Reviews

Never-ending pace

This drama was so good, I don't understand why hasn't been watched much.

First I loved two characters, Lin Yuan Hao and Song Bai Yu. They are like day and night. They are opposite each other but at the same time, they are similar. I can also say that the actors did a great job. Especially in the last episode, Yuan Hao's expression while smiling at Jin Yi Tong made me hear the phrase 'You look so alike' throughout the drama in my mind again.

Secondly, the motivational sources of bad characters in detective series have always been important to me because I don't like 'pure villians', I prefer villains with a logical background and this series provides that.

I liked that the show didn't fool the viewers. They work things out step by step, and that's satisfying. I'd rather be suspicious of someone step by step, than someone I've never suspected turns out to be guilty.

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TW for sexual assault and homophobia

This was one of the first BLs I ever watched, and honestly, it was traumatising and off putting. As an SA victim, this show is literally so triggering to watch, and also as a member of the LGBT community, it's so uncomfortable. So if you're sensitive to these topics, please do yourself a favour and don't watch it. But also just in general, don't watch it. It's so strange. There is no excuse to force yourself on someone, even if that person is homophobic and "deserves it" (no one does), and in what world is sexual assault going to change anyone's opinion on gay people???

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A modern fairy-tale that requires industrial grade rose tinted glasses

This Show might have a contemporary setting, but it has all the hallmark of a fairy-tale. The characters do not behave in a realistic way and the settings are more staged than true to life. The female leads are dressed to the nines to go to work and high society balls and cocktail parties are regular as clockworks. Wheeling and dealing are the only game in town but not a lot of real lawyering. It is a make-believe world that our protagonists have their fateful meeting and begin a fake marriage of convenience.

Fake marriage is such a trope nowadays that it is almost an automatic point deduction when a show uses it as the main plot. In this case, the Show is watchable, in part because of the charisma of the FL and the chemistry between the leads. The ML’s character is lying flat and generally taking a low profile. This means the FL is about as flamboyant as you can get as a counterpoint. She also has a collection of frenemies to match her designer handbags.

The raison d'etre for the fake marriage is the premo law firm where the FL works has a glass ceiling for unmarried female lawyers. Of course, the ambitious FL is not taking that lying down. In true drama fashion, lies begot more lies and the house of cards grew bigger and ricketier every day. I could add plot holes begot more plot holes but that would be labouring the point. ;)
The Show is entertaining at times and there are swoon worthy moments as the leads goes from being antagonistic towards each other to being lovers. However, the writer decided to keep their relationship ambiguous all through the Show. To be honest, it is disappointing as we see a lot of PDA but we still gets the “are we, aren’t we” vibe and the de rigueur breakup. This brings about the cliché fallout for several episodes.

The less we talk about the 2nd CP the better. They are a total narrative mess. They seem to exist solely to highlight how rational the OTP’s relationship is. If they were funny, at least we can get an occasional laugh, but they are just cringey to watch. The 3rd CP (FL’s ex) feels more like a one-sided crush. There are PDA but you don’t feel the passion.

While relationships are all over the place, the Show is littered with business subplots that are both ethically and legally questionable. Motivations are overblown and seems to always focus on monetary gains and one-upmanship. It serves to highlight the weakness and illogic of the FL’s chosen path. The longer the Show ran, the more untenable her situation becomes. It begs the question why she doesn't just quit if she is intelligent, professional and focused? Is it greed, stubbornness or blind ambition? It doesn't shine her in a positive light.

Acting wise, it is a mixed bag. There is a fair bit of overacting from the ensemble cast. The FL is the focal point, and she usually does a good job, but it starts to feel samey after a while. As I mentioned before, the ML’s delivery can be a bit flat but he is the yin to the FL’s yang so there is a certain balance there. When it works, their scenes can be quite swoon worthy. There is a decent amount of skinship which doesn't look fake. The OTP’s romance is pretty much the saving grace of the Show.

OST is not bad. Some nice tunes but they do get a bit repetitive by the end of the show. I might watch a highlight reel in the future, but it would be a challenge to rewatch the whole show.

