Reviews

I remember loving this when I first watched it in high school. For years, I claimed this drama as one of my favorites and always recommended it to other people. I decided to watch it again because I wanted to feel something. But my opinion about the drama has changed.

I am not complaining about how the they wrote Nanhee's story—someone who is constantly beaten up by other people about her unconventional appearance and is often stripped off of opportunities because she doesn't fit their standards. No matter how much we hate to see it, this issue happens in real life. It may seem like an exaggeration, especially when the actress playing Nanhee is actually pretty, but this happens to some people. And I love how they portrayed it. Those with low confidence about their appearance would definitely feel for Nanhee.

I'm mainly bothered by Segun and Nanhee's story. Segun was really rude to Nanhee without the ring; insulting her a lot of times and harshly saying that he's not attracted to her. While I do understand that his harshness was meant to showcase Nanhee's reality, what baffles me is that this is Segun we're talking about—her love interest. It's really weird for me to see a man constantly beat up a woman about her looks then end up falling for her, dating her for real, and everyone else being okay with it as if he never treated her badly. Not reciprocating her feelings was valid, but the insults were just unbearable. Imagine dating someone who could have sworn they would never like your face.

I still enjoyed some of the scenes, but I guess it just made me confused whether I want them to end up together or not. I didn't feel as giddy as I did before.

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Easy-to-binge and gets all the onion-triggered water out of your eyes

It's been a long while since I watched a whole kdrama in one day/sitting. This broke it. Highly underrated even though it was a Netflix original.

Let's dissect the storyline. Even though it didn't have my ideal beginning, it was still very fast-paced and allowed for the main character to be introduced. They quickly introduce the second main character and end that episode off with a very satisfying cliffhanger. I love how every episode introduced a different mini-storyline within the larger one, while allowing the main characters to develop. I also liked how they connected the story between the two main characters and allowed us to go back in time and sympathize with them. (This was the tear-jerking part.) I love dramas that are either completely romance or have a mystery/crime plot with a bit of romance. This was the latter aka my favorite.

Let's talk about the actors now. I don't know much about autism or Asperger's so I cannot comment on how well the main character, Tang Jun Sang, acted. However, I can comment on Lee Je Hoon's. Something about him at first glance was so charming. He embodied his role to the full, from the way he talked, the way he smirked, and his body language. I expect so much more for him in this genre of kdramas, and I'm excited to see more of him. Lastly, Hong Seung Hee was a very nice side (and female) character to have. She wasn't an especially necessary character to the plot, but she was in screenplay because she was the one reciprocating the comedic relief from Lee Je Hoon. The only problem I had with her was that her connection with the main character seemed just too random.

Overall, I HIGHLY RECCOMEND this drama.

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Despite having a few dull moments, it's still an entertaining watch...

The show definitely takes you on a ride of emotions. You'll get happy, sad, frustrated at times, but you can't stop watching. The show is just a rom-com, but it still manages to give its audience a few messages that we're aware of, but often end up overlooking in life...

Story:
Even though the story wasn't something new, as you can tell from the description, I liked the way it was executed. I liked the way the story was developing, until it started to get a little boring in the middle. It can get a little frustrating to watch, but if you're patient enough, you'll be able to enjoy the show.

Characters:
The FL is an amazing character. She is a strong woman who's worked her way up to being the president of a company that makes otome games. She's a very nice person, and always thinks about the people she cares for. She's passionate about her job. But, she's not quite the perfect character she might sound like. She has flaws too. She makes mistakes just like any other human being, but that didn't make me not like her. I actually like her character, even though her actions sometimes upset me.

The ML starts off as a character with no hope. He doesn't like working hard, and neither does he have any manners. He's rude, but I like the fact that he was always straightforward. The character development that he has is amazing, and I really love his character. I didn't even remember the kind of character he was in the beginning...

The supporting characters do an equally good job. I like the second female lead the most. Despite the common trope, she's not a bad person. She's a very confident, smart and nice woman. All the characters in the show have a really strong bond and it's lovely...

The Music:
'Runaway' by Dean Fujioka and 'Love song' by URU are absolutely amazing songs. The catchy theme song for the opening and the ending song really make the entire show experience a lot better. The background music is also pretty good.

Spoiler to the ending:

If you're wondering if it's a happy ending, it depends on how you see it. Despite the many obstacles in the leads' way, they end up together. I wanted to see more of them cuz' they are really cute together, but, I get that there wasn't enough time left. Everyone gets a happy ending. The show ends on a positive note.


