Reviews

They don't know that they're gay?

You cannot convince me that there was no romantic tension in this show. Saint and Shin were pining for each other, the lingering gazes, the "friendly" words that they exchanged with each other. The context that some of these could fall under would be romance.

Not only was the chemistry between Saint and Shin amazing, the HSF cast just made it so much better. I loved the dynamic in Class 2, the tension between Udon Phithak campus and Thep Burapha campus was crazy but I later learnt that it was a dramatized version of what really occurs in Thai schools, which I applaud them for doing.

I loved how the themes were realistic, giving us friendship, family, feelings, emotions, loss, teenage moods, school life, substance abuse, death, being in love (ahem Saint) and learning to let people back in your life. I really enjoyed the 16 episodes and I have re-watched the show 3 times already.

Thanks for making my year HSF <3

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Not much more than a series recap

This is 20 minutes *tops* of original footage about a single married couple's argument and its resolution. It also wraps up some supporting characters' arcs that ought to have been given ten minutes in the main series. The rest is recaps and flashbacks to the main series. It is strictly for completists and for viewers who don't plan to sit through nine episodes of fairly average J-drama.

If you're already watched "Watashi no Kaseifu Nagisa-san" you can skip this since it adds almost nothing to their story and you might wear out your fast forward button. If you set your standards for post-wedding specials by "Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu" like I did you will feel ashamed for having watched this one. It's a half-baked Episode 10 rather than a Special and that was the only sensible way for Netflix to present it after acquiring the drama for the international market.

[This review was brought to you by the "I watched it so you won't have to" squad]

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the plot could not be saved

To be honest, I started this without much expectations so after watching the first 1~3 episodes I was actually interested to see where this goes. But really even at episode 10 it was going nowhere only in circles…there was no progression to the story and the writing was really bad. To the extent where policemen were as good as regular citizens they had no upper hand at all.

The crime part of this drama is practically nothing. There isn’t any exciting mystery to solve. Halfway through the drama, it changes to a business orientated show where suddenly everyone is fighting for the business.

The reveal of the villain was build up in a very obvious way so there wasn’t anything shocking (sad…cause i felt like they could have executed that portion in a much better way). There were wayyyy to many side characters I couldn’t even keep track of who is who because they tend to use nicknames instead of full names.

I watched this for Ding Yuxi, so his acting made me push through till the end. But it’s not a drama I would recommend >< It was a good challenge and interesting genre to take on which could have excelled if the writing was good.

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Malevolent lies or...?

Usotoki Rhetoric. This drama has a lot of things to offer. Perhaps the absolute best drama I've watched this year. 10/10.
I don't have to love EVERYTHING about it to know that I've loved this drama deeply from my heart. One thing I would like to mention before the review is that this drama takes place in the early Showa era (presumably 1930s-1950s). The city is called Tsukumoya. I looked up the time and place while writing the review, but I ignored it in the drama. So, the details about the settings of the drama might be wrong. I'm sorry about that. And minor SPOILER ALERT.

Story and setting: 9.5/10
The story was amazing. As the synopsis says, it's about the duo- Souma sensei and Kanoko. They solve different mysteries and learn about life and people. One thing I love about Jdramas is that they tell stories from the heart, about people, about the small but important things in life. This drama is a great example of that. I cried during the last few episodes, thinking I wouldn't be able to see this fantastic drama again. Here Kanoko and Souma learn and teach things about people and life that will make people wonder about some rather important things that we might not have thought before. All of this while giving you things to laugh at and smile about. Might even make you cry. At first, the setting scared me, thinking that the language might be hard for me to understand (watched it while relying only on JP captions). But it turned out to be 95-99% similar to the Japanese language they use now. Either way, the setting is very pleasant, combining Western and traditional Japanese styles of clothing, culture, etc. 

Cast and characters: 10/10
Kanoko and Souma might go down in the history of Jdrama for being one of most entertaining comedy/mystery duo while maintaining the right amount of subtlety. The most significant thing that made me stick around is their relationship. The perfectly platonic superior/subordinate relationship is just so precious. Why perfectly platonic? Before watching this drama, I thought these 2 might get involved at some point, but that never happened, nobody even possibly had feelings for the other one (un)till the very end. Nonetheless, delightful performances by the cast. I've seen Suzuka Ouji before in dramas, but this is the first time I loved one of his characters this much. This is the first time I've seen Matsumoto Honoka in a main role of a drama and she did a great job. Katayama Yuki is made for comedy; hoping she gets more of them in the future. Another amazing thing about the drama was the pleasantly surprising guest stars, notably Kitano Kie (so much that I wish she was a regular cast member) and Hamao Noritaka, the most mysterious character who I thought was gonna have a bigger role before the finale.

Music: 10/10
The BGM goes perfectly with the drama's setting. I really am curious to know what that English-sounding song they play during the happy scenes, cuz I didn't see them name that song in the credits. The ending theme was also great, after the first few episodes, I got emotional every time the song played near the end of the episodes. And I think this drama gave this song a new meaning overall. 