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Utterly Forgettable

I wasn't fully sure what to expect with this drama. My sole interest was in the casting of First and Ja as Gun and Golf, respectively. I think I was expecting more romance than there is. Ultimately, this is less of a BL drama and more of a coming of age drama. It's not totally devoid of romance or BL moments, but if you're looking for steamy moments ala Don't Say No, Love By Chance, etc., you will be sorely disappointed as thus far there has been a single, very chaste kiss. What it does have is more depth to it and unique, compelling characters. It doesn't always seem to know how to use said characters and it does seem to leave some of them in the same place for periods of time with little development, but ultimately I've enjoyed the diversity. That being said, it has also struggled with pacing, conflicts between characters being dragged out, character development, the costuming/makeup and being downright predictable at times.

The story really is more about the friendship of the five central characters than anything else. While Ja's character Golf is considered a main character, even he's more on the fringe. Gun, Em, Name, Champ, and Nan have known each other since they were kids and that's exactly the age the viewer meets them, as little boys. The fun part of this drama is seeing the boys age, from little kids, to high schoolers, to college students and then after. This drama is definitely a slow burn and sometimes it feels like its about to go out. There are definitely scenes that could have been shortened or cut completely that would have streamlined the story without leaving anything important out. Time in general is just kind of an issue with this drama from the slow pace to all the time jumps. Some of them are well documented with a title stating that time has passed, but other times you have to try to figure it out for yourself from what the characters are saying. This is primarily during their college years where it gets confusing. In terms of romance within the story, again that really does take more back of a back burner. While romance is central to some character's stories, since each character has their own story, that's why I don't I feel like the romantic aspect itself is central to the drama.There are three couples: Golf and Gun, Nan and Chompu, and almost-couple Em and Name who I trust will get there before the end. Their relationships are all unique in their own way and I've enjoyed watching them grow. My favorite time period with the group has been their college years. I feel like this drama has a more realistic depiction of college than others depicting the struggles of burn out, school/life balance, working on projects, etc.

While I came to this drama for First and Ja who have been wonderful, the actor I truly have to give kudos to is Title Teshin. While his character was one of the ones that was left stagnant for a while, his acting is anything but. I can only imagine the challenge of playing a mute, since you can't use your voice to convey how you feel or what you want to say. He absolutely blew me away with the level of emotion he was able to convey just with his eyes and body language. The scenes when Gun and Em leave for college and when he was telling his mom that Em had promised him to stay in contact were so incredibly powerful to me. They just broke my heart and I wanted to reach through the screen and give him a hug. The other actors have been great as well, but he's the one who stole the show for me.