I really enjoyed watching this show. Kinda sad that it's the end but, I really loved it. I'd definitely recommend it to someone looking for a light rom-com, but there are a few heartbreaks in the show too. I'm surely gonna miss this show...

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I love how Koreans are stepping up their game with their unique new ideas in dramas

First of all I wanna say:I LOVED IT

I wanna start by talking about how the vibe and sets of the drama were bright and colorful but the story was dark and bloody, this made the drama more creepy and interesting and fun to watch I really liked this about the drama and I think this is what made it different from “Alice in borderland” which people said is similar to this drama
The story:
Well as I said in the headline I LOVE how Koreans are getting more and more creative with their dramas, not only in terms of story but also the camera work ,the sets, the fashion (and in this drama it’s not exactly fashion but the customs), anyways the plot is really good I don’t think I got bored any moment watching it, one of the things that I think about when watching a drama is what messages does it say, what did the writer want us to conclude from watching this and I think this drama has really great messages and experiences to learn from

The acting:
The acting is amazing every single actor did his role excellently, and since I didn’t see many people praising our ml gi hoon I wanna say he’s one of the main reasons that made this drama fun to watch his acting is natural he portrayed the character of a kind and a simple civilian so well and I could feel his emotions too, all the acting was brilliant but those who stood out to me were: firstly our sae byeok that got so much recognition because of her role and still I can’t believe that is her debut, secondly joon ho the police officer I think this is my first time seeing him acting but definitely he shined so much to the point where I am watching his other works now, and Ali’s character which is also most people’s favorite he was such a lovely add to the cast

Rewatch? I’m not a rewatch kind of person especially for a drama that definitely needs a season two, but for those who like to rewatch I think you’ll rewatch this since every episode has so much going on and so much details to realize and analyze, and also that at end of the drama your perspective will some kind of change so it’ll be fun to watch again with that new perspective

Overall I highly recommend to watch this, it’s definitely worth your time, it’s also only 9 episodes but still with a good experience and entertainment.. so give it a go!

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Since there were so few reviews and I am currently in lockdown. I thought I would share my thoughts after a few weeks of bingeing and catching up on the last few years of Thai drama's.

STORY:

it's a light hearted romance without the emotional rollercoaster that some lakorns seem to love putting the audience through. I won't write a synopsis as the official MDL synopsis is perfectly fine but I treated this lakorns as a rest from the sometimes emotional pulling extremes of some other lakorns.

ACTING/CAST:

Peak did grow on me as Bussaba; however her character portrayal did not make much sense with her backstory. This is a girl who was introduced to the audience working at an event, had graduated with honours/distinction and who came from a humble rural background. So she should be pretty grounded and understand the rural lifestyle, yet her character goes to work in a Vineyard dressed like a hi-so on her very first day and for the first few episodes her character comes across as very childish. I won't blame Peak for that as it was most likely the script. I will say though; whoever styled her hair in the first 3-4 episodes with that ridiculous side ponytail needs to be retrained again.

Michael who played Din was not my favourite if I'm honest, he had a hard time controlling his facial expressions when trying to be comedic. His eyebrows also seem to somehow have a life of their own and would just bob up and down in some scenes. While this might be just a personal mannerism of his, it was pretty distracting and my minimum expectations for an actor would be some facial control.

Both actors who played Pu and Pokhin did an acceptable job but I did think that they were miscast. I personally think that if they swapped roles, the drama would have improved in quality.

My favourite was Sariya; pretty, good acting and her character was normal without going into the nang'rai zone . Made me search for more of her drama's. Both mothers on both sides were great and supportive even if their roles were minor.

Comedic side characters seemed a bit inexperienced and not as deft in their roles.

MUSIC

Generic elevator music mostly

REWATCH

Probably not, there wasn't enough chemistry between the main leads to really bring me back to view my favourite moments.

PET PEEVE

One of the things that made me a bit annoyed was the camera work. In some scenes where the characters onscreen are having a conversation, the camera switches from action to reaction again and again. So in some very short conversations the camera shots flips back and forward pretty quickly to a dizzying level.

That's it, I didn't hate the drama but I didn't live it. It was definitely a daytime show with all the implied quality that goes into making one.

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Beautifully Written - Don't watch if you are after "excitement" / twists & turns

I really think this was a beautifully written drama that did cover a really sensitive topic. They did manage to make good use of the number of episodes they had for this series.

