene doesn't seems awkward, both Li Yun Rui and Meng Zi Yi are good with a little joke in their acting scenes. Just in need a bit passion in their kissing scene, I feel like it's not HOT enough for two people who knows they're gonna miss each other in the future.
Overall, I do not lower my rating... The story telling consistent from the beginning till the end, it's so engaging and exciting from one episode to the next one. I can see that they have low budget in filming this drama from their costumes in here and there, but amazingly it still looks so gorgeous. Worth all my time and focus in watching the drama, I even plan to re-watch it in near future.

Definitely a dark horse of 2024 Chinese drama!

Read More

This Chinese Remake is Really Really Good in Its Own Right!

The Chinese remake, Go Ahead, was one of my most Favorite Chinese Dramas, so I was going into watching this Korean version with prejudice. Remakes more often than not are usually not that good. However, what a pleasant surprise!!!

Even knowing the overall storyline, the Korean's did a Fabulous job making this drama their own. Great cast, great acting, intense emotions. I love these type of warm family dramas vs those where everyone is busy stabbing each other in the back.

Highly recommend, I look forward to rewatching the drama again in the future along with the Chinese one.

Read More

The Perfect Ending we were waiting for

It is the end. Finally, the chapter has come to an end. The journey of a passionate salesperson and a sensitive brewer has reached its happy pinnacles after going through tumultuous ups and downs.

As Ms. Chae learned to accept the feelings she has always kept within her, Brewmaster learned to accept his true self. Masculinity is not about being hard and tough. Expressing emotions and crying their heart out is also part of being a man. They also successfully brought out the best of themselves in making the best beer.

Park Seon Ho, the man behind the camera also propelled stories like Business Proposal, Wok Of Love, and My Strange Hero is becoming a new master in narrating Cinderella stories. His way of defining love never gets cliche or pathetic. As Min Ju and Yong Ju traverse through their character arc, they also develop their bond in a different light. Love is not about being lovey-dovey but accepting each other through flaws.

Lee Jong Won is doing a critical job after successfully flying his third lead drama this year. In every one of his performances, he successfully stands out. His chemistry with Kim Sejeong is the only factor that often fell apart. We really miss our Business Proposal pair. The chemistry failed to hit the perfect balance. Shin Do Hyun as beautiful Ae Reum is the much-needed balance in making the perfect beer. The supporting cast did a brilliant job of pulling the story. Brewing love is a refreshing romantic comedy that can be loved by all.

Read More