Reviews

A Snack, Not a Meal.

Kiss Goblin is a peculiarly short romcom. And a pleasant one, what there is of it. 12 episodes is okay, would that more dramas be tightly focused enough to finish in 12-16 episodes instead of stretching out to 20 or beyond by piling on improbable twists of the plot. But combine that with ~ 12 minutes per segment, there's just not enough time to raise KG above lightweight status. The basic plot premise is fine. There's certainly similarities to "My Roomate is a Gumiho", right down to the magic beads passing between the mythical being and humans. And as Kiss Goblin came out a year earlier, credit KG gets with originality.

The characters are typically K-drama attractive, and I found the ending with a bit of a twist quite satisfying. That said, this mini-series felt like a real missed opportunity to me. What of these 10 women to be kissed ? How did the goblin queen happen to select them ? What were THEIR stories ? We get a glimpse of what might have been on the second or third kiss when goblin Ban Sook asks the woman why she keeps a photo of her ex. But otherwise it's a matter of sketchily grinding through the assignments (if that can be said of kissing beautiful women), crossing kissed lips off on the status board followed by a few minutes of Ban Sook having assimilated their particular emotion.

If you're looking for some appealing filler between meatier dramas, Kiss Goblin may well satisfy that. But otherwise, viewers may be better served investing the ~ 2 hours in starting something more substantial.

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Remember us and all we used to be.

After One and Only stabbed me in the heart, I needed justice, I needed closure and most of all I needed to hear Shi Yi say  "Zhousheng Chen, remember us and all we used to be." Theirs was such a splendid, intense love with so much passion and yearning that could not run its natural course. Sadly, after being restrained for ~5000 years, all that is unleashed are faint echoes of the past. Thus, my final impression is that what was, is never again.

What this is, is a very sweet, very ordinary, reasonably touching but hardly memorable love story that is markedly lacking in intensity. It falls down hard in its failure to connect the characters of the past with the present. Aside from appearance, both Zhousheng Chen and Shi Yi could be entirely different people and this an entirely different drama. Of course in the present, they will be different but there must be that je ne sais quoi, that certain aura that lingers. Even the essence of their relationship changes, in fact it regresses. Shiyi and Zhousheng Chen of the past were of one heart and mind - she gifts part of her dowry to pacify Nanxiao and accepts her marriage hoping to reassure Zixing of her Prince Nanchen's loyalty. Shi Yi of the present asks no questions, she just trusts Zhousheng Chen absolutely without understanding his family's background or his plans. And he tries to protect her without telling her anything - it is the one thing about him that bugged me in the novel and it is the one thing they should have but did not change! As such, the sense of them being soulmates that are connected on a level beyond words is not there.

Ren Jialun and Bai Lu are both very solid actors with good enough chemistry that I genuinely enjoyed the good (pink moped), bad (lame kiss) and ugly (I am ready) of their moments together. Overall I enjoyed Ren Jialun's endearing portrayal of the shy, awkward and introverted professor whose world goes from revolving around uninhabitable planets to revolving around Shi Yi. That said, there were some truly cringe moments and he often came across as having no fire in his belly, likely due to his heavy sighing and lethargic, monotonous line delivery. I must praise how even though it took awhile, they fell into a much more natural rhythm as a couple in the last quarter of the drama and I was moved by how they grieved together and consoled one another. So despite some initial hiccups, there is genuine relationship development and that aspect finishes strongly.

The main issue with this drama that it lacks both plot and engaging and complex supporting characters. Everything really revolves around the two main leads and their romance, which moves too slowly and uneventfully to really anchor the drama. Besides Uncle Lin and possibly Mei Xing, none of the supporting characters are that likeable or empathetic. Zhousheng Chen's stepmother is the only truly complex and interesting secondary character, everybody else including the villains are rather two dimensional and the two cloddish servants are downright annoying. The plot is for the most part suspended in favour of the romance before it rushes through to the end. It is also rife with somewhat melodramatic rich family tropes from greed and envy to infidelity.

If One and Only is slow burn, Forever and Ever is like watching paint dry by comparison because there is no burn. I had to entertain myself by speculating on who got reincarnated into who and looking for hidden clues and traces of the past while mourning the fact that I was not going to see Zhousheng Chen reborn as a present day sexy beast. Which begs the question: considering how tortuous One and Only was, should Forever and Ever be watched as a standalone romance? Well, without the backstory, this is just about how an absolutely gorgeous but likely slightly delusional voice dubber falls head over heels in love with a fictional ancient drama character Prince Nanchen. She throws herself at a complete stranger; a nutty, loner of a professor with the same name who is a bit slow on the uptake but eventually realises he just got very, very lucky and thus the story unfolds. If that works for you, then by all means, skip the heartache that is One and Only.

