Reviews

Nothing happens. You might or might not mind.

the various Reply series are good if you:
- enjoy slice-of-life content
- don't need story progression
- don't mind repetition
- enjoy having a 'life lesson' delivered several times in a row
- don't need many minutes of romance, action, or suspense
- think that goat noises make everything funnier
- derive happiness from seeing brands and fads you might fondly recall from decades ago
- love references not only to history and pop culture, but also spotting re-use of phrases, scenarios and characters from other Replies


they're a horrendous choice if you:
- require plot development
- are allergic to filler storylines (= don't like your time wasted)
- hate laugh tracks and the idea that dumb noises should accompany jokes
- want (actually) funny jokes/comedy
- hate preachy voice-overs and the writers droning on and on about the same point
- don't like information initially omitted just to show the same scene again except slightly longer (= don't like your time wasted)
- feel underwhelmed when the writers try to sell you the same thing they already did in another Reply time and time again
- don't miss the 80s/90s in the first place
- want *all* questions answered
- don't like sudden giant time skips, especially for the purpose of furthering the romance storyline(s)
- can't stand screechy girls & people yelling at each other at length



Except for virtually all actors in Reply 1988 being really bad at crying on command, the casting, acting and production are all great.

The 80s music is very good / appropriate, but on Netflix and other legal streaming sites, a lot of the music and otherwise copyrighted content will be omitted, replaced, or blurred out. Especially if you watch the show to 'experience those times', you don't want to watch it like that.
I didn't care for any of the original music, it was very much forgettable.

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I don't usually fancy Costume drama, but...

It's a huge compliment to the series, for I, who don't really watch costume drama, to like this series very much!!
I think it's only my second Chinese costume drama that I've watched since I usually just cannot bear to watch this kind of period dramas (for some odd unexplainable reasons haha). Moreover with the sad ending that really breaks my heart, this shouldn't be the type of drama I watch. But I just can't get enough of it once I start watching it! Great flow of storyline, perfect casting, and completed with nice OSTs makes this drama really good!!
If I'm not mistaken, there's an alter in the leads' age especially CSY compared to the one depicted in the novel. But I think it flows better this way to the next series of Forever and Ever that showcasing the love story of the main leads. The ML&FL perfectly show how excruciating it is to hold deep the love in the bottom of your heart and never be able to take it to surface and also the sacrifices they need to make along the way.

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The Most Refreshing Rom-Com of 2021

Before the release of Hometown Cha Cha Cha, we watched K-Dramas such as Penthouse, Nevertheless, etc., and this was such a refreshing break from the genres that were airing. It's reminiscent of the old 2015-2018 rom-coms I watched and dearly loved, but instead of teenagers, they're actually adults (34F and 35M) which I am so thankful for. The main couple has great chemistry with one another and I can't help feel like a teenage girl squealing at every scene with the both of them together. I love the city girl and country boy trope too, so I already love them together. Plot-wise, as of now, the pacing is great. Music-wise, the intro is also refreshing. I can't help but keep using the word refreshing in this review, but that's what this drama is. I'll return and update the drama after it ends, but so far, it's one of my favorites.

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One of my most favs Chinese drama of all time!!

The storyline is superb especially after the heart-wrenching ending of One and Only!!
I have read the translated novel of this adaptation prior to watching the series. While the main story plot stayed true to the original novel, there are tidbits of change in the series here and there which I'm actually appreciating as it gave the story a lot more sense.
Not the typical love that suddenly burns hot since the beginning, but the type that start with a spark of fire and continue to get bigger and stronger. Such a romantic and heartwarming love story, where ZSC&SY's love is gradually built up over time. The small love gestures appearing now and then suits the leads' low-key characters. It's really cute every time when ZSC carries SY's purse, although I personally don't usually like it when a guy carries the girl's bags, but somehow when ZSC does it, it just looks freaking adorable! Allen Ren and Bai Lu perfectly act the roles of ZSC&SY, especially the additions of a bit cheekiness to the acts make the couple more lovable than what I imagined when reading the novel.
Although it can be a good standalone series to watch, but I highly recommend to watch One and Only first so that you can feel much deeper emotions while watching Forever and Ever.

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Unexpected binge watch

Took this on based on Netflix recommendation and binged all 9 episodes. Admittedly it had a strong hunger games vibe but the story plot and character linkages had me hooked. Unexpected twists at the end. Wow, I was pleasantly surprised when it finished. The only gripe I have is that I'm not a fan of the foreign actors typically cast in kdramas. It's like they bring in foreigners living in korea with no acting skills. The foreign actors cast in this series I felt brought down the calibre of acting of the korean actors. Also limiting their script to swearing and yelling obscenities was frustrating - ugh!

