Completed
Eternal Love
0 people found this review helpful
by Howard
Oct 11, 2021
58 of 58 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 10
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.5
This review may contain spoilers
Having watched Eternal love of dream before watching Eternal love there are differences to the story.

Both stories are centered around the female lead primarily of the Bai/ Fox Clan.

The flaw with stories is how they jump time, its more voiced that a character is going thru a t trial, or that 1 day is 1 year etc.

In terms of the story and plot of Eternal Love it appeared more fluid than Three Lives, Three Worlds, The Pillow Book 2020 version.

Both stories ended on positive notes, and in some cases happy endings.

Changing casts for Eternal Love vs Three Lives, Three Worlds, The Pillow Book/ aka Eternal love of Dream did make inconsistencies to the story, if it was intended to be a sequel there appeared to be major flaws, as the stories can overlap, there was no need to. (I.E. Wayne Liu's character is Kunlun, but hes demon prince in Love of Dream)

Eternal love is more on a serious story note than Eternal love of dream in terms of the main character.
Did we need Dong Hua *& Bai Fung Jei 's story in Eternal Love, no. It seemed more like a filler/side story that drama tend to over use. Like how in Love designer drama, personally I didn't care for the BFF's romance, at many times it became annoying, Eternal Love didn't get to the annoying state with Vengo + Dilraba's characters, but from a script/story standpoint probably unnecessary, given that they ended up with their own story plot in Three Lives, Three Worlds, The Pillow Book/ Eternal Love of Dream, where they dive much deeper, and didn't even have any continuation from Eternal Dream.

Su Jin/ and Xuan No's roles did get annoying over time, Bambi Zhu did play similar beotch/ jealous type role in Sweet Dreams also,, while understandably Su Jin's role was she'd do anything for love, even though Yeh Hua basically figured her out the whole time, but gave her space.

Overall, it was very enjoyable to watch, more so that Three Lives, Three Worlds, The Pillow Book, even though I've been watching these fantasy dramas purely to see Dilraba's performance.

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Completed
Sweet Teeth
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
22 of 22 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Cute and flouffy drama

This drama is simply amazing in its own ways it's just too cute as the name the chemistry between biwenjun and Betty is cute and romantic this drama not only gave importance to main couples it also gave epual importance to all the other couples zhaixiaowen is too cute and the chemistry between zhaixiaowen and babyzhang is als amazing Terryliu and wanzilin couples also had a great chemistry The friendship between the three fls are just mind blowing not draggy lovetriangle toxic people no break up this drama is mind-blowing to mention omg the music and osts are so soothing and relaxing they are damn good if you are looking for a light and sweet drama then u must go for it

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Completed
Lovestruck in the City
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
17 of 17 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

Smartly made, with some minor concerns about the end

The set up of this is smart and compelling with fluid interview/documentary style montages. These allow it to offer a more panoramic view of relationship questions that come to dovetail in the main romance- I liked this right away.

I think the pacing towards the end could have benefitted from expanding further into the leads' relationship. Ultimately, I think the series is too short and could've done a lot more with longer episodes, even if that would've obviated the need for the intercut interviews. Perhaps alternatively it could've abridged the idyllic flashback more in favor of the scenes in the city (part of me thought this should've been called "Lovestruck at the Beach"). Still, I liked the comedy of remarriage style structure (falling in love again) and how that creates a powerful conflict for most of the run.

All in all, a quick watch that's smartly constructed, enjoyable, and features strong acting, especially from the supporting cast.

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Ongoing 20/20
Go Ho's Starry Night
3 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
20 of 20 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 2.5

Cute fun romcon

Go Ho's Starry Night started out great!! Seems like the perfect romcom has a beautiful cast, the acting overall was good. Off we go the first five episodes really loving it, got comfy and settled for what I hope would be a great memorable short series, Loved that the episodes were short and to the point, however, after a while with the 4 guys in the office going after the one girl it got boring and tedious. The fire started to sizzle for me at episode 8... nevertheless, I held on for 9 more episodes, hoping the plot would pick up or there would be some sort of development with at least one of the suitors, but alas that was not to be.. By the end of episode 18, my brain was fried, the same cycle with each episode, my brain was screaming it couldn't watch anymore. So to as to prolong my agony I skipped to the last episode to see who she decided to choose... For a romcom, there was no direction nor progress. It was short, but felt really long.. I fast forward the episode 19, was ready for it to end. Seriously the ex's explanation what was that??? who was that random guy on the park bench between her and her bother?