I only watched this because I was looking for Prince Nanchen and Eleven. Sadly the future is but a mere shadow of the past. But still this is a sweet, well acted love story so I am not throwing rocks at it or at the actors. Nonetheless, this sequel did not live up to its potential so I can only rate it a 7.5. I would give both dramas together a 8.0-8.5.

Postscript:
For those of you who still need closure, there is a very well fan made alternate ending ending for One and Only produced by industry professionals. I have fan subbed it and hidden it as a spoiler in the comment section of my One and Only review.

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Keep tissues on hand!

This one tugs on the heartstrings .. hard!

The romance you can see blooming from day one, so there's no real surprise there.

It felt awkward when the adopted brother tried to have feelings for her.

I think that was just more of a comfort thing, not actual romantic feelings he had.

The dad .. ah man .. the dad.

What a gem of a character.

He truly was the core of it all.

His insight and wisdom at times was breathtaking.

Often the floodgates would open on up after one of his scenes.

Simple thoughts from a simple man who loved his family.

It's not one I would re-watch; I feel it's one of those shows that will shine best the first time around.

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honestly I came here for lee je hoon. and he did well of course. but i think it's a bit wasted :((( but anyways, the storyline was just so-so, just like any cliche romance dramas. there wasn't anything that super caught my attention. well they tried to make, 'a disable person wearing unusual supporting device' a unique thing for the drama, but i guess it failed. i dont find it unique in terms of it in the storyline. but i do love the story bout the airports, how staff work in there, passengers issues and stuff. although i do think it could be better. the osts were amazingg i love it a lot. i watch it in faster speed, but everytime an ost played, i change the speed to normal again to listen to it :))

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A MUST WATCH!!

I started this drama since it was one of the latest dramas and high school romance. I like this kind of troop but I generally don't have many expectations from such dramas. However, this one really blew my mind. It's a kind of drama that will make you laugh, cry and feel all the emotions that you have left behind. It will remind your crush in college and the non-existent love life.
The sweet scenes will make you feel butterflies in your stomach. They're not too sweet but enough to make you swoon over the characters. If I have to relate it to other dramas, it's like a mix of with you and loves so beautiful. The twist is, the FL is intelligent, hardworking, and introvert here, whereas ML is a genius as always but an outgoing one. Their contrasting personalities were the main reason why this drama felt, even more, real and interesting.

Acting: For me, it's very rare to find actors who are not overly dramatic in Chinese dramas. However, the actors in this drama were just amazing, their acting and expressions were befitting the character and even the supporting characters were doing good. Considering how a rainbow is relatively new in the acting field and only has a few works before this, she really did well. She played a quiet, introverted girl character, whose smart and shows her growth. And for the ML, he made me cry many times. His expressions are just gold. His eyes are so expressive that even when he isn't saying anything, you can feel what's going on in his head.

Story: It started as any normal high school drama for me. It was just like With you, it has the same kind of theme as well. High school romance with the value of friendship and love. However, the actors made a great impact on me here. Also, the situations they have shown were rather relatable to me. The way they changed and how different circumstances made them separate from each other. However, in this case, Ding Xian's persistence really did impact their relationship, if not for her, I think it will be ZS to go back to her.

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Disappointing ... But Watchable

OMG ... I was so looking forward to this series after watching the first one a few days ago, mainly because of Tin & Can, hoping that they story would develop and how they came about to loving each other.

Firstly - the major let down for me was Aee and Pete what the hell happened!!!? they ended on a good note in the last series, so how the hell did they break up in this drama, and the worst part of it, was that even though i stuck to my guts hoping to see or at least get an idea of why they broke up, well that's where the disappointing part comes in, there was no such thing. All you get to see is Aee being so dam miserable and pathetic, although he did look more mature in this drama, then the first, but still why did pete leave, what was the reasons behind it, where did he go, and seriously Aee if hey didn't know then why make him a cry baby, from being this cool bloke in the first series to being such a hot mess!!!

Secondly - Tina / Can story was more a less a repeat of from the first half, in the few episodes of the start which to me was a real waste. But at least it develop to something, and we go to see why his brother was a nasty piece of shit, oooh but I love how Can stood up to him and threw down a few punches for his man!!, Tin was still so serious but in a very patient way. although it did feel like there scenes were forced compared to the first drama, the shy can and how tin was trying to explore him, and being romantic.

