Reviews

ONE OF THE BEST YOUTH DRAMAS!!

SPOILER!!
I honestly don't know where to start. I may ramble my way through this too but honestly this was one of the best youth dramas I've ever seen. It made me look back during my high school and university life. The ups and downs. The good and bad. Liking someone, getting rejected, being together. Struggling with own course, thinking about the future, losing people along the way, separating from your closest friends, etc. Youth is all part of self-discovery. Growing up. Experiencing all these to enter the society.

The story was honestly so heart warming but obviously at times, I just cannot help but get annoyed. The parents were very supportive of them. I have never felt a character so relatable Xiaoju's struggle growing up as an eldest and having to give way and feeling as if no one has got your back to support you, - the neglect -I totally felt that. I felt like my own story was being shown in this drama. Of course, in the end her mother had supported her all the way through. I like how the Xia, Lu and Cheng family were so close knit that during the early episodes, they were already wanting Xiaoju to be their daugther in law haha. To also include, Xiaoju's brother is hella annoying like every younger brother, but you can see how much he cares for his sister.

The trio, the best friends. I love how their friendship transitioned all throughout. Actually, the five OG bffs (inc Letao and Baabao), I loved their lil friendship throughout high school. Helping each other win that competition, caring for each other. It was just amazing. I was actually so sad that since Baobao left at that time, he had never shown himself. I've always felt that Taotao and Baobao were extremely suited for each other. Imagine my sadness when she got on with Huangjun. Not to be biased but Taotao's relationship with Huangjun was so toxic. The things she had done for him only to be taken for granted. But tbh, this experience for Taotao was her turning point, she had grown into such a strong woman and I really commended her character. I love her friendship with and support for Xiaoju. I guess because Taotao was such a strong girl crush, I actually really fell in love with her character. P.S. oh gosh that vocal girl in the band pissed me off too much. Imagine my happiness when Baobao came back in the end and being revealed to be Taotao's groom. I already expected it to be honest, but I WAS HELLA HAPPY!!!! He looked handsome too.

I honestly think Chenglang's first love was Xiaoju. But then he saw Linyou dance haha. I really believed in their relationship. They were definitely cute together. But I guess just like in real life, sometimes when you're not meant to be, no matter how much you've liked each, you just won't be together. I was actually waiting that maybe in the end she will come back but when Xiaoju said she had gotten married, I felt quite hurt for Chenglang. This guy deserves to be happy. I just felt like he did not even get a closure nor a happiness he deserved in the end. Like fair, be single, but that scene when he saw Linyou with her foreign husband, I just felt sad for him.

I actually watched this drama because of Hu Yixuan (I had finished watching Unforgettable Love. Through her I had found this gem. She is indeed a wonderful and versatile actress and I commend her for that. But my biggest disappoint in this drama was he character. Fair enough she grew. Her character development was good but I felt like it just dragged and dragged and dragged to the point where it was only until the last episode that Shiyi had fully gotten happy. But through her character, it just shows reality too, we like a guy for a very long time only to see him become happy with someone else. Then you also get scared to ruin your friendship with the bestfriend you really care for. I was actually glad she had gotten that closure with Cheng Lang with that mango pudding thing too. I just wished she had given Shiyi a chance a bit earlier on. But I guess if she did that, the ending would've been different.

Lu Shiyi. Shiyi oh Shiyi. I wish I had someone like Lu Shiyi in my life. If I had someone like him, I would've fallen for him already. I wound't be so dull and blind like Xiaoju. The amount of things and great efforts that Shiyi had done for Xiaoju is immense. He was definitely ANNOYING at the beginning but the transitioning of his relationship with Xiaoju was so smooth. Like his character development was not abrupt. He didn't just suddenly change overnight and started being nice on her. It was so gradual and smooth. I love it. It may have started when she finally agreed to do the relay with them and they all got really close with each other. I honestly just wanted nothing but Shiyi's happiness, but it was just so frustrating for me to see him in pain and suffer all throughout the middle until the end. Sometimes it was unbearable. Something that is still stuck with me until this day was when he said that he was not bad too. The way Shiyi had said that, the acting, the voice, I felt my heart shatter to pieces. I felt his pain. You know an actor is doing an absolute amazing job when he is really into his character that his emotions are overflowing and you could feel whatever emotion he was feeling. And that is how I really fell in love with Lu Shiyi's character and also Richards Wang as an actor. I really really want to praise him. I wish he had been happier earlier on. I cannot reiterate how much I felt sorry for him and just wanted him to be happy.

