Dropped 29/36
A River Runs through It
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
29 of 36 episodes seen
Dropped 1
Overall 1.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

A pack of sh*t and trash

Annoying sh*t trash
OMG I couldn’t believe it is possible to make a drama this much trashy. I don’t know what is there inside the skull of this direction team, I am pretty sure they don’t have brain at all.
Soo annoying, ML likes FL, FL likes second ML, second ML likes second FL, second FL likes her childhood friend, her childhood friend likes another girl, thank god that mystery girl not showed in drama.
Both ML and FL are worst than trash
1. Out of 36 episodes till 28 she had feelings for second ML, yet ML knows that he keeps on telling her to give up on second ML saying that he has no feelings for you but he keeps on pursuing FL yet he knows she has still feelings for second ML. He couldn’t give up on FL yet he keeps on telling her to give up on second ML.
2. At 29 episode When he proposed to FL she dumped him so cruelly, in the same episode she asked him to act as fake boyfriend and shamelessly he agreed to that.
3. As like in other Chinese dramas ML is soo shameless and sadistic trash, he couldn’t tolerate if she talks with other guys, he rush to her and drag her from the spot like a stray dog, he keeps on rounding around her and always she took him for granted and insulting him very badly yet shamelessly he acted like nothing happened. When he heard some guy is planning to propose FL he run to the spot and dragged her like a dog and suddenly proposed her knowing she still not over with second ML.
4. The main sadistic and cruel part is whenever he tried to confess to FL, before him she always confessed her feelings on second ML and crying in front of him. Yet he trying the same and get annoyed and disappointed.
Like this I can say hundreds of trash in this drama but I feel like to throw up to mentioning those sh*tty things.
I strongly recommend not to try this drama

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Completed
Coffee Prince
0 people found this review helpful
by liyo
Oct 2, 2021
17 of 17 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 10

A pleasant surprise

I went into this drama expecting nothing. I didn't even read the synopsis and I landed on a gold mine!!
Does this mean there are other good and moving dramas I have slept on and ignored?? I weep at that thought.

A drama that made me long for such a pure and young romance. Made me long to be in love, and be loved. That feeling of a first love, of sleepless nights, of long night conversations, of shy looks at each other, of the uncertainty on whether he loved me or not, of selfless love acts. In conclusion, I was smiling continuously with googly eyes glued to the screen, and my hands were either touching my face and awing(making all sorts of awwwwww expressions)or my heart because! BECAUSE!!!!, it was too much and sometimes too little.

This drama is and will always be my special sugar jar to open when I need something sweet in my life. I foresee a future of rewatchs! My special place in drama land.

It was raw and the acting was as realistic as it could get. I really believed it when they said the fl could pass as a boy. Her makeup, her fashion and what she would do, was trully believable (not like the usual elephant in the room, where we all know she does not look like a boy but we just have to close our eyes and believe).

I did not know kdramas were produced like this. Maybe this was common in dramas back then. Where you believe wholeheartedly in what you are seeing, it does not look scripted , the actions, the reactions, the set up. It looked like the real world and I ate it all up.

I loved the relations between all the characters and I found myself stary eyed at Kim Jae Wook's character. I loved that each character had their own story and goals they aspired to and not just an add on onto the main characters' lives. Each character had their lives to move about and their own stories and their own actions outside the main characters' love story.

I am grateful to that random user I saw praising Coffee Prince in the feeds and in turn prompted me to check it out. This drama will forever be my never-never land.

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Completed
Sweet Teeth
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
22 of 22 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

Easy watch but nothing ground breaking

Sweet Teeth is one of the easiest/lightest dramas you can watch in 2021. The plot isn't heavy and easy to follow, the characters are all good-spirited (yes, every main character), and the overall vibe leaves a sweet aftertaste, albeit not a particularly impactful one. I'll examine the pros and cons and help whoever reads this decide whether it's something they want to watch.