Thirdly - what on earth was the story between Kla and captain of the football team, gosh he spent most of his time running away from the man, instead of just talking to him, I take my hat off to him, for being so diligent, but that was just a waste of time, only towards the end did accept the man. I felt that this couple was used as an intermission and as a chance to change the mood.

To summarize, I feel that the producers created this season just to make us shut up! They had 2 years to prepare for this series but in the end we got something awful.

VERY DISAPPOINTING !!!

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comments on the ending

?: just having seen the epilogue I think I can fairly see that my imagined ending reflects this and my disappointed review should be read in this mind as referring up to episode 36〜 I feel they could have included this ending somehow with the main final episode at same time though which would have made the series ending much more satisfying： still I am glad they made this epilogue though it could have been longer and shown more of how they came together again and their life together afterwards✳️✳️

This review is only about the ending〜 I hardly know where to begin in reviewing the whole superlative drama〜 as it was for me！〜 especially how it captured the relationship of the two men （especially using your own imagination）in spite of the restrictions within which the producer had to work。 I have put off watching the last episode for some days as I did not want it to end.。The last episode very neatly resolved the various strands of the plot though the endings are rarely totally satisfying。 It was not exactly unexpected in terms of the ”quest” being an anticlimax like many similar stories or Cheng Ling as an adult being the ”heir” of the heroes、although the specific manner of the ending for Zhou Zi Zhu and Wen Ke Xing was unexpected。Of course I was very disappointed particularly as the closing song always promised they would be together for ever！The ideal of self-sacrifice is very noble but does not Wen consider it would be even more painful for Zhou to recover only to find Wen was no longer alive for him？？ I suppose all you can say is that if Wen did not use the Six Combined Cultivation method it would be a case of him losing Zhou eventually 。Of course I hoped ーas seemingly promised at earlier points in the storyーZhou could be healed and they could both live together away from the pains of the World〜however I see them united in spirit in the Afterlife and maybe Wen even present in spirit with Zhou in this life and eventually coming together again as soulmates in a new incarnation〜for me however the ending of 「The Untamed」 was much better and happier although I found the relationship between the two during 「Word of Honor 」closer and more appealing to me than 「The Untamed」〜 but now with the epilogue 「Word of honor」 and 「Untamed」 are my joint favorites but I still feel the Word of honor better at suggesting same sex relationship as in original novel??

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A Romance to Stand Above the Rest

This is the best CDrama I've ever seen. And it ranks high even among all the shows I've ever seen. Although short, the pacing is perfectly executed, and as a bonus the production and direction is simply outstanding. The show deals with heavy themes and deep messages, exploring varying viewpoints and motivations from believable and evolving characters. What's more, the focus of the drama is on a romance with a premise that's fresh and interesting and which is manifested in a believable and beautiful way. It all comes together to create something special, in a way few shows can do.

The most important element of any show is the story, so that's where I'll start. "Definitely Not Today" brings two opposing personalities together through unorthodox circumstance and under occasionally violent conflict. This sort of premise, while often feeling contrived in typical shows, is done very naturally and evolves without excessive coincidence (there's a little, but it's forgivable). The plot itself is a perfect balance of romance, action, and the occasional comic relief, developing deep bonds between the characters and the viewers while maintaining suspense, intrigue, and enjoyment. Throughout the show, we see beautiful symmetry in moments and relationships, things that really add to the emotional ambiance. I can't say much more for the sake of spoilers, but the pacing is very well done and the story has a satisfying ending.

The characters themselves are extremely well done, part of the reason the show stands out so much (apart from its originality and incredible production). Each character has a background that deeply influences their personality, and which is revealed at the right moment for the sake of the story. The exposition on characters never feels forced or dialogue heavy. Throughout the show, the characters (mostly just the two main leads) evolve in reaction to their circumstances and others. The flaws that each of them carry are unique and believable, and most importantly allow us to be sympathetic or even empathetic with the characters. Even some of the worse characters (although not the villains) have sympathetic backstories that you can understand without forgiving. This is an incredible feat of writing, and brings more texture to an already fantastic plot.

