Reviews

Hunger games 2.0 GONE WRONG justice for SAEBYEOK

I know korea is still a mysoginistic society until now because there government doesnt want women to have power and more equal rights than men and thats the sad truth of the society, but judging the story it felt flat for me the beginning episodes are great BUT after episode 5 it felt DRAGGY and SLOW and i get the betrayal of friends part but i think it feels so injustice of the other characters especially Ali they didi him dirty and still koreans always look down dark or brown skinned people i hate it here and still racist to foreigners ngl though and the ending is still open ended so weed a 2nd season to answer all the several plotholes of previous episodes. Acting is PHENOMENAL HANDS DOWN especially SAEBYEOK i love her role in this its giving me katnis everdeen vibes heheheh purr and GIHUN too i love his kind honest protagonist and especially the front man i love villainess of the characters, high budget production, outfits stages evrything: felt flat for the OST i need lisas money fpr the ost of the 2nd season please it matches the series. Thats all!! yall should watch Alice in borderland it has better plot than the squid game purr.

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It's annoying and that's why it's interesting!

First off, this is not for everyone. If you are not a fan of stories of financial collusions, sabotage or economic strategies, stay away! Unless of course if you are only here for Woo Do Hwan then it's visuals galore:)

This verbose series is really about all those 3 boring things i just mentioned brought together by a catastrophic event. The same catastrophic event brought together the main characters. Whether you call them protagonists or antagonists is entirely up to you on where you stand on the issue. Like i said, it's verbose. There's also lots of attempts to be Mission Impossible-ish which i found to be corny (bec i am a big fan of this genre and i know Wow from Weh). So as an action series it is lacking. As a drama series, yes there are some cry-worthy moments in there. And there are attempts to be comedic too which i found lame.

But i do like this series bec of the storyline. The strategies and character shifts changed a lot, making frowns appear and disappear involuntarily on my forehead at any given moment. I am annoyed both in a good and bad way many times. Suddenly i found myself invested in the truth no matter who the heroes and villains are. Does that make sense? It is for this reason that this show is interesting for me.

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Its those thrashy classy romance but good tier ifykwim

Oct. 19, 2021

Okay, so this Chinese drama is quite interesting. I have seen the reviews and I expected quite a lot but I feel like it just did not meet the expectations for me. I thought that the plot was decent enough but not outstanding. Given that it is a high school to adult-type Chinese drama, it is expected for it to have lots of cliches. Which I did not mind, to be honest.

However, what frustrates me is the somehow development of the two leads. I am sure that everyone loved the ending as they got together finally. But the middle arc just irked me so much since it's promoting toxicity and dependent on each other. I feel like they shouldn’t have gone this route as they tried to make such good development for the FL. It was a pain to see how the FL forces and attaches herself to the ML like a glue. I didn’t find that cute or lovely at all. It feel dehumanizing at most. I really despise that arc, if the director just removed that arc, this drama would have been a good 9.5/10 or even a 10/10 for me.

So fair warning, but everything else is great. It's just the 3/4 part that just made me almost lose my interest in this drama. But the ending did redeem the show I guess for that painful middle arc.

SO OVERALL 8/10. Do I recommend this show? Ofc but only for those who have good patience.

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Another Good very sweet School Drama

Another Asian School drama, but we can't seem to get enough of them. Very cute, great ML & FL chemistry. when the ML smiles, he really lights up the screen. One of the few dramas where the ML starts off as a really nice guy and not a jerk. But man, what a sweet heart he is. The FL is painfully shy, but her character grows nicely as the drama progresses. I love her BFF's. I also love the side story with the teachers, chasing after each other as well. Its PG13, so the kisses will also be very innocent, but honestly, it was still very intimate. Brought back memories of what it was like to be so young and in love with your crush.
The OST is pretty good, My favorite song, (think its most people's favorite too) for end credits and was also used to do the "Jealousy Truck Painting scene" was sung by WANG BOWEN. The dorky best friend in the drama. He's got such a great voice and that song has such a great "heart beat". Just a little surprise trivia for people who didn't notice.
Highly recommend, I would re-watch it again.