Pros: 1) Leads. Both main leads are relatively new into the acting scene but I thought they carried their weight well. I especially thought Betty Wu did a great job balancing the cuteness/comedy/romance aspect of her character. Her acting isn't perfect but for an idol drama, definitely passable. I will bring up that I would have liked to see her change up her hairstyle once in a while - she has dyed hair w/ long straight bangs the whole show, a tad on the unfashionable side haha. I thought the male lead did alright as well. We're finally able to see a "cold/cool" main character actually be nice, affectionate, and most importantly, not perfect. He has his insecurities but doesn't bring out any of the stalker vibes like some CEO dramas. Shows off a well-rounded character as opposed to the typical "perfect, quiet, cool" main characters that are plaguing cdramas. Once again, not perfect acting by any means but good enough.

2) Light plot and pacing. Watch this if you don't want to watch anything too heavy. Nothing about revenge or angsty breakups. For the main leads, it's a relatively sweet story. A bit of a love triangle that plagues the middle of the drama but as the whole series is only 22 episodes!!! (LOVING THE SHORT MODERN DRAMA PACING). This eliminates pacing issues that many series struggle with. Lots of shows struggle with plot and character development after the characters get together which is why the final arcs in many of these dramas result to angsty breakups, disapproving parents, or other wacky misunderstandings. As Sweet Teeth is relatively short and the main leads get together relatively late, there's little drag. It's a simple watch although because of the light plot, it might not be something to draw viewers in to binge, but it's a show that you can watch a couple of episodes at a time.

Cons: 1) Low budget. Viewers can tell that the budget for this isn't the greatest. There's definitely inconsistencies in the dubbing which may be distracting. The setting is fine but the outfits are a bit bland (although the director might be going for the bland look for realism) - but the blandness makes it harder to binge.

2) Hard to binge. As mentioned before, it's a sweet watch but hard to binge because some parts are a bit bland, the middle is a bit draggy, and many moments are so cringe that you might need to put it on pause and take a breather. The slow really lacks that magnetic quality that some other shows have, and this might stem from the con #3.

3) Chemistry isn't exactly electric. I thought the main leads were good, but together, I didn't see that spark that some of my other favorite dramas have (Love is Sweet, You are my glory). But to each their own.

4) The damn interruptions. So many inopportune interruptions during key moments. Became way more frustrating than enjoyable/funny after a certain point.

Conclusion:
So should you watch? I think this will depend on whether you want to watch something a bit lighter. The interruptions during confessions or important moments is honestly a bit distracting. This show is unique in that the show establishes the leads like each other very early, but they don't get together until way later - maybe this keeps up the "magic" for you, but maybe these types of relationships are annoying for you. One thing I didn't mention is, there's a lot of focus on the 2nd and 3rd couples. I honestly did not find either of the side couples very entertaining and they do take up a lot of airtime. The main leads are relatively stable characters so some of the randomness/quirkiness/typical cdrama angst are thrown onto the side couples. If you're on the fence, watch a couple of eps and if the side couples are not entertaining, just drop this drama. There is a lot of focus on the side couples, and in my opinion, is a detriment. Overall, I think you should give it a try. It's definitely not everyone's cup of tea but might be a nice watch for many as well - just don't Shakespeare quality. I know for sure I will check out Betty Wu's future dramas.

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Ongoing 15/30
Forever and Ever
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
15 of 30 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 6.0
Story 5.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 6.0

So slow to get moving!

This is my first review and I just had to leave my thoughts about this drama so far. I am only on ep. 15th but could this please pick up a little. They are married and have a hard time hugging. It just doesn't seem that real when you have to wait that long. I know the lead actor is married in real life and I seen him in another drama where he didn't kiss the main lead really at all... but come on... if you are not wanting to kiss the FL then don't do a love story. I love the actor but come on people. So if you want a drama that has passion then I would pass on this as of right now. I don't know how much more I'll watch.

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Completed
Oh! My Emperor
4 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
21 of 21 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

I came here for Xiao Zhan

I'm not going to sugar coat this. I'm one of those fans who just came off of the high of finishing watching 'The Untamed' and decided to search out another Xiao Zhan series, so this review is obviously going to be of little value to a lot of people. I apologize, because I know that the rest of the cast is doing their best, but they are not Xiao Zhan or Zhao Lusi, and I CAN be that shallow.