One thing that's so good you often take it for granted is the incredible production. Such things can be a luxury (especially in the CDrama world), but things like cinematography, set design, sound design, direction, and the all important acting and extremely well done. The cinematography in particular is outstanding, with striking framing and beautiful lighting that is still threaded well into the flow of the scene. World-class acting has almost become a prerequisite for a larger budget show at this point, but we must still acknowledge the great work of the actors and the people who cast them, as they portrayed exemplary depictions of characters with a wide range of emotions and which evolve over time. Even more importantly, the two romantic interests have a palpable chemistry with each other, something that can make or break a romance drama (and clearly made it here). The music choice was also excellent, and the sound design was good enough that you didn't notice it.

I've seen many comments on how this show is a breath of fresh air for romance dramas, and I cannot agree more. Virtually free of tropes (there's no 2nd lead!) and brimming with thoughtful beauty, I couldn't help but get instantly sucked into the world; I binged the whole show in one sitting. This is not difficult to do, because the show is short and therefor a smaller time commitment. And so, for that reason in addition to all the incredible qualities I've mentioned above, I will sincerely recommend this show as my favorite CDrama.

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I don't know what catches my attention to this but I must say this is the reason I fall in love with Yang Yang :D hahahaha

The story is really Good. Even though it is a cliché' story of boy-meets-girl college student in this modern day but what makes the movie /drama the script, characters and the celebrities playing the role. The actor is Good. The actress, there are some scene that I don't like her acting. Maybe because that is the character that she have to portray. I don't know and I'm not a professional to criticize.

But overall is a Good one. I even re-watching it sometimes. And even the soundtrack is on my Spotify playlist :)

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A Drama You Would Come Back for More!

It is the kind of drama that you will be keen to watch by just watching the trailer itself. Initial episodes were more towards a comedy style, describing their happy childhood moment. It is until they start to stay apart, i couldn't control myself shedding tear for every single episode; it became so dramatic. But the best part of Cdrama is the ending always ends happily =)
It was also a little surprise that besides the young adults ML and FL, the mid-aged daddies and mummies playing lead roles too, occupying quite a no of episodes. The OST for this drama is also worth a mention, not only a song but a few of them are pretty good and powerful to illustrate the feeling of the leads. Overall love the blend of the story of this family drama. Do not miss the chance watching this drama if you are a Cdrama lover, it is really worth a watch! Btw, the young ML, SWL is so charming; Ling Xiao role suits him well !

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Entertaining but lacking

Overall, a pretty entertaining show with some good visuals and action. Love the premise of the show, just wish it was executed differently. I haven't read the webtoon, so I'm reviewing solely the show itself.

First off, I agree with many other people who think that adding the Imagine Dragons song to dramatic scenes was a little unfitting to say the least. Ruined some of the dramatic moments, but still, not that big of a deal for me. My problem was with the way they develop Song Kang's character, Hyun-su.

I was under the impression that Hyun-su was going to be the main character and have a lot of scenes. Unfortunately, with such a large ensemble cast, he was often pushed to the side in order to focus on the other 10 main characters (not to mention the side character's screentime). They gave Hyun-su a very sad and dramatic backstory that looked like it was going to develop as the show progressed, allowing him to overcome his demons and possibly utilize it to help others. Although he does help others intermittently throughout the show, he rarely gets any satisfying scenes where he saves the others and is often the one who is needing saving in the first place. Most of the main cast were given strong characters who are capable and have their moments to showcase their strengths, whereas Hyun-su didn't really get any satisfying moments (except at the very end).

Even at the end of the show (spoiler warning), I was expecting Hyun-su to do something dramatic and possibly sacrifice himself to save the others, showing them that he was a good person even if he was labeled a "monster". This doesn't really happen, and his climactic ending moments are overshadowed with the "sacrifice" of the other main character, Eun-hyeok. Speaking of, I don't understand the need for Eun-hyeok to even sacrifice himself in the first place. He could of gone with the others to safety, but instead he decided to sit in a room and die for no reason? I don't know, maybe I'm missing something (I was often confused by the plot). This just overshadowed Hyun-su's part that could have been so much more impactful.

In general, that is my biggest complaint about this show. I understand the need to showcase all of the characters in this large cast, but I feel like they could have done so much more with Song Kang's character. There was so much potential to develop him into something great, like having him transform at the end and sacrifice himself to save the others as a clear indication of him accepting himself and having grown as a person, but instead he just leaves. Not really a sacrifice, no recognition or satisfying ending, and doesn't even get to prove to the others who judged him that he was truly a good person and could control his inner demons. Even the whole relationship between Hyun-su and Eun-yu could have been more impactful at the very end if they didn't unnecessarily throw in Eun-hyeok's death.