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I had mixed expectations of watching Love & π. I took a break between the first 10 episodes and the last 7.
Watching back to 1989 with Ivy Shao, I had high hopes for this drama.

The drama focuses on realism in most of its aspects which the struggles of the everyday person, the up and downs of life, and the challenges brought before you. The realism is fine, but not entirely sure if thats what some viewers would like to see when they are looking for a drama.

While there is room for a happy ending, people did suffer along the way.
This wasn't your typical romance, comedy, while it had it's moments, personally wasn't as appealing as other dramas I've recently watched.

I've seen Ivy & Ben in previous dramas, and they finally get their romance together in this pairing.

The story could do a better job transitioning the time jump in years, even with a bit of subtitle mentioning 3 years later rather than the character eluding it to it abit down the story. Hou Zhi's character was abit out of place, many times often the 3rd wheel trying to find his place in the world, not being himself, and then ended up with the bad fate in the end. Does it take someone's misfortune to make people realize and reconcile their problems, could the story have gone another way.

While the title is called Love & π, theres many instances and expressions of love, π is not clearly defined, if π is meant to be circle, then where you started is where you ended up given both Wu Xian + Yuan Yuan, and then Sun Zhi+ Lin Mei. They probably could've done a better job to close it all together for the audience. Its a good story, but if its meant to be something much deeper & more meaning the delivery needs improvement.

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Diamond in the rough

At first I didn't plan to watch this drama. But suddenly I started watching it when the airing started. The main thing that I want to share is that "Don't judge a book by its cover". This drama is the perfect example of this phrase. We all have watched many supernatural, horror, thriller kdramas, but if you want something out of the box then I recommend to watch "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha". The story is simple and there's no supernatural things, but still it stole my heart. I never write a review. It's really not my thing. But see I'm here writing a review today. So, that tells a lot why should you watch this. This drama brings happiness and pleasure from our daily life that we found very boring. Still believe me after you watch this drama your boring life can become attractive. It will change your point of view.

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Happy Pills for Weekend.

Great show. I'm a fan since season 2. Season 4 is when the members are more respectable towards each other. They took some time to warmed up and be close to each other (awkward in 3-5months earlier episodes. Kim Jong Min is still hilarious. My fav is still s3, but this season is good too. Ravi and Se Yoon make a great mukbang. DinDin's tenacity can be quite irritating to watch sometimes (personal view). Jung Hoon is the ajuhssi and more laid back similar to the late Joo Hyuk except he didn't get teased into oblivion by the juniors. Seon Ho is the visual, and holds the lucky card in game of chance.

Anyways, let's hope they don't replace all of the members and PDs bcs of KSH scandal or I'm going to throw hands. Kim Jong Min needs to STAY.

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This was super cute ? the dialogue, the characters, the interactions - especially during their youth - were so heartwarming and nostalgic ! It's not just about romance but about your school life, academics, family, and friends.

I swear, the ML actor Chen Zhe Yuan (Si Yue in the drama) talks with his eyes - they're always filled with an emotion and you can tell exactly what he's trying to say. His voice is so calm too. His character Si Yue was utterly charming and intelligent. The dialogue + delivery of his lines were killer. Can't wait to see him in more shows and I hope he gets the popularity he deserves for his acting abilities.

For the FL actress Xu Meng Jie (Ding Xian in the drama), she's so adorable as a high school girl! Her voice is also soothing and she portrays the "shy girl" in such a likable way. She's not only shy, but has so much more depth to her and she also grows as a character. It's really sweet watching her learn positive things from the ML.

The side characters like all the friends, adults, and antagonists also did an amazing job. I'd say the episodes toward the end were a bit more cheesy and could've been more fleshed out with actual romantic scenes but I'll forgive it since I know China's entertainment policy doesn't allow much for high school dramas and I still felt the flutters anyways ? I totally recommend this to anyone reading !!

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Tugs at your heartstrings!