Upfront, I'm going to admit that I finally decided to watch this series because of Zhao Lusi and Xiao Zhan (and I need these two in a series together as the main CP, preferably another historical or similar). Previously, I'd seen some video clips of this series and was slightly interested because of Zhao Lusi--I became of fan of hers before I became a fan of Xiao Zhan, by the way. But a lot of those video clips seemed kind of strangely cringe-worthy, and the story line felt a bit unappealing.

Then I watched 'The Untamed' and fell for Xiao Zhan... and that made my decision.

Back to this series, I only have a few minor things to say:

1) After finishing this first season of 'Oh! My Emperor', I now realized again why I'd decided not to pick it up in the first place. A lot of the acting was stiff, editing was bad towards the end of this season, and some of the sound effects were a bit slapdash.

2) So really, it's all because of Xiao Zhan that I even bothered--yes, I can be that biased.

3) Again, the acting was rather stiff and the only person I liked in the entire series so far is Zhao Lusi's Luo Feifei--she was fun, spunky, and all sorts of cute and cool.

4) I don't think I understood at all why Luo Feifei fell for the emperor instead of the royal uncle. Beitang Yi was a jackass throughout the entire series. Beitang Moran was the typical good man who treated our female lead really well and any sane woman would fall for. Even the little brother, Beitang Tang would have been a better pick. I really feel like this trend of the female lead falling for the jackass main male lead needs revisiting--just stop doing this, please.

5) So even though everyone's acting except for Zhao Lusi seemed rather stiff, I still wished that Feifei would have fallen for the royal uncle instead. Yes, even Xiao Zhan's acting was pretty stiff, but you can see that he's got potential.

6) I will give props to positive female relationships--Feifei and Yanran were great together as friends and broke all the tropes in typical idol romances. I loved that even though the two of them were set up to be love rivals, they still remained friends. Yanran's talk about how Feifei is her friend and would never betray her trust was wonderful.

7) The story actually started off pretty interesting and I was intrigued most of the way, so I can't say that I disliked the series completely. I was hooked and was interested in the big mystery behind the Ophiuchus people. The editing and some of the execution of scenes was just kind of choppy and stiff.

8) I will definitely finish watching the rest of this in season 2... even though we all know that Xiao Zhan doesn't end up getting the girl, which is a bit of a bummer for me, but oh well. Maybe in another life he'll get to partner with Zhao Lusi again.

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Completed
The Yearbook
3 people found this review helpful
by jpny01
Oct 2, 2021
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

I wanted to love this so badly.

There is so much about this that's wonderful. The acting and cinematography are excellent.

That's a lot - and it's why I gave this a 7 instead of the 5.5 'suggested' rating. I like that this takes a more cinematic and sophistic approach to making a BL - this is not like a mainstream series where everyone is fantastically rich - the characters even take a train!

There is no way to escape comparison to I Told Sunset About You, which is another ambitious production about similar themes - I could watch that 100 times and was enthralled for every minute of it. The Yearbook was something to endure.

It's slow. I don't mind slow-pacing during scenes - in fact I prefer a scene that develops. The problem isn't the slowness of scenes, although they're really, really slow, it's the overall slowness of the plot and the reliance on flashbacks to fill time. I understand this is an expansion of a school project. It's not so much an expansion as an inflation. You will see the same scenes flashed back to many, many times - like a dozen or more - I'm not kidding. There are flashback scenes that have their own flashback scenes - I'm not joking, it happens many times.

Within scenes, the dialog is spoken in this unnatural slow and halting manner, with very long pauses and staring to the point that Bite Me seems rushed in comparison. Everyone moves very slowly, too. Like 90 year-olds. Heavily sedated 90-year olds. There's a scene were Nut takes a photo out of a drawer and sets it up on his desk. He opens the drawer so slowly I thought maybe he was afraid there was a bomb in it, then withdraws the photo really slowly, slowly places it on his desk, then writes a pointless letter that takes 5 minutes, and then he gives up and just calls Phob instead.