This drama has such a diverse set of characters and I love it, particularly the inclusion of characters with disabilities and the treatment of them as actual human beings. At the beginning of the drama, it was so heartwarming to see the boys accept Name so completely. Just a "he doesn't talk much" and they were all totally fine with that, he was instantly one of them. And with Chompu, I appreciated seeing a woman in that role and not as a recluse, but as a woman in college who knew her worth. What I haven't loved as much with these characters is the lack of character development. With some characters there's very obvious growth, but with others it doesn't seem like there's been much of a change from their high school selves to where they're at now.
-Gun is a very likable character, he's adorable and he really is a sweetheart, but he's definitely one of the ones I don't feel like had a whole lot of growth. To be fair, he didn't get as much screen time as an adult aside from his break up with Golf. But aside from the lack of acne, there didn't seem to be a huge difference between where he was in high school and where he was at the end. At the time of their breakup, he still wasn't really communicating and was still keeping things to himself. He obviously loved Golf and didn't really want to break up with him, but rather than sit down and communicate how he felt, he immediately jumped to breaking up. I was initially very disappointed with how that was resolved because it seemed far too easy, but I was glad that Name's narrative at the end gave some further insight into their relationship and that they had learned from what happened and set some boundaries. Not the most satisfying way to resolve it, I would have liked to see the growth myself, but it works.
-Golf is a little more interesting since, while he is billed as a main character, his storyline was shorter, completely tied to Gun's without a chance to really see him as a character on his own. So the change seen is more tied to his relationship with Gun than directly to his character. When first introduced in high school and college, he's fairly carefree, I didn't get the impression that he was the kind of student who studied all the time and his relationship with Gun was sweet and easy. Fast forward to after college and suddenly he's a workaholic, forgetting or ignoring important dates, not checking in, essentially completely neglecting his relationship with Gun without an apology or any signs of remorse until Gun breaks. Now I mentioned above that Gun fails to communicate how all of this affects him, Golf, in turn, fails to recognize how he is neglecting his relationship and the damage he is causing by doing so. They ultimately fail each other. I would have liked to see more character development of Golf as his own person, however, that really never happened. I was glad to see that he had some self-realization that he had been neglecting Gun, but also his thinking didn't make sense to me. He was working so hard so they could move to the US, but he hadn't run this by Gun? Moving to a whole other country is a huge decision and not one made lightly and without your partner's input. And then to suddenly spring a proposal out there was a bold move that somehow worked out and again an extremely unsatisfactory ending to a conflict that deserved an actual sit down conversation to figure things out. I liked Golf, I just wish more was done with him.
-Em is one of the characters who I felt had more character development. He actually seemed to grow as a person. I loved his relationship with Name, both as a friendship and with the way I felt it pretty naturally took a romantic turn. I really appreciated how he implicitly accepted him when they were children and the fact that he didn't talk wasn't an issue in the slightest. While he came across as very easy going, he also struck me as a deeply empathetic person. He understood Name when others didn't and I think that empathetic nature is what allowed him to do so. I do, however, take issue with his plot with Name's mom. While I understand he had good intentions, I found it manipulative and damaging. Considering how close the two are, he should have been aware of the damage it could cause and he should have steered Name's mom toward a different solution. I was glad that he told Name everything, but that whole conflict was dragged out for far too long. I was glad that he stuck by Name afterwards and again, his feelings turning from friendship to romance felt pretty natural although I wouldn't have minded a little more of a gradual build up there though I understand why they couldn't. I did find it very sweet that his gift to Name was the hourglass and he told him that he was giving him the rest of his time. Very smooth. I think ultimately, what I love most about his character is his unwavering support for his friends, but particularly Name. No matter what, he is there to help and support them.
-Name has the greatest character development out of anyone in this drama with overcoming his fear and beginning to speak. Him speaking to Em before anyone else was the sweetest and most heartbreaking thing to watch, especially the bus scene when Em leaves. While he does have the most development, he is also left stagnant for several episodes during his conflict with Em and his mom. That got frustrating to watch seeing him in the same place after a while interspersed with great moments like when he tries to speak in front of the mirror or when he's writing on the sticky notes to his mom. One of the hardest scenes to watch though was when he contemplates suicide and is only prevented from taking the pills by his mother's collapse. That was never mentioned again which, on the one hand, I understand because he's moved past that, but on the other hand, I think is something important that should be addressed. And while I don't condone Em's or his mother's actions, it was sweet to see him realizing how much his mom really does love him. Since overcoming his fear, it was lovely to continue watching him grow and try new things, aided and encouraged by Em, of course. His conversation with Champ was fantastic to watch, to just see how far he's come, from not being able to speak for himself to actually being able to help others speak for themselves. I'm not a huge fan of Champ, but that was a great scene. And, of course, I was happy that he and Em finally got together and, in the end, apparently open a café together.
-Nan probably has the second greatest character development, changing from a self-proclaimed playboy to a man devoted to only one woman. I found his development really interesting to watch mostly because I felt it was portrayed in a relatively realistic fashion, going from woman to woman to finding one who finally fully captures his interest. His pursuit of Chompu after their breakup feels less realistic. Part of the problem is that whole time issue I mentioned. I never got a good sense of how long the two of them were together. The translation I watched said years at one point, but something said later on contradicted that, so I'm not sure. My general impression though was more like months maybe, in which case his pursuit of her seemed a tad aggressive and kind of stalkerish, honestly. I get that its supposed to be romantic, but it did lean a tad more towards creepy. That being said, I do like his relationship with Chompu, particularly that he realizes that she wants to be seen as normal human being and that he doesn't immediately jump in to help her. I don't think he would have had that level of perception when he was younger. And on the flip side, he finally realizes that she loves him just as he is and wants him to be himself as well. You can definitely see that he's matured while he's also still his goofy self. Now if Chompu would just rip off that stupid wig...which thankfully it looks like she eventually does since its gone during Name's final narrative. Thank god!
-Champ is probably my least favorite of the gang. I feel like his character is the least interesting and frankly could have been completely omitted with very little lost. His claim to fame is really only his grandfather's pickled fish and the fact that he's the smart one of the bunch. Aside from that, I don't feel like there's much to him. I don't feel like he's really developed as a character, certainly not positively. He went from being a sweet kid who loved his family to treating them like dirt. I still don't fully understand that. I get that he was angry that they didn't tell him about his grandfather being in the hospital, but they were doing what they thought was best and trying not to cause him undue stress and he's been punishing them ever since? For years? That's a lot of anger and resentment. I'm glad they get things resolved in the end and he goes back home and reconciles with his parents. The scene with his parents eating dinner and having the pickled fish again was sweet, but he remains my least favorite character and the least developed, in my opinion.

