Reviews

I try to avoid describing shows as self-important or pretentious, but in this case, I can't help but apply those labels. While there were elements I liked, such as the antagonists and the conflict setup, the show ultimately fell short. The subject matter, a corrupt hegemony and a revenge plot, is not unique in the world of Kdramas, but that's not the issue. The problem is that the plot becomes overly complicated and hard to follow, and the protagonist is hard to empathize with because he lacks genuine relationships and treats everyone as a means to an end. As a result, it's difficult to believe that he cares about the strangers caught in the accident at the beginning of the show. The show also feels unnecessarily long, as the plot isn't complex enough to warrant 16 one-hour episodes. The writing needlessly complicates things to fill the time, and I ended up losing interest because of this.

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I lost braincells watching this

I think my main issue with this series is that Nhai is so unrealistically brainless. His childishness has been an issue for me since EP1 and I feel like no character development occurred. The dialogue was ridiculous (though this could have been a subtitle issue because I felt that they got progressively worse).

Ai and Nhai are cute, don't get me wrong, and I like their little gang but really what was the point of this series? 12 episodes and barely anything happened. If I was more invested in the characters maybe I would have appreciated the constant fluff but they had no depth despite several plot points being presented yet not explored.

This would have been better as a short series with maybe half the amount of episodes... Don't waste your time.

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So Much Potential

First let's discuss what was good about this series. 1) Meen. That's it, there is no number two. This series had a lot of potential and teased us with so many things it flat failed to deliver on. Don't go looking for a second couple unless you count Ai's dad's (played by real married couple Porsche and Arm). None of the other matches we were teased with went anywhere at all. The drama with Ai's birth mother also completely fizzled out. Ping, bless his heart, he tried. He's so cute, but where Meen proved he can easily kiss boys with passion in his role in LBC2, poor Ping just isn't there yet. The storyline was flat and moved in and out of relationship angst without ever actually giving a sense of resolve to any of the issues. If you are just looking for a series to throw on while you play games on your phone, I can recommend this one. At least you still get to see all the pretty boys. However, if you are looking for something to really pull you in, don't expect it to be this one.

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Despite the script having some flaws, the dynamics in which it was conducted made it interesting. The characters in the plot are not the most likeable, but the actors who played them brought each of them to life magnificently. The writers spared no trouble for their good characters and no punishment for the bad ones. The finale matches the small moments of happiness wrapped in a sea of sadness and uncertainty of a long life.
In terms of romance, it's not the best drama I've watched, but perhaps it's one of the best dramas in terms of 'intrigues'. Rarely in a drama is it possible to find so many hateful characters as in this one.
I chose to watch this drama, which is already quite old, exclusively because of the presence of Zhao Li Ying, and she did not disappoint. The actors' performances were spectacular, all the actors involved did a very, very good job.
The costumes were very well designed, at each stage of the protagonist's life the clothes were changed.
The soundtrack was underwhelming, because in this type of drama the soundtrack is usually an unforgettable complement, but in this drama, nothing very special.
The direction produced good scenes, the cinematography was good, it carried the drama without missing a beat, but the editing had many flaws. In the final scene, post-production made the scene not very visually pleasing.

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yeah, idk what that was either

Listen, guys, it's not terrible, but not the most interesting thing either.

There is zero plot, like at all, but maybe that's a strong suit here. In some ways, you feel like you know what will happen each episode, but there was still a few scenes that were a tad surprising. For better or for worse, it's an unpredictable mess with cute characters and strange dialogue (at least if watched on iQiYi). The main couple (and only, but I'll get into that in a minute) were cute when they needed to be despite their insanely fast-paced beginning and mediocre story, and Nhai is adorable sometimes. They have an overall healthy relationship in my opinion, and that might be why some people stuck around all the way through. I'm with those who don't really know why we kept watching, but always tuned in every single week. The episodes went by fast and I wasn't bored at all, even when I had no idea what was happening.

To give criticism, I would say the biggest error was introducing like four side couples and then proceeding to develop none of them. There was no context for bringing them up, either, unless it was solely for the purpose of reflecting what is in the novel. Ai's parents are cute, but I still don't think that entire episode about their backstory as it relates to Ai's childhood was entirely necessary. That's another thing, did the mom and Jom just disappear? Where did they go? Why was silly Nhai saying no to their demands enough for them to back off? Not that I'm complaining per-say, I hate stupid family conflict, but I feel that that was so out of character for the antagonist of a show.

Overall, the same thing happens in every episode, the finale was underwhelming, and the plot is severely underdeveloped. However, the characters are cute enough, and you find yourself oddly hooked for unknown reasons. Again, not the best by any means, but also not the worst whatsoever. Just fine. A nice break from life, if you will.