There is no point to this story. It's not about loss - there was an opportunity to delve into different types of loss and how you move on, but nope, just slow talking and flashbacks.

There is a scene where the main characters appear to have sex - offscreen, which is fine. But then the next day they behave exactly as they did before - there was no impact on their relationship, no discussion, it just disappeared and never happened again, and they resumed interacting like bro's. They even woke up fully-dressed and not even cuddling.

A little over halfway through, a character has to go somewhere for a few hours to take care of something life-changing. And the series comes to a screeching halt and there are three episodes that are almost entirely flashback. If you're expecting a fluffy ending, you're not getting one. It's not a sad ending, it's not really a happy ending, it just ends, as if the crew said "f@#$ it, this isn't going anywhere, let's just stop here." That sounds exaggerated, but you'll think I understated it if you watch this series.

The life-changing event is fairly dramatic, and it does result in a character signing a song for the other character (over the phone, all to flashbacks, including a flashback to someone else singing the same song - and with vocals, not just visual). No hug, no "I'm here for you", certainly nothing to indicate there's any romantic connection. The song isn't about loss or moving on, it's expression of unrelated feelings that he could have communicated 10 years prior but somehow never did, even though they had sex.

This is not a BL. It's a bromance. There is a kiss, once, miss-it-if-you-blink, and the main pair do seem to love each other, but it feels to me that it was a bromance with one kiss thrown in to make it a BL so they could market it to us and Mean's fan base. This feels like an attempt at a BL by straight guys who think m/m love is gross and so it's barely in here. This is the BL equivalent of interior "decor" that's all white walls, black leather furniture and a huge TV for video games and watching sports.

There is more time spent by straight characters discussing girls they like than there is of the main characters discussing their feelings for each other, which, incidentally, they do not do, ever, even once. They sing their feelings, which is nice (although twice it's over the phone), but we needed to see them interact like lovers. After high school, the main pair were rarely even in the same room together. Except in flashbacks.

------------------

Story: 3. Superficial, lazy, manipulative, and designed to make sure the main characters interact as little as possible.

Acting: 9. The delivery of dialog was terrible, but that's not the actors' fault - they otherwise did an excellent job showing us what they feel, which makes the endless flashbacks mystifying. Why hire such good actors if you're not going to let them do the heavy lifing?

Music: 8.5. This was well-done. The original lyrics were good without being carried away, the singing was what you'd expect from non-professionals, although someone who's a better singer should have been cast for Phob. Anyway, one of the series' better qualities.

Rewatch value: 1. If you held a gun to my head, I would still not sit through this again. It's probably worth watching once, but there's nothing that would draw me back.

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Ongoing 35/42
The Justice
1 people found this review helpful
by Youya
Oct 2, 2021
35 of 42 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Brilliant!

Steven Zhang/Zhang Xincheng is doing brilliant in his role. He is the reason why I watch this drama. His role in - The Day of Becoming You - was great! He is indeed a multi-talented actor...... and of course! very handsome :-)

Sten Zhang is pretty good and amazing in this drama ...
i love the story , the struggle of the male lead until he reached the peak of success !
The storyline from first episode to next episode are all well written, developed and best delivered by the cast.
The location shooting was perfectly set-up in accordance to the story setting.

I love the music and the music score ... so lovely!

This drama is worth to re-watching .... and I absolutely recommend this drama ...

you gonna love this guys!

#TheJustice #StevenZhang

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Dropped 22/24
Your Sensibility My Destiny
2 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
22 of 24 episodes seen
Dropped 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
OMG I enjoyed it so far. all cast are very good in their role with the Light Comedy never got me tired to watch it. Wang Xing Yue, ( male leads ) he's gorgeous.. 2 more episodes over. Let's see how the end is...
I do love historical dramas like how they dressed, music added and stuff. All beautiful, but sometimes i give up myself because of a long story. This the best one!....
by seeing random Vids on tiktok just find it interesting. Not as plan i'm going to watching this at first. IM too excited
❤️ from BALI.
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Completed
Cute Programmer
18 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.5
Rewatch Value 10

One of my top fave CDrama this year!!