The nostalgia is strong with this drama. I'm at an age where a lot of this was relevant for me growing up so it's been fun watching it. The letters, in particular, got to me just because it used to be such an exciting event to get a letter from someone or even to write a letter to someone. Now all I get is bills. lol

The music for this drama has been unusually bad. I'm used to the repetitive soundtracks with Thai dramas, this one just feels more tedious than usual. And the background music is way too loud. Whoever did the editing did a poor job of it because it is incredibly distracting and annoying. Also, repetitive, again.

Probably the worst part of this drama though has to be the makeup and the wigs. I don't know who looked at these men in those wigs and said, yup, that looks good, but they should be fired. They are god awful and they both distract and detract from the quality of the drama. If you want them to have different hairstyles to show passage of time, then get some decent lace front wigs, not cheap anime cosplay wigs that wouldn't fool a mannequin. Ja's is probably the least offensive. Honestly, he's giving me serious Sin vibes from Until We Meet Again with that look, but the wig's so ill fitting you can his own hair at the nape of his neck that the wig doesn't cover in one scene. I honestly don't understand why they needed wigs in the first place. Besides the wigs, Gun's acne was nearly as bad. Besides the fact that it would change between takes within a single scene, it looked so fake and really nothing like acne. There are literally YouTube tutorials that show you how to do something more realistic. I just, I don't know with this part of the drama in all honesty.

While I am enjoying parts of this drama, there are other parts that I have not enjoyed as much.
-The predictability of some parts was just a little too obvious. For example, Champ's grandfather's death. As soon as the grandparent starts coughing or something, I'm calling it. It's an overused trope, in my opinion, and an unnecessary one at that. The fact that N was Name's mom was also pretty obvious. There were a number of other moments like that where it was just very obvious what was going to happen. Subtlety is definitely not this drama's strong suit.
-Probably my biggest issue though is the manipulation of Em and Name's mom. I understand they had good intentions, I understand his mom was at her wit's end and she wanted her son to open up to her, but seriously, that was the best idea you could come up with? To further isolate him and take away the one friend he had? That I don't get. It has to be the worst thought out plan ever. There's no doubt that they both love Name, but they seriously went the wrong way about helping him.
-I nearly always have this issue with Thai dramas, so this really isn't a surprise, but too big of a main cast. They are trying to cram in too many characters and stories into too short of a time period and it doesn't give time to do them justice. This is where removing a character like Champ who, in my opinion, adds very little to the story, would give more opportunities to develop the other characters stories and relationships which I'm far more interested and invested in.
-This is my nitpicking more than anything but the pointed time period references are a tad annoying. I feel like they could have found less obvious and repetitive ways to do so.

Overall this wasn't a bad drama. I can't say it was a great one, but the concept was interesting and I really did enjoy the coming of age aspect of it even though I wasn't expecting it to play quite as much of a role as it did. I don't expect that I'll come back to this drama, there just wasn't enough about it that I liked as a whole to pull me back. It really is a slow burn and while those are fine to watch at least once, sometimes twice if exceptional, this drama is not exceptional.

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You won’t be disappointed!

This was an excellent drama. It was both well written and executed. Let me explain why I say this.

The premise was intriguing: it was a revenge plot, but with a time travel supernatural twist. I’m already drawn to revenge dramas, and this new twist made it irresistible.

The pace was smooth. There seemed to be no draggy saggy middles or in betweens. It was very engaging, and kept you wanting more, like a book you can’t put down.

