Reviews

"split personality" review

in reality, i hate to rain on somebody's parade, and since a lot of people truly love this drama, i apologize, but what must be said must be said.
i can not relate to this drama but from a truly split personality perspective, since it has the "good, the bad, the ugly" and more. all that the other viewers write about it is mostly true - mind-bogglingly beautiful scenery (the scene where ae-shin is walking with eugine on the icy lake takes your breath away and will stay with you forever etched in your visual and emotional library, whether it's in your brain or in your heart, and the entire story is kind of symbolic of walking on thin ice at all times), in general the choice of sites in the drama can be used for tourism in korea - guaranteed to work even today, the cinematography is up there with the most outstanding dramas and/or movies from all times, the characters especially the main 3 males and the female hotel owner hina are extremely multidimensional, like it is in real life and their continuous development is very satisfying, the acting of all actors is as good as it gets, especially lee byung-hun as eugene choi (i first saw this actor in "all in" while i was chasing after ji sung, and discovered lee byung-hun, and the rest was history... his charisma, his manly charm, his superb acting, his ability to go from extreme toughness to extreme softness - he was raised to my top best korean actors from that moment on) and he does not disappoint in "mr. sunshine", he stays true to himself as an artist, as always gives it his all, and shines with unmistakable inner beauty. one more thing that i noticed, when he gazes at ae-shin or even other people, he slowly blinks just one time, and the blink is like a cat that blinks to his/hers owner expressing love, it's really special, if you know cats. the other actress that i enjoyed very much is of course the adorable, mysterious, badass kim min-jung as kudo hina, she truly kept me on my toes, with her non-ending french designers dresses, hats, jewelry, her quirky intelligence and female intuition, her courage, her undeniable charm. these two characters or i should say actors kept me wanting to see more and more of them, even when i wanted to just leave this show many times throughout, the slow paste of it drove me crazy, the lengthy looking in each others eyes for minutes at a time without any movement or action - i wanted to scream enough already, we get the idea, we are not dumb... the heart breaking good byes between ae-shin and eugen, too many, not justified and always coming back together just to say good bye again - really? some other things that annoyed me to no end i will mention later here... the other two characters that is worth mentioning is yoo yeon-seok as goo dong-mae, perfectly cast in this role, so strong, gorgeous looking, evil, always with endless pain bubbling to the surface, always staying a step ahead of death, and byun yo-han as kim hee- sung, the typical spoiled rich brat, always gambling, loosing and drinking on the account of others. both of these characters, one was born in the lowest class of that society, the other was a son of the richest aristocrats in this area. dong-mae like a ticking bomb on the verge of exploding and taking down all around him no matter how, who or what. kim hee-sung, the aristocrat, who loves all things beautiful, easy going, trying to charm everybody no matter who, making a joke out of any situation. frankly, i did not like these two all the way till the last third of the drama, and then they kind of woke up, tapped into their own morals, grew on me and developed into characters that slowly charmed my heart and i got deeply invested in them all, only to be devastated at the brutal end. the question for me, was it worth spending so many annoying hours of this drama, to finally get to the last third part and especially the last 5 episodes, to finally get so emotionally attached to this characters only to be completely heart broken at the end? i truly did not answer that question yet. and now the most baffling part of this drama - the main female character, ae-shin. i think her character was completely screwed up by the writers, she was the only one one- dimensional as it can be. yes, they wanted to show her burning patriotism for her country and cause, but they deprived her of humanity. wasn't she a physical body like all of us? didn't she have emotions that a woman would express through some kind of affection to the love or her life? the one who gave up ALL that he had in this world for her, his adopted country that he was so proud of, his military career that he loved, his best friend, and finally his own life in exchange of hers. (by the way, eugene choi succeeded somehow to express his love without touching her ever, but it felt like he was stopped by her inner desire to avoid any physicalness) and at all times, there was not a single hug, kiss or any other form of expressing love. how on earth can that be? even when they got married, no hug, no kiss - nothing. and i understand the writers or directors idea of showing extreme patriotism above all, but show at least something... something that would move us and make us believe that she really loves. that was my greatest disappointment and the biggest flaw of this drama. and last but not least i wanted to mention the politics in this drama, that was supposed to be kind of the background to anything else, but took over and became the major part of it. although interesting in terms of korean history (and made me truly hate the japanese cruelty), it was too much of it and became simply boring many times. now that you know "the good, the bad and the ugly" you decide if this drama is for you, if you can tough out to the third part of the drama.