Glad I decided to watch this and finished it!

If you are looking for a light drama with a happy ending that will satisfy you and make your heart fluttered in the end then you'll surely love this. If you're looking for something new and not cliché then you might not want to consider it. But I still hope you can give it a chance. If you are planning to drop it because you thought it's like You Are My Destiny all over again, then you're wrong. It's much better FOR ME, and I liked it more.

Yes, there's nothing really special about Cute Programmer, but it managed to give me the kind of progress I wanted that You Are My Destiny failed to execute.

The ML - Yes, at first he is immature and annoying at times, but you'll see that he is just having a hard time expressing himself and unconsciously .... slowly .... showing how he really cares for the FL, which I find really adorable especially starting in the mid part of the series. In the end, he managed to redeem himself and that makes me fall in love with him harder! I absolutely commend his character development here. I'm so happy with the progress of their relationship.

The FL - Her character is really relatable. I'm impressed on how she knows what she loved, but she still knows her limit and boundaries. She's mature, smart and knows to be dependent. Towards the mid part and after climax, I disagree with her decisions but still it's understandable. It's necessary for her to see how the ML was really sincere about his love for her. In the end, she managed to get what she wants (LOVE), and fight for what she desire (CAREER).

The ML and FL, really had a great chemistry! I hope they will work again in the future.

Their family - What I also loved about this series is their family dynamics. They are very protective and supportive at the same time. No stressful on both sides! I really adore the mother in laws! They're both admirable in their own ways. The ML and her sister's relationship were also likable! Everything about their family was all that I hoped for.

2nd female lead - YES, I FIND HER REALLY ANNOYING, but her presence adds spice to the relationship of FL and ML.

2nd couple - I find it adorable how the 2nd lead couple's (ML's sister and best friend) relationship progressed. The ML's sister wasn't intimidating and annoying, I find her really cute and always wait for her screen time. While the ML's best friends "hard-to-get" style was so funny! They really suit each other.

3rd couple - I'm not really interested with their story so I tend to skip some of their parts, but I'm happy how they finally surrender with one another and openly expressed their feelings to each other.

Ending - I'm so happy with the ending, I have no complaints! It's the ending that I really wanted, not too much stress unlike the other CDramas which only have the FL and SL reconcile in the last episodes lol. After finishing watching this, it made me fall in love with both of the main leads! They've become more mature, chasing together each others personal dreams and protecting their love for each other. I'm so satisfied with this Cdrama overall! I would love to rewatch it in the future.

If you love this drama, please add me and i'll do the same. Let's be friends! Haha!

Thanks for reading!

Enjoy watching!

PS: It's a good watch experience when you are not spoiled by the scenes. It adds to the excitement of the series, especially in the last 10 episodes. It's really good!

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Completed
Cute Programmer
0 people found this review helpful
by Youya
Oct 2, 2021
30 of 30 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Another happy ending story!

Probably annoying for others. The half of the story sounds like the 'You Are My Destiny' ... denials, acceptance then chasing!
The female lead (wife) got pregnant too .. got an accident ... but in this drama ... at least there was no miscarriage and I am ok with that .. no stress! The male lead (husband) persevered in winning back the love of his wife ... sounds corny but I love it!
i love happy ending story and i watched to entertained myself....

i love it! and I love Xing Zhaolin and Zhu Xudan
#CuteProgrammer
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Completed
A River Runs through It
1 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Nostalgia feeling, Heartbroken youth

The setting in a year where spending time together and the need to rely on each other. The story start from end of high school until adults . But somehow it relatable every journey they had. The farewell in every journey will happened as we moving forward in our life as the river. Never look back therefore there is no bad people in this story. No one need to be blame because as a human we tend to make mistake and sometimes the choice we made doesn’t seem to work as we want. Misunderstanding? It just happened in our youth.