Overall, decent story with some hard to follow plot progression and plotholes, great acting, questionable music choices, good effects and animations, good action, but with the unrecognized potential of the character of Hyun-su.

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This show is half trash, and half brilliant. And I absolutely love it despite its shortcomings.

The rating reflects my personal feelings, not objective story quality because I skip everything to do with the second leads story (I get what they're going for as a contrast to the main leads but the premise completely falls flat with me).

That being said, I love the story of Doom himself as he initially struggles to admit his own emotionality to himself (it is a painful vulnerability given what his fate and responsibilities in the universe are), and how the story of her learning to understand him reveals so much about the reason he is the way he is. In a way, she teaches him to love himself and come to terms with his own place in the order of things. There's a lot of "pain is the breaking of the shell of your understanding" going on here. Every time I watch it, I get something new out of it. At first, I just thought it was just a tragic romance, but the story is about them developing as individuals. And, I'm not personally religious, but I enjoyed the way they personified God and the philosophy of God as a gardener, who is ever so subtly pulling the strings to try and get the right outcome.

There are a lot of moments where tiny changes in the environment, aesthetics, or actions by a character add to the depth and meaning of a moment without explicitly spelling it out. This gives it a great rewatch quality.

That being said, it is inconsistent quality-wise. It does go downhill slightly after episode 7 or so. There's a lot I could do without, and a lot I could do with more of. But I love it all the same.

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Eh

There were definitely some shining stars in this series (namely Nanon and Chimon), but on the whole this show fell very flat for me. Most of the characters felt very unlikable, and the characters that I actually enjoyed (Pong and his friends) didn’t get nearly enough screen time. I wasn’t a huge fan of either of the romances, though I have less complaints about the BL romance.

To start, the bullying aspect of the story was really hard to watch— the first few episodes made me so sad every time Oh or Sun were bullied, though thankfully this was toned down some after a while (with the episode four debacle as an exception). I know I should have expected the bullying, but I just wasn’t prepared for how intense it got in places.

As far as the acting goes, I was SO impressed by Nanon’s performance in this series. Every other role I’ve seen him in so far has been much more stoic and serious, so seeing the differences in his mannerisms, his expressions, and how animated he portrays Oh was so fun. It really showed what a versatile actor he is. He plays into Oh’s awkwardness and the comedy of the show very well. Chimon also gave a very good performance, especially when it came to the soft looks and the subtle heartbreak later in the series. Otherwise, the other actors didn’t really stick out at all. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t amazing, either.

As for the romances, I was initially very hesitant about In and Sun’s relationship, mostly because In starts out bullying Sun. I’m not a fan of bully romances, but fortunately this situation changes very quickly and In spends much more time being Sun’s friend than his bully. The love triangle that formed here was kind of odd to me, but I do love me some pining so that part was pretty enjoyable. In and Sun are definitely not one of my favorite couples, but they were pretty cute.

When it came to Peach and Oh’s relationship, I had such a hard time rooting for them because I could not like Peach. She was so complicit in Copper bullying Oh: allowing Copper to force Oh— someone she considers a friend— to do her homework, and even just standing by while Copper very physically bullies him. I swear, if my boyfriend did something like Copper did in the fourth episode, he would have been dumped so fast his head would spin! And yet, Peach doesn’t even appear to care about it until multiple episodes later. Like, she knows Copper bullies Oh for spending time with her, and then goes out of her way to invite him to hang out? I just could not sympathize with her at all because of all this. I would have preferred she not know about Copper’s bullying— or at least the extent of it— and then break up with him once she learned about it. That could have at least made her somewhat likable.

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Pretty average

Not so impressive but it's a decent watchable series, the main thing that i felt was its too dragging except when your not in the gaming situation. The story didn't emotionally connected to me. Comparing to Alice in Borderland this series lacks in many factors.

The whole situation not look very serious or intense in so many points, it makes sense only after the episode 7. Everything was predictable may be not in the case of that 2nd cameo also the things that happening in the finale Episode. Not much edge of the seat moments whole things looks nothing new. E08 was my favourite, i only got tensed in that episode, the 5th game was really exciting. It not necessary to forcefully make love, that intimate scene looks not apt to the situation.

I don't know why but i kept comparing this to Alice in Borderland throughout the whole series, may be i expected something different. And the finale Episode was the most irritating one.. its dragging like crazy. Definitely left the gate open for a new season no surprise for there but need to improve a lot if it renewing it again...

strictly personal opinion,

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