Other than that it was a solid series.

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Chinese Go meets Sweet (maybe too sweet..) Love Story

It has an interesting storyline! I appreciate how the game of Chinese Go is explained quite beautifully here, even the cameo appearances of real life figures of Go players here and there are a nice touch. It’s refreshing to me to know deeper about Go as a none-Chinese viewer who have no idea how to play Go (and I still don’t get the rules actually hehe). Also love the Master characters!!! He’s really cute like a papa bear but also very supporting and kind.
For the ML&FL love story, it is also pretty nice with a good character developments specifically the ML. Although, for me personally, it’s way too sweet for my liking especially when they used the play on words with the pomelo flavored candy or ‘you’. It’s just to cringey and make my fingers curl every time hahaha. But, I think for those who like the saccharine sweet type of romance story, it will suit your taste just right.
Overall, I enjoyed watching this, but I don't think I will rewatch this in the future especially since it has quite a lot of episodes.

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Loved the main and second leads and the main leads reciprocated romance

I didn't watch the original Kdrama this is a remake off, but I really enjoyed this Jdrama.

It's hard to find a drama where the main leads and second leads with romantic interest for the main leads, are lovable. By this, I mean that despite the second leads being in love with the main leads, the two love triangles, they actually helped the main leads get together after they were both rejected. Even if they weren't rejected, neither of them would have been with the leads because of their loyalty and friendships with the leads. The SFL was such a good friend to the FL, I wish they had more scenes together showing how they became such good friends. The SML was so adorable and friendly, he had a thing for the FL since episode 1.

I loved the relationship between the main leads. Despite the ML getting the SFL mistaken to be his childhood friend Ai, who was in fact the FL, he didn't fall for the SFL. His entire relationship with the SFL was revolved around his past with the FL. I LOVED that he fell for the FL again in the present without knowing who she really was, and I loved that he didn't think to be with the SFL romantically when he mistook her to be Ai.

The only thing I didn't like about this drama was how the plot mostly focused on the main leads and their relationship with the second leads, without actually focusing on the second leads as individuals. The supporting characters hardly got any screen time if it didn't include the main leads. Everyone and "Most" were friendly colleagues and possibly even friends, but their friendship is mostly implied rather than shown.

I loved how short and straight to the point this drama was, with no unnecessary drama from supporting or second lead characters. Their were no bad guys or annoying characters and all the characters actions were reasonable.
I loved how steady and strong the main leads relationship was and how they were both able to follow their own dreams.
I loved how the leads have always felt the same way about each other. The ML and FL were in love as children, when the FL was pretty and the ML was not. And how they fell for each other again, when the ML was handsome and the FL was no longer pretty. This is the kind of reciprocated relationship I love in romance dramas.

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Hilarious and Heartwarming

9/23/2021 - 8.75 rating - not quite a 9.0.

Hospital Playlist 1 was one of the first K-dramas I watched during the Covid-19 pandemic. Because I was so new to K-dramas, I didn't know what to expect from a slice-of-life drama. Maybe that's why my expectations were too high and I was a little disappointed. I did not quite get the hype of this drama, since it's so beloved by all.

Now that I have over 150 K-dramas under my belt, I think I know what I want and like. This drama needs to be reviewed as a slice-of-life drama, but not a plot-driven medical drama like Dr. Romantic. It's not about the medical cases and patients. With that in mind, I am able to enjoy Season 2 a lot more. I also forgot most of what happened in Season 1 ;)

Episode 1 started off great. You see the beloved characters and their tight friendship. Their friendship is the selling point of this drama. This episode was hilarious and heartwarming. The story of the mother who lost her son, and visited the hospital often, touches my heart on a personal level. The drama showcases people and relationships surrounding the patients and the medical cases. It talks about the unsung heroes, e.g. nurses and ER staff. If you have stayed in a hospital before, or accompanied someone, you know it's the nurses who do all the hard work. They are the ones answering your call at all hours. They really need a show dedicated to the hard working nurses. On another note, even though there are show about ER doctors, I appreciate them highlighting the importance of critical care in the ER, before all these hot-shot surgeons get a chance to operate. A side note, the ER in Hospital Playlist 2 is the calmest ER I've seen in drama-land.

There are so many funny interactions and moments. Just seeing two of the male leads sprinkling water on each other cracked me up big time. They acted so silly when all the BFFs are together. Top moments for me: The off-key singing of our FL, the cute son, father-son adorable relationship, siblings love, all BFF moments from our leads to our supporting cast.

However, I think I am most disappointed in the romance storylines. I know it's not a show focused on romance, but they are all not very satisfying. I also think the last episode is anti-climatic and boring.