The story was enjoyable. There were funny parts, and yes, some unbelievable parts also; sometimes I did feel like the supporting characters were over the top, but it wasn’t enough to detract from the story. The chemistry between the grandfather and the main character was very nuanced: often charming, but guarded and adversarial at times. There were also compelling sad parts, that made you feel so sympathetic and indignant right along with the characters. The story was also cohesive and flowed nicely. It wasn’t predictable either, and made you think.

The characters were varied and interesting. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters, and the writers delivered a satisfying “biography” for each of the main characters. This wasn’t a drama that suffered from too many main characters that are never fully developed and leave you in confusion.

The main characters were fully developed, and that is what makes a drama for me! I love characters that are fully fleshed out and three dimensional. I loved our main guy, in both his lives. His relationships were so rich. I loved how he interacted with the female lead, and I really enjoyed her character also! It wasn’t overly romantic, but had enough to give you something to root for. Mr. Oh was also a great character, he brought both adventure and gravity to the table. My favorite character, besides Song Joon Ki’s was Grandpa! He was intriguing, and incredibly nuanced.

The cast was top notch. Their acting was outstanding, and they worked so well together. So I guess this also means that the directing was great too!

Try this drama! You won’t be disappointed!

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A tale that continues

Even though I have watched and rewatched this series many times, my eyes still tears up everytime I listened to the OST. Although I’ve since watched probably 50+ different BL series, this is still remains my forever No1. I admit I wasn’t attracted to the poster when I first saw it on youtube, neither was I overly impressed by the episode 1, and I almost missed out on the best love story of this century.
The chemistry between Phupha and Tian drawn me right in the moment they meet, and my heart flutters thinking of the little glances they steal for each other, their little cute flirts, and my love for them grows throughout the series. I still remember how much I cried during episode 9 and 10!! ??. To find a love like PhuphaTian is a dream come true. This is a story tale that indeed remain unchanged no matter how many times it is retold.

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The Borderland of Life and Death

From the director of Gantz, Bleach and I am a Hero, director and Screenwriter, Sato Shinsuke brings us back to the world of Alice in Borderland with gruesome survival games determining the life and death of those within it.

Story:

The first episode had a promising and engaging start picking up immediately from last season's continuation. The stakes are higher and the games are increasingly challenging. Each episode throughout eight episodes covers the different perspectives of recurring and newly introduced characters.

One of the interesting points of this season was how the story revisited past season characters and the reasons behind their motives and actions. This resulted in bringing character development to this season's characters and gives us a better understanding of the games and the borderland.

The cons of this season were the plot armour of supporting roles which took attention out of the scenes. However, the reason was later explained in the plot twist. Also, some screen time was cut for certain characters such as Miyoshi’s character (Rizuna Ann). It would have been interesting to see more of her take on a game as shown in the manga.

In terms of story pacing, the episodes did not rush to conclusion but linger subtle hints while scattering misdirections for each game that unravels a thrilling reveal.

Acting/Casting/Crew:

It is uncertain how faithful the series' characters are to their manga origins. However, the action sequence and the desperation for the character's survival were performed well, especially in the semi-final games.

The arc that seemed neutral was the romance arc in the series. It would have been more impactful if the characters started showing gradual signs in the first season. However, it was better shown in the climax scene which was moving.

Mad props to the cast and crew for the stunt coordination. As seen behind-the-scenes, many stunts were performed by the actors themselves, especially the brutal fight scene in the climax episodes. It was evident, especially with the visual effects, the series was given a higher budget to heighten the strange world of the borderland.

Music:
The same soundtrack produced by composer, Yamada Yutaka was played throughout the series. The music department, Daniel Kresco did not drown out the character dialogues and they were timed appropriately to the given performance and scenes.

Rewatch value:

In conclusion, Alice in Borderland (今際の国のアリス) conveys a strong outlook from the various characters to appreciate the mundane parts of life despite the downsides they have experienced. A rewatch is worth the missed easter eggs, heartfelt moments between characters and the well thought out connections throughout the series.

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University BL with bad acting

Unlike many others, I don't mind university set BLs and I've liked or loved most of the ones I've watched so far. However, this was I minded. It wasn't good. It wasn't even actually decent.

A few people recommended this to me and every sing one of them failed to mention how bad the acting was. This has got to be some of the worst acting this year. It also didn't help that the subtitles were awful and at times nonsensical but even with perfect subtitles, the acting is still bad. I can't recall any of the actors giving at least decent performance.