It does raise the argument of what is "worse", which you find yourself thinking about each time a child's story is explored. Sometimes, I felt like Red Cry was doing the right thing and other times, I did not. In regards to "who Red cry is?" it was pretty clear as the writers laid it out in front of us.

Even though some may watch this drama expecting it to be filled with twists and turns as to the revelation of the killer. Though, the killer was a big part of the drama, I just don't think it should be the only thing to focus on when watching. The main topic is childhood abuse and trauma, if you're looking for a drama to give you excitement, don't watch this.

This drama did tackle the different types of childhood trauma faced by both kids and when the adults were kids too. The Female lead Woo-kyung was an example of this. The memory loss she suffered due to a tragic and traumatic thing she witnessed first hand. I felt for her because she was continuously brushed off by her stepmother and the fact that there were barely any photographs of her childhood. It was tragic but a harsh reality some people do face.

So-Young (the female detective) even talked briefly about her experience of getting beat by her brother and how her natural reaction to his beatings were.

This show does raise awareness of the effects of abuse, especially childhood abuse on people.

I think the cast did a wonderful job acting together and alone in this drama and I would 100% recommend this drama to anyone who has patience to watch the story unfold.

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How to boil frogs alive?

Warning: This show has a lot of triggering content, including suicide, drug use, corporal punishment, abusive language, and sexual assault to name a few. If you have any trauma-specific triggers or cannot handle extreme violence, then tread lightly.

Violence breeds violence in this visceral, dark study of what it takes to break a person who is getting broken every day, over and over again, to the point of no return. The show connects violence in male-dominated environments to domestic abuse, to complacency and apathy in an ominous epic where heroism is nothing but the polished facade over a sick and rotting within.
This was such an unexpected watch for me. I wasn’t planning on watching this because I dislike military and everything connected to it (including fictional works about it) but it’s just 6 episodes and I like the main lead’s acting to I thought I should give it a watch and I was blown away (pun not intended). This was not at all what I had expected from a Korean show. They never hit as hard as Korean films do but this show is a visceral, horrifying watching experience. I can’t say I enjoyed watching it. It induces a lot of stress but I also couldn’t look away. The show tackles the military with a critical eye. It has a “lord of the flies” lens and it shows how the hierarchies in the military enable sociopathic, violent people with dark fantasies to do as they please without any consequence. It’s a system that sustains itself with gore, intimidation, humiliation, and mind-break. The show is almost too successful in exposing these and also connecting the issues of that environment to the hierarchies and toxicity existing in the society outside of the military compound.

You should watch this show if:
1. You hate the military like I do
2. Can handle violence and injustice (extreme)
3. Short format with no wasted moment
4. Subtle character developments
5. Realism with a touch of dramatization
6. Buddycop dynamic
7. Tragedies
8. Police procedural
9. Dark humor

Summary: The show follows Ahn Joon Ho, an apathetic young man with no prospects, no future, and no emotional attachments who joins the army for his mandatory 2-year service, seemingly on a whim. He survives the initiation process through his sheer will to feel nothing! Then his observation skills and sharp mind land him a job with the deserter pursuit unit and with every new case he follows, his icy veneer melts away as he starts to care. A bit too much, maybe.

Plot: This is a very sharply written show. There’s no one scene wasted on unimportant matters. The show is subtle with its character arcs and humor, which helps put the exaggerated and extreme violence in the show into stark focus, making it feel more jarring and uncomfortable. Foreshadowing, symbolism, and parallels are used with great cunning to help flesh out the world and the characters in it. I really like that detail about it. Aside from technicalities, this is an adrenaline-packed, mystery-solving, action story wrapped in trauma and social commentary. It’s an exhilarating watch that will hype you up while also draining your emotions. The format is more or less episodic with each episode following a case. This does dampen the show’s edginess a little bit, as all procedurals do, but thankfully it’s super short so it doesn’t get pedantic.

Acting: The acting was amazing! I already knew Jung Hae In was an amazing actor but I just couldn’t imagine him in a violent, macho military show. Turns out he’s not just good at dramatic acting and being an extremely ideal love interest. He’s also really good at throwing punches. But I have to say, the show benefits from his skills in delivering emotional punches (lol so many boxing puns!). With his naturally sad eyes and empathetic expressions, he raises the show above just being gratuitous violence. Koo Kyo Hwan plays his sardonic, eccentric character to PERFECTION. His humor is not slapstick and cheap and when the emotional moments come up, he keeps his performance steady and mature. He was amazing. Jo Hyun Chul deserves some sort of award for his performance. If he doesn’t get anything then the awards must be rigged. The ensemble was all good in their roles as well.