Read More

great drama of political intrigue

after slow start （maybe because I did not watch the prequel so not familiar with background）I loved this superlative action drama and very involving once you begin to unravel the overload of information about various courts intrigues and players〜one I watch many episodes together〜 also this drama really lives up to its name as it is episode 4 and I have not seen a single female： how do they reproduce？(^_-) as usually it seems with Chinese dramas the introduction songs are too long、 I assume Chinese audience like action shots with music as a distinct part of the show〜but though I like rock music it seems bizarrely out of place in this type of period drama〜my only criticism is the very unsatisfactory ending on which see separate comment with spoliers〜〜

Read More

OMG!!! Superficial to the core!

So I ended up painfully making it through the first episode only to completely stop watching episode 2.

The one thing I can't stand is a show basing itself off of someone's looks!!! I felt this bashing all people who aren't up to the handsome or the drop dead gorgeous and beautiful look degrading. Even the synopsis is superficial.

As anyone who has maybe read any of my reviews know is that I immediately stray away from Korean rom-coms because of how superficial and arrogant a character is.

I've watched several Korean dramas with Ahn Se Ha-had to copy and paste cuz I suck at names-and he's a great actor. I felt so bad when I realized they made him out to be short and ugly. How cruel can the writer be?? I don't understand why he took on a role that bashes him cuz of his looks. The main male lead was NOTHING to look at. His mouth looked like botox gone wrong. I'm not saying that to be mean but this guy looked like he had work done on his face. He couldn't even cry right because he couldn't stretch his face to cry.

Here's why I dropped this drama altogether. The second episode picked up the seething factor I had when the first episode ended. The female who was the dead prosecutor who came back to life was angry because the dead guy who came back to life came back handsome and she came back looking like what she looked like. I don't judge females but she was pretty. I hated the attitude the original female prosecutor had. Men lining up just to be with her because of her looks....yeah...I was so done after that.
The story line was all over the place as well. From what I gathered people died and came back with different looks....I don't know the reason behind that but it was enough to make me drop the series.

It's sad because I have dropped around 5 dramas within a month and I have never done that since I've come to watch Korean dramas.

Read More

Falls flat

I have tried a few times now to watch this show because I have liked other dramas with Ji Hyun Woo, but each time I feel like this drama is over the top (storyline) and missing something that I honestly I can't tell you what that is. I really don't feel the chemistry between the leads...maybe it is because the lead female acting doesn't seem sincere to me (basically, not the best actress) and therefore the humor falls flat. Really, there was more humor and chemistry with the young Dan Dan in the first episode than with the 20 something Dan Dan. Overall, it does have a strong cast of actors (like Dan Dan's dad and stepmother...now that relationship is interesting), but the storyline and age difference between the main leads feels off. Dan Dan is closer to the Young Guk's daughters age and behavior, which makes it hard for me to see why he is falling for her. Since, I haven't watched much of this show, there is not much more to say, except it failed to catch my interest.

Read More

Slow. Just slow.

Ah this is a tough one to review because I really want to like this show.

[Just to disclaim, I watched Forever & Ever (FE) after One & Only (OO). I did not read the novel before watching the shows]

Pros:
- the show started off quickly. 5 minutes into the first episode and off we go with the main couple.
- Bai Lu's acting is a 10/10 here. She carried OO together with Ren Jialun but over here, she topped it off a notch further. Her glances, side eyes, smirks, smiles and styling were all 10/10 here. I enjoyed just watching her expressions and looks.
- it does justice to the pain we had to endure in OO.
- the side characters are pretty cute and funny.
- there are sweet awww moments between Shi Yi and ZSC.
- Ren Jialun had some good emotional scenes towards the end.

Cons:
- the pacing.is.so.so.so.slow!!! I had to skip and fast forward half the show.
- it probably should be a 20-episode drama instead of 30 episodes.
- Zhousheng Chen is too stiff here. He's abnormally stiff even for an awkward chemistry professor. He's so reserved about his physical touches yet, he has no qualms about getting in bed with Shi Yi (???).
- Ren Jialun's glances in FE unfortunately didn't carry any weight nor invoked any feelings in me this time.
- too many kiss-block moments it got a little lame and tiring after a while.