I didn't want to watch this show. I thought it would be boring. I am eating my own words right now - by re-watching parts of the series! :D

Breaking down my experience -
Story: It is the story of a baseball player who is sent to prison for beating up his sister's would-be assaulter. And the story is about his experience in prison as a prisoner and his best friend's as a correction officer. Every character is so well-etched that I found myself rooting for the gangster, scammer & drug addict!! It really showed prisoners in a human light! I didn't make light of the crimes/offenses committed by inmates. Instead, it just told their stories as they are - all shades of gray. And, correction officers are not authoritarian (like I'd expected them to be), instead they're human too - in similar shades of grey! (:
Some of the prisoners' stories made me want to reach into the TV and give them a comforting word or hug! The only reason I've not rated this 10, if because I hated how things ended for Looney! He was my favorite part of the show. I must have watched his scenes about 5 times!! I understand that not everything could end in roses & peaches. But, it still broke my heart. For the first time, in a long while, I found myself looking forward to the non-romance parts of the show! That is how good the overall script is!

Acting: Again, I am blown away! Every single actor was splendid! Every. Single. Actor!! The leads - Park Hae Soo, Jung Kyung Ho are without a doubt brilliant! I didn't expect to fall in love with Park Hae Soo. But, I did fall in love with Park Hae Soo's Kim Je Hyuk. I fully expected to fall for Jung Kyung Ho's Lee Joon Ho and was not disappointed. Every actor made me want to root for their character - understand their circumstances & choices, or abhor them! Every. Single. Actor!! I loved the chemistry between Lee Joon Ho & his brother, Looney & Captain Yoo and of course Kim Je Hyuk and Lee Joon Ho. <3 The romance was natural. Though, there wasn't crazy chemistry, I really believed in the couples - Je Hyuk & Ji Ho, Joon Ho & Je Hee, Han Yang(Looney) & Ji Won. Amazing acting! Special shout out to Jung Woong In's Lieutenant Paeng and Lee Kyu Hyung's Looney! <3, <3!

Music: I loved the OST so much that I'm now listening to a couple of them on loop, probably annoying my neighbors! :P Every score blends beautifully into the story. I don't understand the lyrics. But, I want to believe that they are apt.

I've already replayed many of the scenes with the Wing 2, Cell 6 scenes!! And, all those scenes where two or more cellmates are together. I'd definitely watch the entire series again and will be bugging my friends to watch it too! :)

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Great in parts and very boring in parts too.

This story is driven by formula. The start is refreshingly sweet and you feel happy in the atypical characters. but then the makers decide to go on repeat-rinse mode. The repetition of the same medical and law and order crises just wears down the viewer so much . If they had cut down this story to 18 episodes or so, it would remain very watchable.
The actors are sincere and natural. There is hardly any negative characters at least in the first half( I couldnt drag myself to watch 40 episodes of the same crises resolution).
Plenty of the viewers have spoken about the casting. Individually the actors are brilliant but there is definitely a bit of "looks miscasting" . The ML, who enacted Xing Kelei beautifully, looks young, fresh from school, boyishly slender and both his subordinates and seniors looked older than him. Worse, the FL looked decidedly older than the ML.
The FL is a great actor , effortlessly catching the character's vibe, but she could have been cast opposite a ML who looked more capable of handling her than this boyish ML.
Overall I loved both the characters the FL and th ML individually , but put together there were incongruities.
Next the big question -Is this a DOTS remake-- No it isnt for sure. That was more of a disaster story, physically the leads were in disaster prone areas, or in conflict zones - in a kind of Red Cross initiative. The level of interdependence and grit required were of a different level in that story. YAMH is kind of set in a single city with its small law and order or medical emergencies. The canvas on which DOTS is painted is huge and wild and exciting; YAMH is a more urban, tame and milder setting.
Overall a good watch, but skirts short of greatness due to repetition and its length.