The whole setting especially their hometown really brings be back to my own hometown. I love the OSTs too. That I like you song, the amount of times I've heard her try that part over and over again, sometimes I would just hear the song in my head randomly. Now it is one of my faves hahah. The producers did a great job choosing that song when Shiyi had proposed to her. I actually cried when they were finally together. I just wish I had seen them as a happy couple a bit longer. That's one of the it's a shame parts.

Overall I LOVE THIS DRAMA AND I WOULD DEFINITELY REWATCH IT AGAIN!!!! TOTALLY RECOMMEND!!!!

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Read my Review

Although I absolutely love the two leads, I totally understand why this drama got dismal ratings. It was a slow drama. The script spend too much time on the male lead obsessing over his unrequited love of a married woman with a zero chance, followed by more timewasting by the two leads obsessing of of the now dead unrequited love with now a minus zero chance. By the time they finally got to the burgeoning relationship of the two leads, of course we had lost interest. And then to top it off, the female lead gets manipulated by a talking device and makes foolish decision. This drama went downhill very slowly.

Since they were already downhill, they could have squeezed in one more episode and ended it properly.

There was a good script and storyline, but bad execution. I watched all12 episodes because I was really hoping things would change, clearly not.

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Good Family Drama

I loved this drama! It was nice and refreshing to have no bad characters, yes most of the characters had some flaws, but that was what was so good about this drama. In the beginning when the widowed Father and divorced mother decided to get married and have the families join together you learned of how dysfunctional the father's family was. The Mother even though she had ups and downs while raising her kids she was still kind and gentle. Through her Love, care and understanding the father begun to change his bad habits and as he started to change he was able to reach out to his kids and slowly build a relationship they never had. Both families in the beginning didn't get a long but as the drama continued the families started to get closer and the characters that had flaws were slowly changing for the better. While watching this drama I felt like I was part of the family. I was smiling and laughing, and was upset when characters were upset. This drama had the perfect balance of story line with all of the characters. The ending may of been a little rushed I was hoping to see some wedding but it still ended very nicely and enjoyed it. I was smiling from ear to ear. I am so glad I watched Be My Dream Family and will miss it!

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Subarashii!

That's the feeling I got when I binged this little drama. At a single glance, there really is nothing overtly fabulous or amazing about it. But, it had a strange captivating magic that weirdly reminded me of Harry Potter. Or maybe it's because of the soundtrack and Fukamachi Naoya-kun.

☆ The plot doesn't exist on the surface. Each episode consists of basic mysteries and legends that many of us might have heard in high schools. The two leading heroes and Reiko-senpai set out to mentally solve the troubles that arose and dispel the rumours. What did continue was Takatsuki-sensei's unsatiated search for an actual mystery.

☆ I really loved the leading character, but he might be one of the most boring male leads I've ever seen. But, there was something really realistic about the way he was portrayed. Fukamachi Naoya had accidentally stumbled across an event that was forbidden to be witnessed by the living when he was ten years old. What follows his later years is a punishment: to be a human lie detector. This causes him to isolate himself from literally everyone. By coincidence, he chooses to study Japanese Folklore, leading him directly into the arms of Takatsuki Akira, his young and vigilant professor. Taking an instant connection to him, his new sensei hires him as his assistant and they together unveil legends and solve mysteries. But, Naoya-san never really is able to let go of the negatives that his little "gift" brought along. I connected to him in several ways. There were moments I wished that he would become normal, then I'd wish that he was once again back to being a lie detector. I liked seeing his growth and loved his smile. The dude rarely smiled, but when he did, I would become happy too.