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Completed
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon
2 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

Strong leads, enjoyable, but the plot and focus are a bit of a mess

I thought the cast for this was very strong, especially the three leads. Bong Soon and Min Hyuk have near fatal chemistry and that's the clear highlight of this drama. Bong Soon is adorable and Min Hyuk's mannerisms and romantic approach are overpowering. The rival character is also one of the strongest I've seen in this role, even if I had such a strong distaste for him early on. I don't care at all for love triangles but this one was relatively reasonable and well-acted.

The show has way, way too much comic relief and non-central character focus, to the point that I felt like every episode had nearly 10 minutes of filler. The comedy itself is often very lowest common denominator (don't get me started on the wine gag and loud is funny humor), though the main character centered comedy is pretty good. I'm also an opponent of overarching psycho pervert thriller-style conflict, though here it sort of makes sense given the comic-book/action movie premise. This conflict trope is extremely overused and very often distracts from what actually works for the central relationships. In my mind, Strong Woman Bong Soon should've been a more focused romcom with episodic villains; for instance, they should've made housing development and local thugs the central source of conflict - the show teases this possibility before diving into the thriller stuff. I think defeating villains and converting them to acquaintances/friends would work way better for the tone this show sets early than using the genius evil sicko. One example of why this fails - the main antagonist, despite the job he has, carries around basically tens if not hundreds of rolls of cash; honestly, if the plot needed it, I'm sure he would've had more money on hand than the ML. He's meant to be taken seriously but the overall presentation of his character doesn't make a lot of sense. The slice of life side of this show is undoubtedly the best part so the conflict should be on that level; as it is, there's a sharp divide between what works tonally and the conflict the show forces.

Also, I didn't like the use of wealth in this show (though I'm not a fan of this dynamic in general). Min Hyuk is a very young CEO entrepreneur-type who's absurdly wealthy and who uses it and its influence to basically coerce the main character to him. I don't like rich guy/poor girl dynamics because it leads to a lot of plot expedients and holes in logic. For instance, "if he is so rich, why didn't he do X, Y, and Z" that anyone with that money would do in the circumstance? Beyond such plotting problems, Bong Soon is also extremely economically dependent on her relationship's success to maintain her job. I think having a character be filthy rich actually robs us of layers that their personality could've taken on otherwise and, in this case, moves the relationship further towards the concerning side of the spectrum. I had to bracket off dimensions of their relationship to fully enjoy it, but Bong Soon as a character is so compelling that eventually the wealth problems fade a bit into the background.

Still, a lot of this could be ignored because the show doesn't take itself too seriously and aims mostly for fun over logic. Even so, I think the lack of a clear focus and the weak overarching conflict are major detriments. I would recommend this because it has so many features that one might connect to when watching. Even if I'm pretty critical above, it has a lot going for it at the character level.

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Completed
Squid Game
2 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
9 of 9 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
This review may contain spoilers

A+ Set Design

I'm not wild about the story - it's a relatively straightforward "murder game" take, though I think for me one of the most interesting elements plot wise is the pseudo informed consent of the participants. A lot of murder game takes - from Most Dangerous Game to Battle Royale - have unwilling participants. But these participants (barring the ones in the first game who did not entirely know the stakes) continued to play willingly. In fact, that seemed to be part of the point.

There's no particular reason to stress the anti-capitalist messaging in this. If you have read anything about Squid Game it's probably about that. It's interesting, but also to an extent deeply nihilistic in a way that I find a bit unengaging. while accurate, hopelessness in the face of death like experiences just feels....pointless. I know that I'm likely to go bankrupt if I suddenly get cancer, and I know that there are people who have so much money that they could easily wipe my debts but instead build a (probably fictional) massive murder island so they can sit on human furniture and take bets on whether I'll off myself after she dies. Bleak af.

For me, the thing that stands out the most about Squid Game is the set design. There's a real story in the way that each of the sets is designed from the bright yellow piggy bank floating like a light in a casino above the room to the childrens's school yard at the end. The performances - specifically newcomer Jung Ho-yeon - were also really solid.

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Completed
Triad Princess
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 4.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 4.0
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
The only redeeming part of this drama is the male lead, everything else is so forced. Firstly, it has all the tropes that would make you think ‘yes I’m going to get me some cliched drama’ and cliched it is but SO badly written. The FL is basically a bunch of traits together and there’s just extremes — zero complexity. However, you can continue watching but it ends on a cliffhanger and you start wishing you hadn’t invested at all! For a show with every episode that’s about 40 mins each, they could have paced it well but it just doesn’t feel right. Even the romance, though cute is too sudden. Watch it only if you like any of the actors in this. I did like the supporting character’s arc with ML and FL though, other than that there isn’t much except for Jasper’s gentle look and smiles.

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Completed
Unfair
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Unexpected Tears

OK the ending shocked the hell out of me and maybe I should have seen it coming but I thought someone else was the mastermind behind all of the drama. At any rate, the death of one of the characters crushed me and I bawled my eyes out on this stupid thing.