Most people will be frustrated with the FL but there are a lot of people like her and her reasoning is valid at that point of time. Nobody is perfect an sometime we don’t get what we want especially to make others love us back.

The only flaw in this story is that they rush the ending and most of the misunderstandings seem to solve because of time.

Great rewatch value as the story is interesting .Kudos to Richard wang for perfectly play Lu Shi Yi. Because of this role probably will watch his other show and Hu Yi Xian also perfectly played as someone stubborn just like other youth out there.
Thank you for this slow burn drama that is healing and make us remember our journey

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Completed
Mysterious Love
0 people found this review helpful
by Ali316
Oct 2, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.0

An exciting thrill ride from Ep1-ep16 a must watch


This cast is full of talented and good looking men/women and the chemistry between them is hot. The child actress Xu Duo Duo should be nominate for an award she did an amazing job keeping all in check lol. This drama is about a love that could last thru the years, but a difficult task that is. The excitement of being part of a syndicate Da angang in which you are the good guy(Lee) and very godlike. Then we have Ruan nian chu who is actress and very pretty. Thru an accident on an island she meets lee who saved her from drowning and saves her life a few more times. She has a strong personality that can tell right from wrong and can standup for herself. She and Lee falls in love while hes on a mission and in order to save her goes down with the bad guys. She comes back to life slowly, but doesn't forgot lee at all as she still doesn't believe hes dead. She even has the flowers (forget-me-not) he gave her 5yrs ago, but are starting to wilt and her boss offers to save them. She goes to a party un-invited for work and sees Lee there as she trys to break in she stopped by security. Once in she call "Lee" and he ignors her then is introduced as Li teng head of security. She doesn't believe him and tries to get his attention so she jumps into the pool and starts to drown, but is rescued by his associate Jiang Hao. In the interim while fixing the flowers Tuan Zhang finds a coin that breaks in half and is usb he plugs into his phone runs a quick file and he thinks its broken, but instead its a gps locator. Now the story begins with tbe good guys trying to find the coin before the bad people working for Da an find it. The story from here is exhilarating and never a boring moment. You laught you cry it make you feel a part of them and your cringed up.
Enjoy as much as we did.

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Completed
A River Runs through It
5 people found this review helpful
by Xia Li
Oct 2, 2021
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 9.5
This review may contain spoilers

Best drama of this year

There was no villain, no toxic ex, just a beautiful realistic story. The leads were so connected. Each character has its own story to say. This drama is not for those who are on the cheesy kiss. But if you're on a good story, this is for you.
I love how Shiyi was always there for her. He truly deserves everything in this world for being so honest and kind. His character development will surprise you.

Next, Lin You's character development was so realistic. We did a lot of mistakes, and she showed the same. Huang Jun in the last cried and regret, but I love how he let go of her. Also, the whole series was special because of Cheng Leng. He was the most mature one here.

Le Tao suffered a lot and yes, in the end, she was happy. I'm happy for her.

Xia Xiaoju taught us a lot. Like if you keep waiting, you'll lose your chance. She was special. And hats off to all the actors, they connected us with characters so perfectly.
In the end, this drama had lessons, friendship, pure love, the struggle of each character. It's much better than those cheesy dramas full of kisses. I can say it was the best drama of this year.

You'll cry, laugh, learn and repeat!

10/10 to A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT.

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Completed
Light on Me
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 10
Rewatch Value 8.0
This review may contain spoilers

Korean BL, but this time with higher production

The popularity of BL dramas has been growing in Korea. As a result, we now get to enjoy this 16 episode, half hour per episode run-time drama with a higher production value. And like the Thai BLs that came before it, with added runtime we get added story. This drama feels superior to most other KBLs for this reason, and for other reasons as well.