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Strong Start, predictable end!

So I watched this show because I wanted to watch smth similar to Alice In Borderland And Die Now, and I watched this. I'll try not to give spoilers and just write generally.

Watched the trailer, gave me alot of expectations but I wasn't disappointed. First few eps are really good, but then towards the middle and end it kinda stops your hype. It's like, you'll be able to predict what happens next. Now alot of people compared this show to Alice in borderland. I'll tell you what's the difference. Alice In Borderland plays with your mind, you'll be playing with the characters and trying to solve with them which makes it quite interesting. SG games are also good, but you'll just figure it out quickly.

Acting wise is good. All of the actors have done a good job. So i think that's ok.

For me, i think i expected alot after watching AIB and Die Now (chinese drama, really good. If you have time do check it out) But ig that hype died down as i was watching further eps. If this is your first time in this kind of genre or if you just want to watch it, go for it. This show is not all bad, you might be disappointed at some parts but overall its good. But personally for me, Japan will always take the cake for this types of genre.

Hope you have a great time watching!

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Hidden gem

You know it is a good series when you stayed up all night watching it! That is what I did. I was looking for my next fluff and well I thought an idol drama with holo love might sound interesting, plus my Zhang Ling He was starring in this series. Boy, I did not know what was in store for me!

What I love:

The fluff, the cuteness, the chemistry between the lead and second-leading couple. I also like the female lead. I usually find female lead annoying and stupid but this one she just full of life and super funny. I very much so enjoyed the chemistry she had with grandma. I think that is what made me continue watching the series to begin with. I like how the female lead did not play one of those I’m going to drive you crazy with my innocent yet smart tactile. I couldn’t stop comparing what other female leads would have done with the scene where Grandma tries to call her hustler that will kill anyone for her. In here you can tell FL has was common sense making her smarter and wittier compared to those female leads who would have fallen for it and begged for forgiveness. Because of this, she was able to get all four men in the house to let her stay and continue cleaning in place of Grandma.

The second leading couple, although I was slightly disappointed with the cliché of a strong independent female with an understanding comforting male couple, I think they actually made their relationship so realistic, with issues that partners do face that I actually like their pairing. Plus, did I mention I love Zhang Ling He??? ?

Let's not forget the main leading couple. With a lot of series nowadays, I seem to only have one favorite couple. But in this series, I’m in love with both couples. They're so adorable. I love how this wasn't a typical teen love; they don’t have this extremely annoying “I’m jealous” so I’m going to drive you crazy and hurt your feelings phase. I often find that childish and unbearable to watch. Let us not forget the amount of kissing scenes we get in this series!

What I often thought about:

How nice it would be to have a virtual world. I think these series tackle an issue that is pretty prevalent, although we don’t have our holo lover, a lot of us do hop online to live in this virtual world to escape so that we can continue living in this reality. We often forget to appreciate the small little things that virtual life can’t give.

The second lead couple and how cute they were! Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with Zhang Ling He!

The twist in the story, I didn’t expect that after getting caught in Bayhouse they were stuck into a virtual game. Everything felt so real and I’m sure many of us thought so too. The one thing that stuck out was how mean the NPC characters are and how they kept trying to make everything wrong. I also love the reference to inception totem and how at the end they all brought it out to make sure it was real and not a game.

I also didn’t expect the chase to be so long towards the end of the last episode but I am satisfied with the ending. Some relationships like Lu Wen Xuan came a bit too fast for and there wasn’t much development like Su Ming Lie where he had to overcome his fear of red lips and befriend a girl.

Some of the side characters that I love: grandma, Qi Chuan, and Xu Guan Han. I mean who doesn’t love grandma on a motorbike. You already know this grandma has personality and she means business! I thoroughly love her character in here. I also love how serious Xu Guan Han is in here, I mean he plays the bad guy who loves up these beautiful boys. He's serious, and if he doesn’t like you for any reasonable reason you’ll be kicked out and fired. He tries to create this perfect virtual world in place of this world he thinks is imperfect. I don’t realize how old he is until he played his character as a father. I look forward to more of his work! This was fun!

What I didn’t like:

It was hard to find anything in the series that I didn’t like besides this one poor editing, like when she fell in the pool. You can see that it was only waist-high and she standing up in that quick second.

I think this is a hidden gem and everyone should watch it! Super cute couples, you'll fall in love with everyone's character in here!

Re-watch value: 9/10

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Disappointed

Doom at your Service

This was one of the series, I looked forward to but I was left utterly disappointed.

What I like:
The OST. Probably the first song that I kept listening on to repeat was Ailee's Breaking Down. The other tracks are just as good but I think this one stood out the most to me.