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Disappointing

While watching the drama, I found it very entertaining.

I liked most of the characters and most of the story. Unfortunately, the characters and the plot points I didn't like, often annoyed me and took me out of the story.
And although, as I said, I liked most of the story, the ending (no spoilers) was very disappointing.

I have never asked myself this question at the end of a drama until I saw this:
"Is this, the end? Is that all?"

The drama was ok. Unfortunately, I would not watch it again or recommend it.


~ Sorry if my English reads strangely. English is not my first language.

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Fate and destiny can only do so much for us most of the times... Sometimes we need to take the lead

First and foremost I was really excited the first time I saw the trailer for this series!!!! "First Love" by Utada Hikaru will always be one of my ultimate favorite love songs <3

Casting was superb from the young actors who played the leads to the adult casts. Hands down!!! Super great chemistry!!!! Satoh Takeru is such a fine man omg <3

Aspiring viewers beware this is not your typical fast paced love story but it has its own charm that will keep you hooked until the end. Personally, I have a soft spot for first love stories as this is something I really hold dear to me. So my review will be bias but that's alright.

At first, the story telling was kinda confusing for me as it has flash backs a lot throughout the episodes but once I tried to really focus on the show I got to understand and appreciate the plot more. As a viewer, it became more engaging for me and it made me appreciate more what is happening in the present time. I also loved how realistic the story telling was. I know fate played a big role in making things happen for the two leads but it's okay. It also happens to us every once in a while.

It was really nice to see them grow from high school students to responsible adults. When they were young and in love, they let fate and destiny take the lead for them. The universe gave them one more chance when they became adults (Thanks to Tsuzuru and Uta). Unfortunately, fate and destiny can only do so much. Which is why I think they got separated again. But luckily, this time, Yae took the lead and made things happen for them one last time and that's how they got their happy ending <3

The only reason I did not give this a perfect score was because of the ending. I was actually hoping that after all they've been through, the writer/director would have given them a bit more screen time together. Don't get me wrong I loved that they were able to fulfill their childhood dream together but I would really love to see more of them <3

PS: This show really makes me think of my first love during high school and how lucky I was with him <3 It was He really did love me the same way as the ML here loved the FL. Unconditionally. Like I was his last love. And that's what I became, his last love. "First Love" is the song I dedicate to him the most as I will always have a special place in my heart for him. He was the one who taught me how to love. I really miss him and how I wish he was still here.

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Restrained and subtle, but oh-so lovely.

I'm a huge fan of this director. I like the pace; the look; and the air of subtle restraint evident in her work. In Blueming, love and attraction simmers, feelings are scrambled and awkward, and the 'confession' doesn't evolve flowery words, but spawns touch and yearning. I thought the acting felt real and the characters felt fully dimensional and thus gave both male lead actors a full ten points. If I could have, I would have added another ten points for the cinematography. Some of the scenes were beautifully shot. All in all, this is one of the best BLs I watched in 2022.

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Good first season.

It tells the story of the demons hunters called Counters, whose goal is to capture Evil Spirits that have return to earth in pursuit of Eternal Life.

It is the somewhat typical series that brings together several elements, such as endearing characters and forming a team that becomes a family. We cannot help but root for the characters, like So Moon, who is the new addition to the Counters, it is a pure and innocent young man, who has two adorable grandparents and a lively trauma left by the death of his parents. He is our main character.
Then, Do Ha Na a mysterious but sensitive young women, who does not hesitate to fight for those she loves.
Ga Mo Tak, who was a police officer but lost his memory seven years ago after an accident, strangely the same day when So Moon's father and mother died, who were also police officers. Ga Mo Tak becomes So Moon’s mentor.
Chu Mae Ok is the maternal and protective figure of the group, she is ready to do anything for them, even to sacrificed her own life.
And finally, Choi Jang Mool, who comes and helps the other Counters from time to time, he is in charge of all of the Counters' expenses.

The series comes down to politicians who use their power to crush anyone who puts themselves in their path, they do not hesitate to corrupt and kill, using the worst methods, even going so far as to poison water reserves that the population use without the slightest care of killing them.
The series also take a look at the bullying done in schools, with the bullies which are protected instead of the victims, generally because they have highly placed parents.
And then the heart of the series, the Evils Spirit that the Counters fight, including one in particular which is at the origin of many pains, losses and trauma of several characters.