There were side characters & side couples with their own stories & they're so forgettable that the script forgot them as well. So there isn't much to say about them except that they exist.

I dropped it mainly because halfway through I found out that one of the main characters was a minor during filming. The thought that that 16 to 17 year old was doing all those kissing scenes and love scenes with an adult in a room full of adults made my skin crawl. The BL industry needs to stop pairing minors with adults. It's creepy and should not be a thing.

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I beg to differ

It’s not half as bad as described in another review. In fact I was kinda more drama into the story after episode 4. The leads are cute and although I can’t say the story is relatable, it’s definitely interesting and worth a watch. Looking forward to more of such bold content and good acting coming! I just really say the story line of sis is very touching. If only there are more of such kind and cute souls as neighbours. Golf was a little irritating at the beginning yes, but when he opened up to Gus, isn’t that one of the cutest thing in the world? What happens when it’s the end of the world? Be brave to love!

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Why is this series included in the Top BL in 2022??

The story didn't focus on the emotional aspect but what I love in this drama is that it stays on its lane. The story isn't forced. This is a typical love story but has done perfectly compared to other BL dramas. The actors did their respective roles. They acted as what their characters must be. The only problem I have in high school dramas is the bullying. Is bullying that harsh in Korea?

Why is this series included in the Top BL in 2022??? It is because it deserves to be.

I'm not pushing you to watch this series, but if you don't have any kdramas to watch, watching Cherry Blossoms After Winter will not waste your time.

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Was going to wait for proper subtitles, but I just couldn't wait!

After finishing the first 5 episodes, I tell myself that I will wait for proper subtitles first, because I didn't want to ruin my experience of this drama, but I just couldn't hold back and ended up watching the whole drama. I was hooked to the story and the characters, that despite the choppy subtitles, the show was still awesome!.
The characters were nicely written. Both our main and 2nd main characters were strong, enduring, and virtuous. I really enjoy a drama with good, strong, and smart female leads and this one has it. The male lead was your typical prince, super good at fighting, smart and quick wited, but he won my heart easily, because he's handsome (of course!) and played the character perfectly. Our second male lead definitely sold me on his character, cute, goofy, but loyal. I usually skip second couple scenes, but this one I couldn't. I enjoyed the interactions between Zhou Yue and Gao Mo as much as Shen Yu and Qi Zhang.
If one day, proper subtitles come out for this drama, I would definitely rewatch it! Despite that, the storyline was pretty logical and solid to where I can enjoy and understand it with enough sense. It took me a while to get over the fact that A' Yu was forever going to be 'A fish' and Gao Mo will forever be 'Tall Ink'. At least I didn't have to bear with 'Occipital cloud' (General Han's subbed name) for too long, lol XD!

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Exceptional from beginning to end

I'm so glad I happened to stumble across this show. From start to finish, I was never bored. Each episode is entertaining and will leave you wanting more. If you love crime/thriller with a hint of romance and suspense, I highly recommend watching this! I can't remember the last time a series made me feel so many emotions.

The acting really pulls this drama together, the chemistry between each individual was gripping and definitely made the story a lot more interesting to watch. Everything some how connects to one another and the way it’s executed is amazing.

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well-acted soul-transmigration story with one of the worst finale to date

Before diving into this, I'd like to say first that this show is an adaptation. The original material is a fairly popular webnovel, which tells a story about a outrageously loyal employee of one of the biggest fictional company in South Korea, Soonyang, who found himself transmigrated into the youngest grandson of the very company he worked for, Jin Do-jun just shortly after his death.

I was plenty excited for this show because I've always loved stories with rebirth & transmigration in the center due to its satisfying face-slapping laced with revenge type of story and to some extent, Reborn Rich didn't disappoint. The show clearly was confident with its thrice-weekly airing time, the casting line-ups, and it was fascinating seeing the rating rose higher and higher the more we dive into the show. I was afraid the show wouldn't be able to intrigue but I was wrong. From episode 2 onwards, the story gradually layered itself with step-by-step of how Do-jun tries to slowly steal Soonyang under his grandpa's nose, and eventually announced himself that he'd buy the company to his grandpa himself.