The second leading couple, Cha Joo Ik in particular. I never saw any of his work but I have heard a lot about him. I actually was surprised that I really enjoy the character he played here. He was a rather serious, straightforward guy who tells his feelings honestly. A lot of his lines caught my heart to flutter and chuckled. I also couldn’t stop staring at all the choices of clothes he had. Love them all!

The chemistry and playfulness between the leading couple. I think the behind the scene interview spoiled the chemistry as a couple on screen for me. I thought they were really cute, they look like they often were teasing and making fun of each other which I really like.

Seo In Guk, I haven’t seen any of his recent work but I think his acting has gotten better.

What I didn’t like:

I felt like a lot of the decisions that were made were just thrown in to make it more interesting. For example, the choice for her to forget everything that happened between the two of them and live her life as best as she can while she gets treatment….umm why did we throw that in there??? Just to get another episode??? I felt like it was a waste. There was more but I think this part probably disturb me the most.

Final thoughts:

I really want to like this series but there were many flaws such as how the story unfolds, often it felt like the plot and obstacles were quickly thrown together which I find it hard to watch. I felt like it was the typical drama to get you excited, fall in love with the couple, probably shed a few tears, and ask yourself why the heck am I crying and then try to remember why was this scene in here in the first place? I felt like it start out really nice until the writers couldn’t other obstacles to throw in their way that they randomly added their own plots. I just had a hard time following some of it. This is why sadly my rating isn’t as high as I like it to be.

Re-watch value: 2/10
I really want to see the two leading couple acting together again but I know I won’t rewatch this anytime soon.

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First half was amazing but then it went sadly downhill...

*SPOILERS ALERT*

I really don't know how to rate this show. I started this knowing how it ended because I love the main actor and I wanted to support his work. The characters, the relationships between all of them, the setting, the ost were in fact all great ! I fell in love with what stared as a heartwarming show but halfway through it started to lose this wholesome vibe that was promised at the beginning.

I think it's the moment when Rara learns of Jun's past that it went downhill for me : first he's locked up for a month by his parents, then Rara decides to break up because she wants him to concentrate on his exam, then it's Jun who wants to break up with her because he learns that he's sick and he's not even honest with Rara ! He manages to fake a relationship with another girl to make her give up and he's not even sorry about that when she learns the truth ??! Also you have your bf suddenly breaking up with you without much of an explanation (he apparently "fell out of love" that's it), you discover that he's in a relationship with another girl then that he's gonna go abroad without a word for you and you're not even mad ?!

We don't even talk about the famous 5min "happy ending" that the writers gave us. I mean the main story in this drama is the romance no ? And you have the nerve to have the characters reunite in 5 min after the female lead thought that her bf was dead for years ?! I know it was already criticized in many comments before mine but it was so surreal that I can't help but want to vent my frustration here too... The show started with the dad's death then ended with the grandpa's and the bf's (if we don't count the last 5 min). What a wholesome show really ! I know life isn't all glitter and unicorns and all that but please... Instead of a possible death we could have Jun's dad against their relationship or a distant member of Rara's family who appears suddenly and wants to take her with them ! It's cliché yes but at least we would have the time for a proper happy ending, the main core of any romance show ! And we could have Rara fight for her happy ending with Jun because I still thought she was a little too passive concerning her relationship with him even at the end so it was kinda disappointing to see her demanding barely any explanation or show any real anger or whatnot... And maybe it's my hopelessly romantic heart that's talking but I really wanted the drama to show them married, and use the teacup set that Rara wanted to use with her future husband... Because why make her say that if it's not even showed or hinted at at the end ?

It's really a shame that such great actors were involved with this mess of a ending. I will still give this a fairly high rating because of the actors and production. I'm just sad it couldn't be a new favorite of mine because of those last few episodes...

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This is a great wuxia adaptation from the novel The Glass Maiden. The love story is weaved into the world of martial arts with a good dose of revenge, mystery, and action. The actions scenes are very well done and the CGIs are great. Although there are some unnecessary issues among the leading couple, there’s character growth and steadfast love among them. The leading actors are both fantastic but the leading lady has the most growth of all the characters in the drama and she did an excellent job from an innocent and hopelessly bewildered girl to a strong woman who is able to stay true to her feelings and her persona. Even though the love story can be a bit frustrating at times because of the misunderstandings, the leading couple has great chemistry and it is beautiful how the they love and protect each other. The supporting cast did a great job also bringing their characters to life and there are two actors that made the drama much better, Han Cheng Yu (as Liu Yi Huan [Rebel of Li Ze Palace, Si Feng's friend, and Yu'er's father]) and Lu Peng (as Qing Long [Heavenly Beast]). Overall, this is a great drama. Enjoy it!

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