Read More

Nothing's perfect, but this is close

So I've never written a review before, and I posted this in the comments section, then was suggested by a commenter to put this in the review section hahaha. So here I am, with some editing done to this review I originally wrote. The only 'spoiler' is whether it has a happy or sad ending for this drama, but I wouldn't categorise the rest as spoilers.

First off, let's just say nothing's perfect, but if there's something close to perfection, I think this one is close to it for its genre. I'd 100% rewatch it. In fact, I just can't find another mystery, crime and romance drama quite like this one right now and am currently in a slump, watching random dramas that just doesn't give me the same feeling as this one, and even contemplating rewatching if I can't find any others (and probably will rewatch it soon).

Some say the ending is rather rushed, and while I agree somewhat, I think it's still a great ending. The balance between mystery, suspense, humour and romance was great. I can't say it was excellent, but I'd give it a 9.5/10 for this show over all, particularly for its fast-pace that really made every moment interesting. Kudos to the scriptwriters because the script and plot were amazing! (I mean, I heard that apparently one of the scriptwriters was the writer of the novel this was based on. But the drama is actually better than the novel, and you can consider the novel as a draft and the drama as something that was based on that draft. That's what I heard anyways).

I love all the characters (the actors did a great job portraying them! The really deserve more credit than they are and I wish them al the best in their future dramas!) The story doesn't follow the bad cliches, and is honestly a hidden gem. They resolved everything, tied everything up, mysteries and details were consistent and made sense, no annoying cliches between females, honestly didn't drag at all, and it had a very happy ending. The romance definitely wasn't the focus, but it was definitely there, and I say it's GOOD romance. Respectful male lead and mature female lead with a cute face (and personality), but ACTUALLY USEFUL and NOT annoying. The mystery is all linked together and it's interesting until the end, at least in my opinion.

Honestly, for those who are looking for something with a bit of everything, but most importantly, wonderful characterisations, no cringy humour, great side-plot romance (for those who avoid romance because it's usually bad, well, there is absolutely NO NEED to worry about that here AT ALL!) with a focus on mystery, then this would be your cup of tea. I personally like stories with romance, but I will avoid anything that has bad romance. This had a great plot and a great mystery, but if it had bad romance, I wouldn't watch it. If it had no romance, then I can consider it - in short, I avoid any drama with typical, annoying depictions of romance.

But seriously, it's a series that shows that a plot can be INTERESTING and CAPTIVATING without all the useless and stupid relationship drama or other cliches that are sometimes used to drive the plot. With well-packed mysteries and fun dialogue, avoiding most cliches (and leaving the good ones) it's honestly praiseworthy. I looked at the recommendations list for this drama and none of the shows on the list is quite like this one.

Special note: THE MUSIC. There was one episode where it the ost was just PERFECTLY times and used. There's also a song called 此生来了 (This Life is Not Over) in the drama and I'm in love with it. Unlike perhaps most others who have perhaps hundreds, or thousands of songs on their playlist, my current playlist only has 9 songs HAHA. I've had dozens of songs before, but then I cut it down to 21 specific songs. Then I cut it down to around 8 this year, and now it has 9 because I added this song HAHA. I do have my personal reasons for being this picky with songs, but either way, it managed to be picked by me and I've been listening to it on repeat ever since XD I only gave 'music' a 9.5 because it wasn't perfect all the time in the drama, and same with the acting. But honestly, the plot is the tightest plot I've been exposed to with really not a moment of boredom, though there is one moment I could think of that made me actually go UGH but that was just a very, very brief few minutes and can be over looked. I'm perfectly fine with rewatching the scene when I rewatch the drama again.

The reason I gave it an overall 10 is because it is close to perfection in my heart. Like I said, I believe nothing is perfect, so a 10 is my way of saying it's the closest to perfection.

My one biggest wish was to see a bit more kissing scenes because there's really not a lot, but their romance is wonderful without it still.

Anyways, give it a try at least. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, but you never know until you try.

Read More

It's average.