☆ J Doramas rarely disappoint in the acting department. This one doesn't either. (I'm surprised that both the lead actors are Jpop idols.) There were numerous interesting individuals that we got to meet and I looked forward to every new mystery or legend. Most of their performances were really convincing. When it came to Sewai University, there were only a few characters in the spotlight; thanks to his little gift, Naoya-san doesn't have a pack of friends following him. But, those whom he finds solace in are his Sensei and his perky assistant Reiko-chan and later, a lively Nambu-san. I loved their mystery solving though nothing about it was far from normal. EP6 and 7 in particular captured my heart.
The cottage core atmosphere of the drama helped quite a lot. It was calming and simultaneously thrilling to watch.

☆ The opening BGM was very Harry-Potteresque and the drama as a whole felt really magical. Though there was rarely any magic in it. The ending OST Gunjo Runaway by Hey!Say!Jump! grew on me eventually due to many reasons. It's a shame that Japanese songs do not have english lyrics coming along with them.

☆ Last, but not the least is Takatsuki Akira Sensei, the eponymous character of this show. Though we see the events through the eyes of Naoya-san, it is Sensei who is the scene stealer. I didn't know what to think about him. His actions left me ---and Naoya-san-- in a whirl of confusion and his over enthusiastic response to the woes of people made me suspect if he was possessed. Half of the time, I didn't know whether to trust him or pray that Naoya-san runs away from him. He was enigmatic, charismatic and eccentric all rolled into one and I was beyond curious to know about his intentions and plans. His friendship with Ken-Chan piqued my interest.
Not to mention his hyperthesemia, a condition that makes him remember each and everything he has ever come across.

☆And the Bromance! It was a delight seeing the closed off Naoya-san struggle with the very extraverted Sensei. Their interactions were one of my favorite parts of the show. What's more, their rapport was slowly built through trust, something that Naoya-san grappled with. Also, watching the friendship grow between him and Nambu-san was amusing.

☆ I appreciated how they dealt with the topic of the supernatural and the real world in a very neutral manner. It didn't cross the border, but neither did it completely deny its existence. I hope it stays the same way.

☆ The down side about it might be the format of the episodes. We don't focus much on the main characters, but learn some part about them through the experiences of others. This can come off as boring if we aren't interested in the mystery or just don't like episode after episode of a new mystery each. The cases/unsolved events themselves were nothing new; they involve folklore and urban legends that we might find similar to the stories we hear or had heard at school. (Dead ghost/haunted rooms, objects similar to ouja boards, etc.)
Also, if we don't find ourselves comfortable with the characters and their antics, then there is a high chance that the watching experience will be quite bitter.

Many thanks to the fansubbers who spent their time to make it available and understandable for us International viewers. This drama was completely satisfying. (I pleasantly surprised by the montage at the end of the final episode!) Definitely a binge-worthy gem.
I'm still uncertain about whether to watch the second season. As a saying goes, there are some mysteries that are better left unsolved.

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Wow

I'm just speechless.
You know, when you watch a drama and movie and it makes you feel some type of way, you can't explain... this was what i was feeling after watching this show. It made me feel sad, empty and kind of depressed... For me it was one of the hardest one to watch, it was harder than watching a horror movie, but isn't like psycho movies/drams/series always the most hardest to watch?
This drama was so thrilling and my heart was always gonna explode, when something thrilling happend. I was so into it, felt with every charakter, was laughing, crying, praying that in the end it will everything be good. Also the end wasn't really satisfying, it was still a good end.
The thing, i was dissapointed with that Dongchul deserved better. He risk his life to get and live in this cult to save her and yes of course Sang-hwan was helping from the outside (what was important as well) but Dongchul wasn't even thanked properly. He was kinda forgotten and almost being ignored for what he was doing.
But his actor Woo Do-hwan was so amazing, like i really love his acting, he was my favourite through the entire drama. Also I still can't understand why Seo Yeaji didn't won an award with her role, she was honestly so breathtaking and just amazing. She played her role too good.
This drama was just everything and i got so much goosebumps. through the entire show. I still don't know how to feel about it. I kinda want to really watch it again but it's like a horror-trip.

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Adorable Main Couple and a Super Cute Elephant!