Some episodes are fillers, but some episodes are pure fun & smart battle-of-wits, polished as familiar as it could have been with the history of business in South Korea that I couldn't seem to drop the show whenever those episodes were on. Basically, if we're talking about pace & story, the show was pretty unstable on maintaining its tension. And those broken tension were usually caused by the (highly) unnecessary loveline, which I still thought as the most useless part of the show. Why?Because it felt like a different show altogether when these 'lovely' scenes appeared. In a story where revenge and political intrigue played a pivotal role, a love-line, personally for me, only served as a distraction for the main character themselves. It was not helping that the writer didn't know how to make the romance work (didn't even give the depth for both Min-young & Do-jun, and then suddenly they're dating????PLS), and how the director didn't have the right style to present the heartfluttering bits amidst the intense power battle between these Soonyang people. In others episodes, sometimes the pace was too slow and sometimes it turned less interesting, which turned out to be the way it was simply because the writer wanted to the satisfying meat in the next episode.

Seeing these patterns played out a couple of times made me realize; ah, the writer wasn't able to control the story to be as equally engaging each episode, and what was more surprising is when I was gradually made aware that despite keeping the main story intact, there were many details & points from the original materials left out to make the show adaptable for the drama format. It was less obvious at first, but the more we got near to the ending the more I realized the wrongness of the story which eventually cultivated into that stupid-ass conclusion which COMPLETELY betrayed the essence of the entire story with that one episode alone. It's an understatement to say that I'm disappointed. And I couldn't even imagine what the webnovel readers would feel seeing that clusterfuck ending.

You know...when you write an adaptation, you must know the original material well enough to be able to make out a more engaging story out of it. You have to know what fits into the format, what to include and what to miss, and what to keep in mind. Reborn Rich is essentially a soul-transmigration story. A unbelievable story where a supporting character gets a chance of living a main character's life after their death, and with their knowledge of the future and all, makes the main character's life theirs by the end of the story. The pattern is obvious, what you'll get from the story is also obvious. And during the time I've read countless rebirth & transmigration story, there hasn't been ONE that has a mind-boggling conclusion like this one. Why?Because it betrayed the value, the fun, the very reason why people still flocking to these stories. Hyun-woo's supposed to live out his life as Jin Do-jun because that's what we're all invested for to read and watch, his journey to the top. His journey to seek the power and make all Soonyang people pay for his death and everything. But to get that, there's gotta be a real & heavy consequences; he's in the place where he could never wish for and will never get for even if he's working himself to death for years. And he was also, if we're talking about the same show, obviously died in the first episode. His death is the key to the beginning of the story. It's because he was dead that he transmigrated. It was because he's gone that he had a revenge. It was because he's dead that we watched the whole ass show.

And now you're telling me he wasn't dead?

Then what about those 17 years of him living his life as Jin Do-jun?

Was by the end of the story the biggest victim of all happen to be Do-jun who got brutally used as a plot device and abandoned just like that because Yoon Hyun-woo was simply dreaming about those years in a span of a week?Because his head is apparently more solid than a rock stone even being shot in the head doesn't make him die?????????

Because the show is so all smart that all they could do is to use truck-of-doom repetitively and escaped all the consequences?????

What the fuck is this.

And more of the reason to not like this conclusion is because it betrayed the entire story of what was supposed to be an adaptation. Because the webnovel is sure as hell isn't played out like this. Because the scriptwriter of this show got fucking greedy and crossed the damn line they shouldn't have; they disrespect the entire webnovel. They disrespect the original material just because they could and just because they think the whole story is theirs to write. BUT IT FUCKING IS NOT. THIS IS AN ADAPTATION. THERE'S A LINE AND LIMIT TO NOT BE CROSSED OVER AND THAT CONCLUSION??????THAT'S NOT IT.

I was able to overlook the writer's stupid ass decision to change the subplot here and there, adding the unnecessary romance, or making the grandpa's death lame as fuck despite him being one of the powerful characters in the show. I could forgive alllll that. Because they didn't change the flow of the story. But the finale did. In more ways than we all could imagine. Because it showed that the creator of this show didn't understand what must be done to deliver a transmigration story. They didn't understand the genre. The respect and love for these works, and why we came to love these superficial stories that weren't realistically possible but served as a satisfying read every single time. And to think I was excited when I first heard about the show...........and now I'm just angry. Disappointed but angrier at how they managed make a mess of a story that could have been turned out really good. If possibe, I'd highly recommend watching it only until episode 15 (minus the last few minutes of the ending). The last episode is entirely different story that shouldn't have been a part of this show. Period.