Yep, the title says it all lol
The actors are all great, but the acting are all average in this drama. I don't know why.

No intense fights. Predictable storyline. Cartoonish effects. Why do Thai lakorns like this? I mean in the terms of CGI. Unrealistic.

For the couples, I love both Bank Thiti and Peak but sorry, I don't find any chemistry between them. Not at all.
Also, this is my first time watching Yolhita/Fahproud in a drama and yep she is so pretty!

Overall, 6/10. Should be 5 but considering Bank Thiti's manliness and Oab's coolness, an extra point was given. lol

Read More

Great actors, not-so-great story execution

Don't have high expectations for this drama, but its a decent filler drama that is very light. To be honest, the storyline was just not the best...at first I thought it was fine as a low-drama slow-romance story but the little plot towards the end just did not match the pace of the storyline. The only reason I have given this drama a passing rating was because of the actors and production (cinematography was decent with a good color balance and it seemed like they tried to avoid dubbing, which I appreciated).
One thing that I have not yet read in other reviews or comments:

While I appreciate a realistic slowness of romance and research (this 24-ep drama spans a few years with no "time skips"), it's just a bit disappointing to see how unrealistic they portray research. After seeing how realistic science can be portrayed in the likes of You Are My Glory, its quite disappointing to see this in 2021. Average labs look like the lab they call "gross and old" (in fact, that was a very clean and organized lab...other than the rat she saw). It is *never* okay to eat in a lab (maybe you can sneak in a snack into an engineering lab) but they always eat and bring food in? impossible with their "strictness"...leaving your waterbottle outside a lab could be standard procedure in a real lab. Also the questions they ask while they seem well on their way through development seemed really basic (especially towards the beginning). These are just some issues with the science part...and they could've consulted an undergraduate to know these things. I know its the dramaworld and there are many unrealistic situations, but I feel like these are basic things (I don't even want to talk about how they're conducting experiments) and I'm no where close to an expert.

Also some have commented on how unrealistic the online boyfriend thing was...but we have shows like MTV catfish so I don't think this storyline is out of the realm of possibility. Also, they don't start dating until later. They started off as internet friends who eventually developed feelings for each other.

TLDR: If this was a 5-min clip web drama or 40-ep long drama, I would've instantly dropped. But because its only 24 eps, its another excuse to see Jasper Liu and Zhou Yu Tong act. Also, its not a very dramatic or sweetness-overload drama so don't expect that.

Read More

I REALLY TRIED

I REALLY REALLY TRIED

I really tried to be honest. I can tolerate Zhang Yuxi's acting in the beginning. Acting like a brat and all chasing the ML but omg I managed to watch up to ep11 but srsly I cannot take it any longer. I am not enjoying it anymore as the episodes progress. I ended up skipping ALOOOOT. The second couple has also aloooooot of unnecessary screentime that I also skip bc I want to watch more of the story of the Main Leads but they got MORE scenes than the main couple. How is it okay???? Lol.

Zhou Shiyun's younger sister too. SO F****** ANNOYING TO BITS. I cannot tolerate it anymore. Yes she's young but NOT THAT YOUNG ANYMORE. She's already an adult so I don't get why the writer keeps on making her look more like a bratty childish.

OVERALL. This drama DISAPPOINTED me so much. Too bad bc I like Zhang Yuxi and Ding Yuxi *sighs*

Read More

Every once in a while I enjoy a drama that's closer to life experiences and not your regular over the top things that "only happens in drama or movies". My Story For You is one that is true to life. It's actually loosely based on the author Tang Jia San Shao's personal life, his ups and downs and his true love story with his wife. There are some differences of course, but I think this is as real as you can get, considering the "entertainment value" for the viewers.

What I like about this drama is it's not solely about romance. It is about friendship and family and life values. The ML maybe one of the most unlucky person you met, but this drama taught you that perseverance and hard work can bring success in the end. Another thing that I like is the nostalgic feeling that I get from the earlier period, like the early days of the internet etc. I also like most of the characters, especially Zhang Yao Yao and Li Ning Feng. They're my favorites. I also like the character developments in this drama too, from being poor and single, to having a family of their own and how the characters faced difficulties and overcoming those difficulties.