That being said this was another drama that started off really well and then went downhill fast knocking massive amounts of sense out of the way!!

I really like the actress who plays Detective Yukihira and had not seen her in anything except a romcom and a movie about friendship that I adore. So I figured this would be fairly good too. I liked the idea of a badass female detective showing the boys hows it's done. We get that for the most part especially in the first 5-6 episodes. The series differs from the standard perp of the week formula that a lot of cop/detective shows have. (Well here in the US anyway, haven't watched many Japanese shows like this so bear with me).

The first few episodes were about a serial killer, then a kidnapping and then a finalized revenge plot thrown in for good measure. It all ends up tying together at the end so it was one long full circle story; which thematically went from good to bad to worse.

The acting is really good from Shinohara Ryoko and Nagayama Eita. In fact the best thing about the series is Nagayama. He was great as Ando the young detective who has our heroine's back from all the other testoterone filled cops who don't like her or her methods and I can't wait to see him in other things.

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Completed
My Mister
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 4.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

ANOTHER HYPED DRAMA ROMANTICIZING CRIMINAL BEHAVIORS


I’d probably get bashed by fans for this but…

I just cannot absolutely enjoy a drama portraying cheating, stalking and blackmailing that fans keep romanticizing just because the characters have more than one trait that make up their personality. I feel a lot of people are quick to get attached to dramas with seemingly three dimensional characters because that’s something that we don’t see often but being invested to the point of justifying their behaviors that are outright violations is just ridiculous.

People would come at you if you even say that the behaviors are questionable. I don’t get why they keep talking about how the characters are deeply flawed which makes them real but when it comes to judging their behaviors, suddenly it’s all fiction? I swear if Ji an was a guy, they wouldn’t feel the same way.

If you’re looking for a slice of life drama, this is not it. There are other ways to make the characters “human” and the story feel raw without romanticizing their “flaws” that are not actually just unethical behaviors trying to give depth to the characters.

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Ongoing 16/16
Lost
30 people found this review helpful
Oct 11, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Ongoing 1
Overall 9.0
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

The kind of show that says too much without truly saying.

The most underrated show in 2021! This is the kind of show that will definitely stick around in your head for quite sometime.
It might not be for everybody, but those who can enjoy melodramatic shows as much as I do, will understand what I mean.
Realistic, full of emotions, deeply written with some class acting.
It just leaves you thinking about the numbness we feel while we are living in autopilot mode and how a sense of belonging can brings life back even if it’s in the prohibited desires.
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Completed
Come and Hug Me
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 10, 2021
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Psycho-Thriller drama. Showcase how powerful media can be..

I dont know if its fair to say, but I like the younger actors playing the main role than their adult counter parts. Their story was more engaging. For me, I get the romanticism from them.

When they became adults, its where the drama kick in. A daughter with a picture perfect family who lost everything. A son willing to own the sins of the father. A psychotic fathers love. A mothers love bound by more than blood. See, drama right?

Some parts of the show, the media was more vicious than the antagonist of the show. Makes me think whos the real villain.

The show may not be perfect but it is still a good show because after the fight for their love, their lives, they still achieved their happy ending.

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Completed
One and Only
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 10, 2021
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

An Addicting Tragic & Heart wrenching Love Story

I did not think that I would love this drama as much as I do now when I first gave this drama a try a week ago. I had doubts about this drama even though I liked the actors, but it was the OST that convinced me to give this drama a try. AND WOW! The drama did not disappoint. One and Only is the best historical romance tragedy drama that I have watched in 2021 so far. It comes second to Goodbye My Princess as one of the best love stories I have watched in the cdrama world. I am so glad I gave it a try because I definitely would have regretted it if I did not discover this gem of a drama and let it past me. One and Only was just so enjoyable in every aspect. I did not skip one minute of the drama and savored every moment of Shi Yi and Zhou Sheng Chen. I definitely recommend this 100% to anyone looking for a great love story and some amazing music.