It's been a week and I am still missing the main couple, Lookkaew and Saran. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them together in this Lakorn, and their chemistry was palpable. There were many sweet and cute moments as their relationship transitioned from hate to love. I have seen Tita Chayjaroen in Thong Ek, her first Lakorn, and I am glad that she got the leading role despite being new to Dramaland. There's something about the way she, as Lookkaew looked at the male lead, that got to me. It's not your typical deep stare but rather a more soul-searching gaze like she was genuinely trying to understand Saran, probing to determine if she can trust him. Likewise, with Saran and how he responded to her looks. Just using his eyes, he can emote so much care and invite trust. Phet Tawanpong was truly perfect for the male lead role. Not only does he have the tall, dark and handsome vibes, but he also has charisma. It was unfortunate that their skinship did not go beyond hugs and nose sniffing - haha! Lookkaew was an awesome female lead, smart, brave and confident but also had her flaws which were tempered by Saran's maturity and calmness. As for Saran's character, he was a strong, intelligent and prideful type who transformed into this adorable guy after he finally confessed to Lookkaew.

I cannot really get into the storyline since the synopsis is pretty general with no spoilers. The Lakorn itself was pretty good and overall quite entertaining with the plot twists. That said, there were loopholes and "convenient" moments, and at times, the story became quite predictable. Still, the villains did a great job raising my blood pressure and kept me engaged. There were a few selfish bitchy characters, a couple who screamed a lot but is almost a norm in a Lakorn :)

I have to say that the most useless character was Natty. Janis Phomphadungcheep played the annoying character well, but I think Natty's character development could have been better. In contrast, the show's hero has got to be P'Thanu, the most selfless, understanding second male lead. I was actually shipping Thanu and Lookkaew together initially, but I am glad the plot played out the way it did. I like Judo Tharinpirom and have seen him in a couple of Lakorns. Hopefully, he will get more male lead roles in the future.

Also, a lot of drama happened for drama's sake which can be frustrating at times. Some viewers like me might feel that certain characters deserved more punishment, but as with many Thai dramas, there was a strong focus on forgiveness and karma. Minor spoiler - it's a happy ending...for most characters. There was a secondary couple, but their progression was more towards the end and was not super exciting.

There were not many songs played in the drama, but two were memorable for me. The theme song was fun and reflected the saucy tone throughout the drama, as indicated in the title. The other one is the song that played during the romantic moments. As expected, it heightened the romantic experience for the viewers. For posterity, I have listed those two here:

OST Kaen Kaew | แก่นแก้ว

1. อย่ามอง Don't Look - ปาล์ม (Chilling Sunday)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A4zNmc5tyI

2. ตอบกันได้ไหม Ost.แก่นแก้ว Can We Answer That - ว่าน ธนกฤต (Wan Thanarit) (03:19)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdEcuMliQvw

Will I watch it again? Yes, but mainly for scenes of the main couple. On the whole, I do recommend this Lakorn. It's fun and entertaining with a happy ending. If nothing else, perhaps the good looks and the side character of a super cute elephant would be enough to keep you watching.

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Honestly I would say, one of the most underrated K-Dramas I know.
I honestly thought, it was pretty good because it had so much, like fantasy, thriller, crime, romance , psycho, law and so much more. There was so much depth behind all their stories and like some wtf -moments, for example when we found out, that Kim Sungmo and his mother were kidnapped and she was r*ped there, so he grew up in a basement. Also the perpetrator was so sick and his story as well, as being kidnapped and being selled too. Like the whole story were so psycho, and even Lee Ahn whose parents died in the fire and all the murder which happend in such a cruel way. I don't know if some people really grabed the story.
Also the actors were kind of great and i don't know but I think, Park Jinyoung is one of the greatest idol actors out there, like he proved that some idols can really act. I think, he is really good in acting with his eyes and even now I would count him as a real actor. I mean, he is still growing but for his first drama, where he was playing the main role, it was really good.

My only problem was that it was only really thrilling at the second half of the story. In the beginning it was often very lengthy and sometimes it was taking too long to go through a episode. But nevertheless I liked it, also the idea behind it, that someone has psychmetric powers.
The OST's were good, I liked "Take" by JUS2 very much.