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Strong fantasy set-up and dynamic between leads with ultimately unsatisfying conclusion

I came into Hotel del Luna with several biases, but I enjoyed it for the most part (except for the ending, which I really found unsatisfying). Usually, the fantasy tag is an automatic skip when I'm looking for prospective dramas, since I think the extra layer of contrivance often sets up ridiculous plotting and a lot of fat a show could trim off. I didn't find this to be the case with Hotel del Luna, overall. I'm also not a fan of frequent flashbacks, which this has, but here it makes sense given the nature of the fantasy and the premise. The way they're interlaid into dreams makes sense and so the majority of the setup in the beginning and middle is pretty artful. More superficially, I think the costuming and set design was a definite aesthetic draw - it reminds me a lot of It's Okay to Not Be Okay in how it's used as a supplemental pleasure to the main drama. The music is also nice throughout. Overall, there's a lot of visual and auditory appeal in this.

(General spoiler) I really like IU, as most going into this probably do. She does a great job, as does the ML; they have strong on-screen chemistry and their characters' dynamic works well. I do wish their romance was more intimate, though; much of their relationship is threaded through teasing banter, on the one hand, and long-term promises and commitments on the other. As the conclusion was coming up, I felt like the reality of the romance (indicated by the former) faded for the sake of the fantasy-driven resolution (the latter). They flirt but their relationship is weirdly desexualized because IU's character is somehow a 1,300 prude when the chips are down and the ML shows even sarcastic interest. Usually, I think shows can verge too far towards fluffy/intimate, but here I felt like the weight of their choices actually called for the sex/marriage institutionalization more than so many lighthearted shows I've seen that pursue that direction. She kisses him like 3 episodes in - or so it seemed - but that's basically the extent of their romantic intimacy besides some nice chaste hugging. Instead, we get extremely heavy romantic statements of commitment at the expense of fluffiness. Though I typically don't find it necessary (or even desirable to include it), I think having sex and more moments of intimacy in this show could've better shaped the drama at the end and added more levity as well (I think of how that would've fit within the pseudo-gossip the hotel workers had between them). In short, I think the desire to be true to the show's fantasy premise overwhelmed the desire to have a satisfying romance (with all the attendant intimacy), which is ultimately why the ending didn't work for me at all.

(Spoiler) Halfway through, my rating probably would've been closer to an 8.5 or a 9, but the ending made me rethink the parts of the show that I enjoyed from the beginning and middle. My central question throughout the run was, "are they going to be able to stay together in the real world?" But as I got to the end, the creators clearly thought more in terms of "what's the right way for IU's character to atone and thus for us to wrap up the fantasy side of things?" As someone who watched primarily for the romance, the ending was very unfulfilling and frankly didn't make sense to me, especially the ML's actions and what he says to the FL about moving on. I think having reincarnation as a facet of this drama was a fundamental mistake, though one the creators relied a lot on for conflict in the middle and end. Rather, I think the drama of losing immortality and reintegrating into society while dealing with lingering grudges would've been more compelling narrative. I don't think fated relationships - something established in this show via reincarnation - have any real stakes or emotional fulfillment (because choice is circumscribed by destiny), so having the resolution based on some nebulous possibility of meeting again in a reincarnated future does nothing for me. Here, they overcome and change in substantial ways only to lose what's most meaningful to them. Ultimately, the fantasy side of this drama, which I didn't mind for most of the run, led to this kind of unfulfilling conclusion (and on a shameless cameo no less). Like the show's creators, in the end, the main characters are more concerned with an imagined future than with the material reality of living and cultivating romance out of tragic circumstances.

(Spoiler) Rather than romantic or cute, I found the ending to be a weird mix of cynicism and idealism emerging out of the religiously-inflected fantasy. IU's character never lived a real life, never got to be someone because her life was conditioned by the cruel machinations of fate and the stain of vengeance. Once she meets someone with whom she can live and be free, she has to say goodbye because a gaggle of mercurial Fate bitches basically say so. In such a case, it's not clear what the ML should do in his regular life afterward. He falls in love with a gorgeous millennium-old demigod who he makes eternal promises to, but after she moves on, he's supposed to just live basically a regular life? His whole existence at that point is conditioned by the knowledge that his deepest happiness is contingent upon dying and meeting someone he won't remember in a reality he can't fathom. That's not the leap of faith that makes a good romance, but a religious deferral and rejection of the joy of living. The structure of the show really made me think the ending was a punishment of the FL (and the ML by extension), rather than the struggle to move on from her grudge (as it's presented). So the problem, to me, wasn't that the ending is sad (which it is), but that the basis for the resolution - reincarnated future hope - is nonsense and unfulfilling.