There are so many things that I love about this drama:
1. The OST and bgm- it was so amazing and really added to the emotions of the scenes, particularly at the end of the drama when tragedy hits our couple. The music was ultimately what pulled me into this drama. It was already so beautiful to listen to before I gave this drama a try and now it holds a deeper meaning after completing the drama.
2. The acting- the entire cast did an amazing job at embodying their roles. I really loved Allen and Bai Lu as Zhou Sheng Chen and Shi Yi and I can't imagine anyone else playing them better than they did. The supporting roles were also excellent; the actors who played the other disciples really showed their deep bond with Zhou Sheng Chen.
3. The chemistry- Bai Lu as Shi Yi and Allen Ren as Zhou Sheng Chen left me heartbroken and speechless. They showed their love so beautifully with their actions and through their gazes at each other. They made such a great pair and I wish so badly that they had a happy ending in this life. It would have been so amazing to see them admit their love for one another in this life. It hurt me so bad that they could not just be together and instead died one after another.
4. Angst- I love a good tragic love story even though my heart can't handle it once I finish lol. My heart really hurt for their love that had to be hidden. The bloody note that Zhou Sheng Chen left for Shi Yi was absolutely devasting and seeing Shi Yi's reaction to his death and the note hurt so much. It was also so sad to watch Zhou Sheng Chen and Shi Yi be separated by an arranged marriage and seeing them cry silently for each other. The jumping scene of Shi Yi was also filmed so beautifully and made me cry T_T The snow and her dress made it even more tragic. I really felt wronged for Zhou Sheng Chen who lost his life to the people he risked his life on the battlefield protecting.
5. Story- the story was just amazing. The politics weren't hard to understand and I loved the character setups (except why did Zhou Sheng Chen have to be so selfless???) I would have loved to see Zhou Sheng Chen and Shi Yi be happy in this life though, because their outfits were so beautiful and the scenery in historical times. There are some moments where the antagonists get really annoying, but it's not too bad.
6. Fight Sequences- I just have to say that Zhou Sheng Chen and his disciples looked so amazing fighting.

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Completed
Sweet Sweet
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 10, 2021
22 of 22 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 6.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.5

Not much happened throughout the whole show

The show was cute, but there just wasn't anything happening. Each episode brought more of the same. I don't like a lot of angst in the shows that I watch, but there has to be some kind of drama to drive the episodes forward. This did not have that. You could literally come in on any episode and not feel like you have missed anything.

I thought the highlight of this drama was the architecture. The house on the rocks was really cool. The office where he worked, surrounded by walls of books was nice too.

Acting - Zhao Yi Qin as Su Mu was the typical cold, emotionless man that we've seen countless times in countless other dramas. I do have to say that he is VERY attractive, and once he warmed up a little he was a joy to watch. Ding Yi Yi as Tian Tian De...hmmm, I don't know if it was because of the writing or her acting, but I just wasn't impressed. She is a beautiful young lady, and they made a cute couple, but she spend an inordinate amount of time being "cute".

The dubbing in Chinese dramas is always problematic for me. WHY in the world do they use the same woman with the same whiny voice in so many of these?! Then there are the open-eyed, still-as-a-statue kisses. Please, if you want me to believe that they like each other, there needs to be some kind of emotion!

I'm not giving a spoiler to say that I REALLY loved the scene with the ear buds. That was an extremely cute and sweet scene, but not enough so to make up for the rest of the show. I'd say that if you want to watch something sweet, with no drama, and you don't want to get invested in the characters at all, give this show a try.

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Completed
The Heiress
0 people found this review helpful
by kkineo
Oct 10, 2021
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 3.5
Rewatch Value 3.5
Oh boy! This one really sent me for a loop. It started of ok and was somewhat entertaining. The female lead was a bit over the top in her acting and I must confess I am tired of the female pretending to be a male trope but it was not horrible I was not a fan of her personality however and I thought she was selfish and boring. The male lead was also so typical and boring as a character but attractive so got through it. Plus was it was only 24 episodes. Story arc was ok but fell of the rails around episode 16. The ending was probably one of the worst I have seen yet, rushed and ridiculous. I would not suggest anyone watch this there are so many better ones out there.

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Completed
Mai Sin Rai Fai Sawart
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 10, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 3.5
This review may contain spoilers

If you have got patience & time go for it.

Chitaba & Patawee's love story starts in Paris, one of the most romantic cities. It started really well, and I hoped it'd go on like this (mind you that I've dropped this lakorn at the time due to lack of subs after ep 6 and didn't bothered completing it after it was completely subbed )

But Patawee understands that Chitaba is his enermy's daughter while leaving Paris.

Chitaba's dad kills himself due to gambling debts to Patawee.

Patawee asks Chitaba to be his mistress for a year (while he has his own girl friend, with a greedy mother)

Chitaba accepts it to get her house back.

Patawee constantly rapes her

Behaves her like sh*t.

Not only Patawee mentally abuses her, his girlfriend and her mother, one of the housemaids also mentally abuses her.

Chitaba is a strong willed girl and she knows how to fight .

Patawee's girl friend has a heart disease and tbh expected to die anytime

Chitaba eventually falls pregnant but she wanted to abort the baby.

Luckily Chitaba had people on her side and they did their best to help her.

Is it a happy ending ? depends on what you understand from happy ending.

If you got patience, go ahead and watch, you can always watch it in ff motion.

It's modern revenge / slap kiss drama



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