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Big Sister the Star

This drama was very unique. 4 Female Leads & 5 Male Supports. I felt this concept hurt the drama as the dialogue & acting of 2 of the FL's wasnt that entertaining. Big Sister was the clear standout of the show, brilliant!

Problem they had with Big Sister is the equal screen time commitments to giving every female lead, when Big Sister gathered momentum which was nearly most the time she was on screen then paused her to move onto next FL story. The ending really has no conclusion for any girls which was kind of both understandable but dissapointing at the same time. If they have a season 2 make the focus on 2 of the girls not 4!

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So, let's talk about this. The drama that I'll put as the worst drama made with my oppa Seo In Guk, and I'm not happy to say this. Yes, I was very excited, but this ended after episode 10-ish, and you gonna know why. I won't give spoilers, but I will talk about some things that happened in the first episodes.

The thing about historical dramas for me is that I always look out about the king or queen in question to know about their real life and if the story would be a happy ending, and in most cases, this doesn't happen because -of course- is real life. I started this drama very excited with the possibilities of Gwang Hae and what would happen with him (I shared this before), but the main problem here is the base of the plot: the physiognomy thing.

I searched about it to know if this was so important at the time, but I didn't find anything strongly embased, so probably was a technique that could be used by some people, but for sure doesn't was so strong and determinant to the kingdom like they put here. The idea was a bit cool at the first size, but with the process, it was just too childish.

The most terrible thing to me was the construction of the villain (I won't give any names). I understood the idea that he defended at the beginning and I thought that they could develop a big reason behind this to make him the worse, but what happened was just a complete change of the character. It was like there was one character in the beginning, and then he was killed and replace by another person who had a completely different personality. I couldn't bear it, but his cruelty was worth the award of one of the worst villains that I watched and the one who I wanted to kill the most.

Another award to this drama is one of the saddest story ever. I was perplexed with the hate of King Seonjo with Gwang Hae and I cried many times in the scenes when this hate was evidenced with attitudes. Gwan Hae was the most loyal subject and the ambition of the king stopped him of see that. The love story between Gwang Hae and Ga Hee was the other face of tragedy. Really, I'm just like Ga Hee and now I don't have words (get the little joke?) to say how cursed these two were.

I could say more, but I'll stop here. This drama isn't garbage, the story catches you sometimes, but it is far away from being an amazing production. The acting of Seo In Guk it's clearly immature here (writing this with tears), but this makes me very happy when I see the great actor that he becomes.

I will put this as an "I'm not so regretful" (★ ★ ★ ★ ★) and let you make your own choice. If you wanna know some details or spoilers, send me a message and I'll be glad to respond to it.

See you soon!
XOXO, Mari.

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Okay like after five days I finally finished ITAEWON CLASS.
And oh my god it became one my favourite k-drama. It was incredible good. So so good. It was so good, incredible actor and I like both protagonists so much. And the message behind it was so incredible. Also the OST's were so great, that i almost downloaded evry song :D

So like it was the first time the girl protagonist wasn’t so girly and she didn’t even once said: “Oh nO I dOn’t liKe hIm.” From the beginning Yi-seo said, she like him and you could feel that. In general i liked her a lot (okay in the beginning she were a little odd and I didn’t like how she was treating Geun-soo and also some things she said, wasn’t that perfect but she definitely changed to someone really good (and I liked her in the beginning because she did her own thing and if people talked down to her she fight back.) And Saeyeori, I like him a lot. I like his principles and that he always stands for the right things, also that he protects his own people. I like the message, the moral and the ethics a lot in this drama and I could definitely identify with them.
And Seung-kwon, I think he was my favourite character, he was funny and also developed to someone really good.
Geun-soo, I don’t know, it was an up and down, sometimes I really like him but then in the next episode I hated him so much but I really like his actor Kim Donghee, I watched him in Sky Castle and he is such a great actor.
Hyeon-yi was also great, I liked her attitude and she was so strong. I think it was the first time a transgender played in a k-drama, I liked it a lot.
Toni, Toni was also cool. I liked him also and I was so sorry for him because of his Dad.
Soo-ah, I don’t know, On the one side i liked her but on the other side i don’t know, she went to Jangga co. although she knew what they did to Saeyeori. But she did the right thing in the end.
And the last Geun-won, I don’t know I even can’t say, I hated him. He did awful things and I understand if no one wanted to forgive him but he had also an awful father.
Jang Dae-hee, he was the worst person. It was horrible to watch how he always stayed loyal to his company but didn’t even once cared for his sons.