STORY: Well, this is a high school drama. So go into it expecting exactly that. We see many cliches and tropes, but we also see plenty of unique and interesting content as well. This story is overall very fluffy, though it has serious moments as well. It portrays a very innocent kind of love, the kind lots of high schoolers would expect to be involved in. The love triangle is fully believable and done excellently. We get to see some typical moments like wiping frosting from a lip, catching a falling love interest, and a pesky evil female character. We get to see harder hitting moments like rumors, bullying, homophobia, the pressures of high school and what it means to always be the best and act the best while looking the best and the pressure that puts on a person. We get to see someone win the big competition despite the fact that they absolutely should not have by any metric. You know how it goes. Overall, this story was able to pull me in despite its flaws and I love it.

ACTING: Kang Yoo Suk as Shin Woo manages to show a good emotional range in his character as he struggles with his feelings and how to express them. In a character that is chronically unable to say how he actually feels, being able to deliver believable nonverbal emotion is key, and Kang Yoo Suk does this well.

Choe Chan Yi as Da On stole the show for me. Dealing with new developing romantic feelings, the struggle of coming out to himself, the pressure he is under as the sweet and kind student body president, the emptiness of absent parents, and the turmoil of rumors and homophobia, Choe Chan Yi was able to express all of the feelings that come with these issues with a smile on his face (mostly). Brilliant acting. I will follow his career closely moving forward.

Go Woo Jin as Nam Goong Shi Woon was a great choice in casting. He is able to seemingly effortlessly switch from the goofy, loud comedic relief wingman to the serious and often wise (or good at pretending to be wise, at times), caring friend who makes sure everyone's emotional needs are being met and sees all the sides of disagreements. Like Kang Yoo Suk, I enjoyed seeing this actor's range.

Lee Sae On as Tae Kyung... you will read plenty of reviews that strongly dislike his acting and call him robotic. He isn't as bad as many people seem to think - a lot of it is due to him playing a character that is a "self-imposed loner" and therefore lacks friends and social skills - but I do think this actor has a bit of a way to go to catch up with his peers from this drama. There is a ton of potential in him, though. Despite the odds, I didn't hate him or his character. It all just ended up feeling a bit flat, unfortunately.

Remaining cast seem overall fairly suitable without anything standing out in particular.

MUSIC: The OST is enjoyable. The music seemed consistently fitting and not overwhelming in any scenes. I often forgot to listen to it, and that's great. It helped set the moods in various scenes without pulling focus away.

The Korean boyband A.C.E, already well known for speaking out on LGBT issues and breaking gender norms through their various styles over the last handful of years since their debut in booty shorts, recorded the track SPARK for this OST. The song is beautiful in sound and message, and was used fittingly throughout the show. A.C.E's leader, Jun, has stated that this track and project were important to the group as they want to promote the idea to their fans that there are many kinds of love that are just as beautiful as the expected norm, and that they accept their fans no matter who or how they love. Stan A.C.E.

REWATCH VALUE: I would watch this drama again in the future. I found it enjoyable enough to enjoy it again, and would like to look for any moments I may have missed in the first half that gave more of Shin Woo's feelings away.

OVERALL: This drama isn't what I would ever call "groundbreaking" but it is sweet, somewhat sad, fluffy, and entertaining. Most of the acting was on point. The camera angles and lighting were usually very good. The message wasn't profound but it did have a message to tell, and it delivered on it.

Very much looking forward to more work from this director and several cast members.

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Completed
Doctor X
0 people found this review helpful
Oct 2, 2021
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 8.0

Entertaining

This was a spaghetti western about teaching hospital politics. Our anti heroine, Daimon sensai
Is ‘the woman with no name’ out to save the patients ignoring all the politics behind . This refreshing revolutionary idea is the reason why the drama is so successful. Season 7 has been launched in 2021. Unlike other medical drama, the medical conditions were easy to follow and it was not emotional draining. Therefore ideal for a relaxing weekend watch as light entertainment. Yonekurasan was excellent as the maverick doctor. Just watching her in action against the limited knowledge academic surgeons who could not operate was amusing. She portrayed the rebel trait wit flair. She was well supported by veteran medical drama actors. That’s a good reason why you will like this drama. For the anti-hero sentiment, the original soundtrack also included whistling sections which one associates with spaghetti western. A deliberate stab at the establishment. I strongly recommend it.

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