Music and Production: The music was fine and it worked well for the show. This was a very well-produced show. The camera work, details, sets, everything was done with great care. I guess it’s a Netflix show so it’s expected to deliver a certain level of professionality.

Rewatch value: No. It was too much. I can’t watch it again. I’ll watch a sequel, though.

Negatives: There is an overarching plot and there is character development and the whole show is a very in-your-face social commentary but the procedural format does redact a bit from it. When the plot really starts connecting from episode 4 to 6, it becomes a bit too melodramatic and certain parts are not as enjoyable as the very stylistic first episode that has you hooked. It survives though. There’s extreme violence and it can be argued that it kind of goes against its thesis by showing such over-the-top violence but I rarely see anyone critic compulsory military service so whatever, I’ll take it!

Overall: Definitely a good show. I would give it a 10 but that’s for shows I have fun. This was not exactly fun to watch. It was painful. Just the kind of pain that is worth getting through. One thing I loved about this show was that it has that "get revenge from the bully" situation but it manages to make you not enjoy the righteous violence despite the justice in it? At least for me, it was so. I’m curious to see if the show will get a second season because it has space to say more. As it stands, it could pack a harder punch. It does show the absurdity of the military so well and it almost makes fun of it but the humor is so dark that it’s almost no longer dark humor, just dark. I would like to see them explore the problematic structure of military a bit more. I won’t ask for justice or a journey of righting wrongs because it’ll be tacky but I want to see more of the show.

So how do you boil frogs alive? Well, how about not doing that, you sick sociopathic monster! Not every man has to be a killing machine. Some men like to plant flowers and draw comics and teach children that they are worth it and they deserve good things and you know what? They are more heroic than those who kick a person just because they can, because they have big muscles or a weapon and whatnot...anyway, don't boil frogs but if you do, just expect one to jump out and bite your head off.

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a big waste of time

First thing that I have to say it's I had a lot of expectations about this drama, and all of it was destroyed in a million pieces before halfway, I forced myself to end up clinging to just a few characters.

Do Hoon was my favorite, and I believe his performance was good. His development was smooth, he could had something more and that made me very frustrated. From the beginning, you could see that it would have relevance in the protagonist's life, so i confess i hoped they would get closer and develop some romance and a happy ending for him. But that didn't happen, too bad.

My second favorite was Ran Joon, I just started watching because of her. I really love Ahn Heeyeon. And this character had a fun development, smooth and good. She had the best happy ending in this drama and it was fun watching her scenes.

And I admit that I liked the main character a little. Ji Won was cute and adorable character, but her love story with Seung Yoo didn't make me feel anything. He was a character that I didn't like from the beginning, it bothered me the way it was written and I didn't feel any empathy. He was boring. The character I liked least.
Seung Yoo It could have had a great performance, a great development, but his script was a little annoying. As if he didn't have a personality or something that made us want to see more, him cheating on his girlfriend with his first love and screwing it up is not the biggest problem. The thing that I hated was his personality, his character construction.

I have to say that the entire construction of the script was a little disappointing. I would definitely not watch it again. The scenes were not very well fitted and it was extremely tiring to watch. This was a drama that left nothing no feeling. totally forgettable.

I wouldn't even recommend it.

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Started off well .... then lost it ....

Okay this drama was not really on my list, It sort of just popped in while scrolling. And it first it started off really well, then somewhere along the line it got lost in translation.

The fist few minutes of the show set them in University, before flashing back to 7 episodes of high school, which can be a little confusing to start. The evolution of Itt and Pai felt much more natural with slow burn feelings and stolen looks, as well as trying to figure out how they felt about each other. When they get to university, everything felt kind of forced. For me the whole misunderstanding over a class room, then boom we at a university gathering and there was no spark whatsoever between them was really disappointing.

Then you have pure who had a scare in high school, but didn't seem to mend his ways was a really tragedy. The fact that the writer touched on this topic, but it somehow didn't hit the impact of how dangerous unprotected sex is, and just flew over the top his head, and carried on with messed up ways, was really disappointing. I like the fact that we have an unabashedly bisexual character without much fanfare and effort to harp on the issue of bisexuality. Pure's most prominent trait is his promiscuity, but he is a character whom one can sympathize with.

Waan was really sweet in this drama, and always seemed to have friends back.