The script is not complicated but it is well put together, it gives us action, humorous, touching, sad, painful moments, it is a complete package. On the other hand, I would be honest, a lot of plots are predictable and scenes that I have just skipped, so there is this modern cheesy element but in the end it is good.

In summary, it is everything that people are craving for, I am more curious to see season 2, I want to see more sides and depth to our characters, even new faces, I want to see new challenges.

So a solid and entertaining first season, good production and script, and acting (even though nobody really stood out among them - yet, I hope next season will change that), and I'm waiting for more depth for season 2.

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Something Special

I don't typically write reviews, but I want to write this so that I can remember how much I truly enjoyed this show. I completely fell in love with the characters and the story. Each character has so many dimensions and these small details are given to each character.

Li Xun- In the beginning of the show, he always turns his head towards the sun. He closes his eyes and just feels the sunlight. Later on, we find out that when his mother was in the hospital for cancer, she loved to stand by the window. She loved to feel the sun on her face and because of that Li Xun's goal was to let his mother just at least one more day so that she could feel the sun on her face even one more time. After she passed, Lin Xun feels the sun in place of his mother. Instead of his character simply going through a huge incident and moving on, he continues to feel the weight of her death and simply feels the sun in place of his mother. I also loved the fact that his lighter was not a purposeful gift. His father died when he was still a child and one day he randomly found the lighter. He uses the lighter throughout the entire show, because it's like an extension of him, it never truly leaves him. I love when there will be low audio of the lighter cap coming on and off even when it doesn't show him messing with the lighter.

Zhu Yun- The huge incident of seeing Li Xun almost murder someone and being unable to move or doing anything about it, didn't just go away. The shock of seeing him doing that and them him leaving her, made her begin to have depression. I do wish that would've been explored a bit more, but I love that they didn't have her character go through such a huge event and be totally fine.

Other little character details I enjoyed
Gao-his love of oranges. You can see him eating them all throughout the show, even in the background. At the end, those oranges are a sign of hope for him to live after his surgery. I also loved how it showed step by step how he turned into someone so twisted.
Li Lan-Buying a doll for her barely mentioned child.

How each period of our lives are spent surrounded by others. There will be people that change and people that stay the same. There will people that leave you out of choice and those that stay by you. With each period, you can start friendships and relationships, but not all of them will continue and that's not necessarily bad. You can have close classmates, lose them, then have good coworkers, then eventually lose them. Throughout it all, life changes and people change. You can become warmer or colder and that's up to you.

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The tale of the Duck owner who always lost he's pet, with he lover

so where do you want me to start,
last year, last year, gmmtv released a series of stories titled tonhon chonlatee,
a series full of laughter and sadness, the story is based on tonhon and chonlatee

so let's talk about this series,

so the time when this come out ,the series is doesn't interest me, there are times when I want to watch a Korean drama, usually the link I get is not the drama I want to watch, but this drama, so I wonder if this drama is calling me to watch it :)

and from what I have seen, this drama is ok and there is nothing that stands out, just like the "brother of this" series, the series is also filled with laughter, but the other thing is that this series is for those who choose to be easy to digest

, if you are looking for something heavy, then this series is not for you, as I said before, your expectations should be low,
because this series is not a series that full of evil that will make your head spin (although there are one crazy woman that really need a therapy cause she don't even have sympathy after done something bad to her own son and her ex husband, but she just appear only a moment then she disappear ,until the last scene of drama we don't see her again which is a relief ,cause I don't want to make other sin by curse and continue curse)
and this series is not like a tug-of-war(even tho there are one scene that seem like a country war between top and bottom :)

it's a series where the couple "just fine "from beginning to end

what I like about this series is how the couple communicates when there's a problem, each one chooses to be honest and not avoid it, something that a couple from another series is hard to make, it shows the naughty chen nai who tried to destroy ai's house because of a misunderstanding, but in the end chose to be honest about what make he"act like that" , and how ai who is jealous of nhai's over-friendly attitude, choose to let him know his dissatisfaction about this and that


, ok enough about the storyline, when talking about the actor, for me, the actor is ok, chen for me needs to improve his acting, among many actors, I like in the most, he plays his role really really well that made me forget for a moment about the first couple , the way he express he feeling and anything is just, wow is so good, but unfortunately, the produser decide to not focus so much at he so I'm a bit disappointed :(

humm that's all

oh yes why I give this series 7.5 because, like I said, I enjoy this very simple story, for me Sometimes I want to see a story that is not full of conflict, my life is already stressful, why do I want to add more right?

btw that's all from me, if you feel like watching it, just watch it ok? happy watching from me

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Fun, Cute, Fluff

Don’t go in with any high expectations and you will have fun. It’s a low budget show but I think it still does a great job. There isn’t very much plot at all besides a boy falling in love with another boy on first sight. The second lead Ping was only 17 when filming and this was his first role. I think he does a really good job and so does the other main lead Meen. They are just to adorable and this show always made my day happy. You don’t get answers to some of the questions that come up but I could care less. It’s a fun time if you just want something cute to watch.