In conclousion I really liked the drama, i also like Park Seojoon a lot and actually I'm quite a big fan of his acting. I don't know if I would watch it again but it was really worth it watching it.

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I like this drama is soooo much.I cried, I laughed and I felt every minute. I never had secondhand embarrassment or thought something is cringe. The actors were amazing and everyone acted so so well.
The kdrama is about students and their life. About real life and how unfair it can be. Grades. School. Learning. Over learning like their nose were bloody from all their learning. And what pressure they have. And how strict their teachers, principal and parents are and what they give them for pressure. Like you can see how it is in Korea, how much they have to learn. Hours. Like they had no life only because of exams. I think this drama shows perfect how important it is to live life and not only focus on grades and learning. And how important real friends are who supports you.
The real sad thing is- how this drama shows- how strict the parents are. They even hit their own children only if they have bad grades, students try suicide or feel so much pressure that they betray friends and do everything to be perfect and to make their parents happy because they are afraid.

Eunji was such an amazing actress but Chae Soobin was more surprising to me. I was so angry at Sooah but in the end I felt so sorry for her, of course she did so much wrong but i could understand because of her mother. And you could literally feel with her. Soobin was so amazing.

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Really promising in the beggining, dragging at the end...

This drama has started all that promising - wartime Shanghai, spies and agents and special secret tasks. But got boring by the second half of the drama and failed to fulfil its potential.((

In the beginning, It was full of style - smart ML, unexpected turns, suspension moments when you really get anxious about the main heroes, and really want to know how on earth could they get out of that difficult situation that they got dragged into. There also have been quite an interesting love triangle situation developing. From the beginning of the drama, I have really been anticipating the moment when ML (Chen Shan) will become a double agent, thinking of the intricate mind games that he would play with the antagonist - Japanese special service agents. But, I was disappointed (((

The second half of the drama, when he actually became a double agent, has became not more entertaining and smart, but actually lost a lot of sense. No mind games between Chen Shan and Main Antagonist - Araki. Actually, the ways in which Chen Shan have been triking Araki have become really stupid, and for Araki to actually trust Chen Shan in those cases - just right away non-believable...

By the 35th series, the story became a little too boring and, like they're dragging it along with not much to say. I feel this is a problem of many Chinese dramas, they just don't feel when it's time to wrap up the story. So until some moment around 2/3ds, the drama is fine but then at around 30-35th episode, it becomes unbearable to watch at the same time you want to know how things will end. So you're just watching and thinking WHEN will this finally END...

The good points though are - beautiful and stylish costumes especially could be appreciated if you're a retro-lover. The actor's play was good as well, the characters are realistic and a bit more complicated - not just two dimensional beings. Zhang Ruo Yun is always good in every movie he plays, so he made his character interesting and someone to feell for. I also really liked the character of Adi Kan (Yu Xiao Wan) she's sassy but kind-hearted, brave and naive but smart.

Since I didn't finish it and dropped at the 35th series, am I really qualified to make conclusions?
All in all, it was interesting to watch until around the 30th series but did not worth the time after that.

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GOOD SHOW

MORAL OF MOST OF THE STORIES IN THIS SERIES( in my point of view):
1."Even if u have good intentions, doing evil can never be justified."
2. "Justice may be late but it prevails".
3. "The most scariest thng in this world is not any ghost or monsters but human heart and its endless desires!"
4."Even if you do evil against evil it's still evil and then you are no better than the evil!"
ALL IN ALL IT'S A SHOW WORTH WATCHING!!! and PLUS POINT is that every NEW EPISODE a NEW STORY! so you don't need to watch it all at once and you will not feel something amiss when continuing again!....HAHA...HOW GOOD IS THAT???

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