This is a long drama, but when you are invested in the characters and their growth, it won't feel as long.

Read More

I watched it more than 10 times by now!

Well, where shall I start, I never imagined one day I would be fangirling over an ancient Chinese fantasy detective romance drama but here I am. Personally The untamed is one of the best dramas I have seen and I could write essays about it but for now, I'll try to keep it short.

Xiao Zhan did a phenomenal job at portraying Wei Wuxian's character that no other actor can do justice to it. He literally born to portray Wei Wuxian. His journey makes you smile, sad, desperate, angry but hopeful. Wang Yibo is amazing as Lan Wangji and their chemistry is on fire (yeah if you think it is bromance you need an eye check). But that's not the main point, each character is unique and their interactions make you squeal. The acting might feel cringe at first but trust me stick with it and you'll be amazed. All other ensemble cast did a decent job. The music is 10/10.

The drama tried to stick with the original novel of the storyline as much as possible but eventually left a few plot holes which can be ignorable. Rewatch value is 10/10 and trust me you keep watching BTS, interviews afterward. Go ahead and I'd suggest stick to at least 15 episodes and there will be no point of return.

Read More

High rewatch value

I usually don't rewatch dramas because I often watched mystery thriller, so knowing the story line I would not rewatch again.

However for Hometown Cha Cha Cha, I think the visual and tension between the leads were so strong that I kept rewatching the first few episodes, so that drew my attention to them.

After episode 8, I rewatched again because I got hooked by the side characters backstory and wanted to understand them better by rewatching.

After episode 12, I rewatched again for the comedy and the romance.

After episode 14, which is the latest episode I have seen, there is so much revelation to the male lead's story that I have to rewatch again from episode 1 and could fully appreciate his behaviour in the past few episodes and understand his weakness alot better.

Hopefully episode 16 will not make me rewatch again haha. But if I did, the writer has done an excellent job as well as the cast that executed the characters to make me rewatch upteem times.

Read More

Chilling in light of current affairs; keeps viewers on edge

"You see, it’s the cash flow that reflects the naked truth.”

Parallel Tokyo, while intense and frightening in its own right, now seems to glimmer with a chilling prescience in light of COVID-19. Though it explores the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake in the heart of Tokyo, its themes are still starkly relevant. Here is a tragedy that nobody could have truly prepared for, even though there were signs. Reporters are asked to put the integrity of their corporate sponsors above unvarnished truth and public wellbeing. Misinformation runs rampant online, making it difficult to determine what’s real and not. Even when danger passes, the world is changed forever, in unforeseeable ways.

Centering the action on a broadcasting studio and its employees was an excellent choice. This allows the viewer both distance from the action and constant input, keeping the plot moving organically. Takahashi Katsunori catches the eye as the chief editor of the news station, often the vehicle for the themes conveyed by the drama. Koshiba Fuka turns in a solid performance as Kuraishi Mika; her portrayal of a vulnerable everywoman who manages to conjure inner strength in the face of adversity is believable and helps the audience settle into the story easily. That said, the strongest point of this drama is the script and pacing. Not only does Parallel Tokyo keep you on the edge of your seat, it also has a lot to say. Everything else seems a bit secondary, although in this case, I wouldn’t call that a bad thing.

Remember this, if nothing else: In times of great tragedy, all we have is each other.

Read More

Totally Lovely ...

This series, as a whole, is totally lovely and awesome, and each episode is an individual of its own. The plot, the cinematography and production, the casting, the symbolism and everything about it just you in awe of how well thought out and well put this series is.

The series feels like five individual yet connected movies. The production of this series is no joke. The plot is accompanied with aesthetically pleasing scenes. From the color tones of the series, to the way the camera pans in and out on scenes, to the way how the shooting locations complement the plot, the series is giving us movie-quality production. There were a lot of scenes where no words were spoken and the camera is just focused on the expressions of their faces yet you would be missing a lot if you don't get to see those. The more they don't say anything, the more you get what they're feeling.

My only with this series, was that I did find the episodes to long, and at times they did kind of drag on. but either that this was really good.

And the characters are named oh and teh ,they are just doing so good and there are some intimate moments but that are worth for that part .

Overall: it may not be the cup of tea of others, but it's definitely a well worth watch.

Read More