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keep your expectation at your lowest

I've waited for this drama since last year. The teaser seems promising. I love the actors. Tbh I expect it to be like Love you just the way you are and maybe a bit below you are my glory in terms of quality.

What we got is the generic throw your brain away to watch this. I cant watch it anymore

1. WTF with that toxic relationship between her bro n friend. I always skip theirs because there was no character development for them and they were given A LOT of screentime.
2. WTF with that wu fei girl. At first she seems decent, but suddenly she turn super crazy and irrational like a different person??
3. WTF the reason behind Qin Shi's lie. All she did was say yes to that sly boss when I expect her to be smart not dumb like that.
4. QS and YH relationship is bland, awkward, and very little progress.
5. Of course the stupid ending.... they always have good communication and suddenly the divorce and being away for months? WTF is that.
6. The antagonists got away just like that.
7. I dont even care about the workplace story at all. I skip almost all of it since ep 14. And by ep 18, I cant continue anymore. Just watch QS and YH scene till ep 30. And then enough is enough.

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A Great Instalment To The Series! Seukka Seukka!!

☕️ Before going into this what you have to keep in mind is that this work is essentially part of a companion series. This means while it focuses on new characters, there is a concept that connects them all.

After seeing all of the comments, I decided to not take chances and watch them all even though I mainly wanted to just watch this one for 🐰 Doyoung.

They were all short and it was a good decision because season 1 is where they explain how the cafe works. Season 2 is set parallel to season 3 so some more things tie in.

And while I think I would’ve managed fine without watching the first two, they did make my experience with this one better. Season 1 especially I liked, Season 2 not so much. 🤷🏻‍♀️

And honestly I was pleasantly surprised by the concept of the Midnight Cafe they introduced in the first one. It was whimsical ✨ and I think they managed to keep that in all of three seasons.

Overall I felt Son Ji Woo’s character fit Doyoung very well because he really is a worrier at heart and he does nag like a mom. It also made sense that SJW would need a sign to learn he could be selfish and a push to be confident. 🤔

So I honestly think this was an apt first role for him to do and I think he did a great job. 👏👏👏

I also found the female lead super pretty and cute. Wasn’t expecting her reaction to *that* to be so adorable. 💕

And let’s not forget Doyoung’s OST. Seriously, there isn’t any OST of his that I disliked because he always delivers and knows the assignment well.

PS: I couldn’t take the Seukka Seukka scene seriously at all, all I could hear was the NCT boys cracking up! 😂

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ALCHEMY OF SOULS 2 WORTH EVERY MILISECOND!!

First I'll express my disappointed after the announcement of Jung So Min ousting the FL role and being replaced by Go Yoon Jung. But all the perception changes after getting to episode 2 of season 2 (the highest so far). She's an excellent actor and deserves the role and I can already expect a lot from her. Season 1 was a hit of its own and probably the best Korean traditional drama I've watched followed by the likes of Ju Mong.

Into it, the story to begin with, is an excellent continuation and everything is explained since the end of season 1. It's three years into the future. I can't wait to see how everything unfolds between Jang UK(who still uses Naksu's sword) and Bu Yeon/Naksu.

The Casting is as perfect as season 1 and am more interested in Songrim's new leader Dang Gu to see how he leads and another change is the ever serious Park Jin in his new life after stepping down.( a joker but a serious one when seriuoness is needed). The acting is top notch thanks to dedicated actors and directors. The stunts are done so well, emotions expressed in way there could be no better way. You can't get a flaw in the acting. And I swear Jang UK is a different pleasure this season. A taste like no other. You love every scene he is in and you can't wait for when he next appears. But Yeon or Naksu's story is a wonder you need to see.

For the music from the OST, SFX and background music in AOS have never disappointed. The emotions and tense in scenes are well expressed. Top Notch.

Rewatch Value. I've been rewatching season 1 since it's last episode was released and I don't get tired of it. Into the second episode of season 2 and dearest you'll keep going back to start from episode 1 everytime you have a pinch of free time.

Overally I reated season 1 as a 9.5/10 and 10/10 for season 2 so far. It is well deserved though. If you want to watch something worth your time this is the right show to watch starting from season 1. I really can't wait a week for episode 3, WHAT A SHOW!!!

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