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What's Wrong With Vice Chairman Lee?

The series has a strong start. We have two beautiful, talented leads with one of the best chemistries I've ever seen! It's so well cast. It is the quintessential romcom!
Each supporting cast member is well-drawn. They each have their own distinct personalities and story lines. Shout out to to Mr Yang & Ms Bong for being so cute & hilarious. Now, what sets this apart from your usual romcom, is that instead of seeing two strangers get together, we have a couple that have known each other for 9 years, so we experience their realisation of their love. This wouldn't work in a western society as other partners & kids would be involved and then this would interfere with the pure love storyline. The beginning strongly reminds me of 40's screwball comedies, what with the jazz instrumentals, snappy dialogue & impeccable dress sense. However, after the secret has been revealed & they do the deed, the story looses steam. There is a reversal of gender roles at the end, where Park Seo-joon is counting down the days towards the wedding..like seriously, he looses his masculinity and Park Min-young just wants to work..more that him...and she's he's secretary. Also, who knew that all you need to do to get married was have a long, passionate kiss in front of an audience of your friends & family!

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Darker, Modern and Uplifting

I was able to see the first season where the cast are now big names in Japan and I did not expect that there is a S2 of this until I happen to check on Abe Hiroshi's filmography.

What I like here is that everything is modern and diverse. There is a gay educator and the chairmoan supports it, the chairman herself is not the typical Japanese principal who is akways against the villain. I like how the Chairman actually cares about the students and is willing to help Sakuragi sensei make these students pass the Todai exam even if the cost is her position. Also, Sakuragi sensei somehow becomes more intelligent when it comes to sensing unusual things that comes in his way.

There are also more students involved this time and they are diverse. Still, there are parents who are either inferior about their child getting more education than them, parents who has set a plan for their child even if it cause their child to suffer more.

Also, for some reason, the plot summary here is not really the same as how the story progress. Its a different school after all and the problem is way more deep.

I also like how the story progress when I initially thought that some of his former students kind of betraying Sakuragi and Mizuno sensei. I love how they are actually helping him unravel the real villain of the story. I have predicted about Sakamoto but not Yoneyama.

Also, some of Sakuragi sensei's speeches kind of hit home because of what I am feeling during the time that I watched it. Though some of them are overaching and may not be very applicable to the real world scenario but there are some that definitely defines your dilemma and what you can do about it as an adult.

What I only hate here is that, the pedo coach as well as the female lawyer did not receive their punishment. Also, the sakura tree is not highlighted much on this season unlike on S1 where it blossoms after their Todai exam.

All in all, this is a good and refreshing student series and I wish that they make a new season after 2 years or so.

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BEST SCHOOL RELATED CDRAMA

i mean school dramas are usually quite cliche with the normal plot but i find this drama to be so refreshing, there’s always smth new each episode. usually i get bored at the first ep BUT PLEASE CONTINUE WATCHING…. it gets better each episode my heart aches so much when the ml cries..

i find that the front part like the character development is rly rly good, they did not rush into professing their love, their eyes, words and actions really shows.. it’s also not too slow to the point u get frustrated? it’s like nice and fluffy and warm.. got me screaming a little inside hehe how i wish they elongate the university life … it was cut short to a few eps :(

don’t rly rewatch cdramas bec of predictable plots but i’ll definitely rewatch this

THE CHARACTERS ARE PERFECT FOR THEIR ROLE…. their chemistry and acting is so good ???? i can’t believe it’s only 24 eps

IF ITS SITTING ON UR LIST, PLS WATCH IT

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