It's ridiculous how 90% of the problems in the show could have been solved by just talking and communicating. I know people are a little like that too, but seriously? I still don't get how Itt stays by Pai's side by helping and taking care of him in the dark but is not capable of talking to him face to face to clarify he's not angry at him nor does he hate him. What's the point?

Another point is that we can't see when and how Itt starts liking Pai. The acting is more obvious on Pai's case, but Itt? Not his dialogues, nor his face or eyes say a thing. Then he acts all angry when he finds out about the classroom, doesn't talk to him for months, and then suddenly appears, helps him and likes him? "he was never angry"

This drama lacked a whole lot, it's like the writers/producers are putting less and less effort every time. Little budget, rookie actors who are obviously handsome.

Overall: it's an okay watch, but it definitely lacks a whole lot!!

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For those looking for a more mature romance...

Wow. I'm not sure where to begin... I typically go for more playful comedic romance dramas but this one looked more mature and boy did it deliver. It had little laughs throughout along with heart wrenching and heart melting moments.

For those looking for a more mature romance with skinship, this is the romance drama for you. I decided not to give this drama the full 10 stars only because I wish we would have seen a bit more back story. There are holes in the story from the past that I would have liked to hear or better yet seen played out. I have questions and need answers! (Can a girl get a Season 2?)

Overall though I really enjoyed this drama and very happy I took a chance on it. Also, it's only 16 episodes so it's a quick and enjoyable watch that could have easily had another 4 or so episodes.

Would Recommend
Would Rewatch

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Would Recommend to Romance Lovers. Would Not Recommend Supernatural Story Lovers

For The Good, For The Bad

The Good:
1st - Wow! The kisses! This is the first drama I've seen where the actors really kiss. It's not that awkward flat lipped kissing you often see in these dramas.
2nd - The concept of the drama was really intriguing and I really wanted to learn more about the abilities, the healers, and the protectors. I loved the special effects for Qi Xun's ability.

The Bad:
1st - Although the concept of the abilities/healers/protectors was very interesting, it was also very vague and left me with a lot of questions. I would have liked the drama to explore more of that supernatural aspect rather than the sister's side story.
2nd - I felt they could have expanded on the antagonist's role by adding more of the supernatural to it and made him a little more evil.
3rd - The FL's dad and their whole relationship. The guy did some pretty cruel things to her. I know it was to "protect" her or something but it was inhumane. I just don't see how she could patch that up with him and actually live with him again.
4th - This goes along with my first point but I really wanted to see more of the FL's ability. We saw it only a few small times and it was incredibly minimal. I would have like the writers to have given her at least 1 big moment with her healing ability but it just never happened.
5th - What was that ending???

Despite the bad points of this drama, I really did enjoy the relationship between the 2 leads. I would recommend this drama to anyone who is looking for a solid romance with a little fantasy. I would not recommend this drama to someone who is looking for full supernatural driven story.

Happy I watched it? Yes 100%
Would I re-watch? Yes? But only for Gao Han Yu (Kido) and the shaving cream scene though??

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For the Good, For the Bad

I tend to watch dramas that are more modern romances but the concept of this supernatural romance and it's rating on Viki made me give it a shot.

For the Good, For the Bad!

For the Good:
- This supernatural concept fit very well for a romantic drama. The method he used to share his blood to the FL gave us a lot of laughs and cuteness. It was a great way for the writers to fit in random bits of romance and sometimes hilarious encounters.
- I liked the antagonist and his "origin" story which made me believed his motivation for being so evil. It didn't feel random or far-fetched. It was plausible and made sense. Honestly, even if he didn't have the backstory he had and only knew of the ML's abilities that may have been enough to make him "evil" but they added a layer his story making his motivation even more convincing.
- The 2nd ML. That's it. That's all I'm really going to say. I just found him lovely.

For the Bad:
- The acting was rough. I'm mostly referring to the 2 leads. I loved the ML and luckily his awkwardness fit with his character so it was easier to overlook but I didn't like his acting as much as the 2nd ML who was (again) lovely.
- I found the FL to be incredibly annoying at times. Everytime she cried I wanted to rip my ears off. Luckily I found her to have other redeeming qualities so I kept watching but she definitely got on my nerves a few times.

Despite there being some pretty slow parts at times and my annoyance with the FL, it was an interesting enough concept and cast to keep me watching until the end.

Am I glad I watched it? Yes.
Would I re-watch? Unlikely.

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