Even if I had complains here and there about the plot and the story, in terms of acting, the whole show is nothing less than perfect. Everyone in Soonyang were all so good I had nothing to nitpick; they also had personalities and some performances stood out than the other. It was also the reason why I stick so long for the show. Lee Sung-min was just............amazing. Flawless. Best acting performances I've seen this year. I wish we could see more of his chemistry with Song Joong-ki's character but nonetheless he was still such a huge blast to watch. Kim Shin-rok was absolutely killing her role too, and the tension between Kim Nam-hee and Park Ji-hyun in every single scene they're in are deliciously impeccable. I love nearly all the performances from Soonyang family members. They're all solid and know how to maintain that special intensity between the scenes. The music was just okay (sometimes I loved it, sometimes I don't), and well after seeing the ending, I didn't think I'd have a high rewatch value for the show.

Overall, Reborn Rich is a show that has its ups and downs throughout the story, delivery an intense power struggle between family members of one of the biggest fictional company in South Korea. The original material itself is very solid, and the way the story followed and reflected into past years of real business industry in South Korea was new and refreshing too. Featured strong and powerful performances, I don't think there's a reason you wouldn't want to watch the show. At least until episode 15.

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One of a kind

I don't think I've watched a KDrama that's so heavily focused on economics, historical events and finance this good. There's never a boring moment throughout the drama. When it comes to succession dramas, often times, you'll see a lot of internal politics drama but this one is different. I'm not saying that there's no internal politics, but you get to see the thinking process behind business decisions and also good strategies. There are so many mentions of real historical events and how they have impacted businesses in Korea which is one of the highlights of the drama for me.

I read an article somewhere comparing the plot of this drama with the Samsung's succession drama as well. Long story short, the founder of Samsung, similar to Jin Yang Cheol in the drama, planned to let his eldest son become the successor but the son wasn't really business savvy so he changed his mind and led to a series of events surrounding power fight within the family. I always have a soft spot for dramas which have elements inspired by true events because you can help but think "so it does happen in real life".

Parts I really love:
1. The whole part of how Jin Do Joon took advantage of his knowledge of events to make investment decisions.
2. Jin Do Joon's relationship with Oh Se Hyun. It's really funny how they became such trusty partners after a donut incident in the US.
3. All the details put into business and investment strategies. Is it because Do Joon could see the future? He could confidently make decisions and at the same time make logical sense out of them.

The one part of the drama which I really dislike is Seo Min Young. Sometimes, I feel like the writers wrote her in just to give the actress something to do.

My opinion on the ending:
I see a lot of comments complaining how "ridiculous" the ending is. If you guys have been watching the drama from episode 1, you should know that historical events cannot be changed. Remember when Do Joon tried to save Hyun Woo's mother? He did all sorts of things to avoid her death but she died anyway. In actual fact, Do Joon didn't get to survive the accident. Isn't already expected that at some point, Do Joon will die? Probably because we have been too attached with Do Joon throughout the drama, it is quite upsetting that they have killed off our main character.

There are parts that don't quite make sense to me though. I couldn't for the life of me, figure out the age thing. 20 years had passed since Do Joon died and Hyun Woo still looked the same? How old was he then, when he survived the gunshot? How did he survive the gunshot to the head in the first place?

All in all, I highly recommend this drama. The only reason why I rated this 8.5 is only because other than Jin Do Joon and Jin Yang Cheol, other characters seem to be a little lacking.

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Refine story plot than season 1

In this second season, I think the writer just refine the story from season 1
I thought they will be back at the current time but stuck at 2018
please prepare for 2nd lead syndrome i think he really deserves better

butttt this drama to many cheesy scenee that make unnecessary
sometimes i just skip because too many love scene that makes its cringe

but i really like 2nd couple relay its just like normal couple without to many cheesy scene that make me uncomfortable

sometime i feels writer just want to shoot the drama because want to finish s1 ending

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