Rewatch value: 8/10
I don't rewatch dramas a lot. But this is pretty high up. I'd definitely be willing to rewatch this one. Why not? It's a mystery drama after all.
Overall: 10/10Mathematically, the overall score isn't accurate considering that I didn't give all the different aspects 10/10. But that doesn't stop me from saying that I 100% recommend this drama. As a side note: Fuji TV has given me not 1, but 2 memorable Jdramas this year. And both leave me craving many more episodes and another season. Because Usotoki Rhetoric also has some loose ends, 1. Kanoko and Souma's relationship and 2. Hamao Noritaka's oh-so-mysterious character (you CAN NOT drop a bomb like that without further explanations!!!) And while they're major cliffhangers, I think my level of disappointment for this drama not getting a season 2 will be nearly as high compared to the disappointment I will feel if Geeks doesn't get a season 2.
Bottom line, who doesn't love a little bit of comedic mystery in their lives? Go ahead, give it a watch. I believe that you won't regret it.

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Not every show can be great like Spirealm

As you can see, The Spirealm & 19th floor aired almost at the same time. Both dramas are from China & revolves around same plot, characters got stuck in a VR reality game & had no choice but to continue. 19th floor started off great, and I loved the characters (Biker FL, ML, masc fencer girl) but after ep 10, it turned out as a nonsensical show, full of cliches. I literally don't know why maximum Cdramas feature this trope - ML & FL knew each other when they were children & always ML recognises her in present. And FL's bestie, I thought she is a sweet, innocent, ray of sunshine type of girl, but no, she's just so possessive of FL & she even posted that video too. This isn't friendship, and she disliked ML for no reason. Plot literally made no sense at all. As a die-heart fan of The Spirealm, I decided to give this a shot but got disappointed so much. Don't waste your time.

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Spoilers!!

The first few episodes were hard to watch but once I got through them I thought the tough part was over. I liked the FL and ML and thought they had good chemistry and was excited to see where the drama would take us. What I wasn't expecting was all the extra characters in FL's life and her self exploration which honestly, didn't feel like she changed a whole lot. ML seemed to be hidden behind the ex and the other guy, I was disappointed he wasn't pulled more into the spotlight given what a talented actor he is. Just as I started to enjoy the drama and see the light at the end of tunnel, drama suddenly brings in the troupe mother who objects, likes the ex better, is really sick, wants ML gone,"knows what's best", and gets her way. I mean it took forever for the leads to get together and then to bring this up AND the ex is STILL around at the end? I thought FL was suppose to grow out of being a people pleaser... yet the ex is doing what he wants to do. My expectations were probably too high for this drama.

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Fresh take on a (THE) controversial figure

Akechi Mitsuhide is possibly the most controversial but also mysterious figure of Sengoku era. "Why did he do it?" - we'll never know. As often the case in history, there are usually no heroes or villains, just winners and losers, and winners write history. Imagine, if Mitsuhide beat Toyotomi Hideyoshi at the Battle of Yamazaki and became shogun, he would have become "one who deposed of the bloodthirsty (true) dictator Nobunaga". But that is not what happened, and Mitsuhide is forever known as the betrayer of his lord. Kirin provides a fresh take on this figure (perhaps a little too idealistic for my liking, but that's a minor gripe), one who wants to uphold the bakufu, seek peace, and definitely did not approve of Nobunaga's various violent shenanigans. I particularly enjoyed the arcs of Saito Dosan, Ashikaga Yoshiteru (and to a lesser extent, Yoshiaki), and Matsunaga Hisahide. These are characters who haven't been provided with enough screen time in previous taiga (as far as the ones I've watched), and it's great to see their stories play out in the background.

Mitsuhide's love arcs are minimal, as per usual taiga standard, but his wife Hiroko as a real historical figure was known to be a devoted wife, and he was equally devoted to her. It was refreshing to see a general/daimyo appreciate his wife in the modern sense of partnership and not just a political tool/baby popping machine.

Kirin spends a lot of time on fictional characters of the lay people class - doctors, merchants, performers. These parts can drag a little, but I really enjoyed watching "the real world" outside of major historical Sengoku figures. Koma's role was involved in way too many important things/with way too many important people and that irked me a little, but overall I didn't mind the ordinary citizens' role here. In history they were probably used as communicators/spies and we'll never know their real names or identities because of the nature of their work (like Kikumaru), but that doesn't mean they didn't exist/didn't play pivotal roles in these conflicts.

Acting was top notch. I discovered Hasegawa Hiroki via Antihero (another great watch) but became a fan via Kirin. His Mitsuhide is always dignified but also often conflicted, as I suspect many people were in that time - where the wrong course of action means death, but it was always difficult to know what's right or wrong, and every decision is a wager. Mukai Osamu as Ashikaga Yoshiteru showed a beautifully tragic figure who had ambition, desire to better the world, ability (he was a renown swordsman), but was born into the wrong family at the wrong time. Motoki Masahiro is enigmatic and a powerful screen presence; his Saito Dosan is clearly a controversial figure, but is shown here to be very honest with himself and knows who he is/upholds his integrity (or what he thinks is his integrity) and proud of his humble background. These were my favorite characters of the series, but kudos to others like Yoshida Kotaro as the cunning but strangely philosophical Matsunaga Hisahide, and despite not too much screen time, Ono Machiko is enchanting as always as the mysterious but influential Iroha Dayu. I must admit I had a hard time imagining Sometani Shota as Nobunaga, but his Nobunaga had a good course of transformation, to a brash but idealistic youth, to bloodthirsty dictator far removed from reality. I'm rewatching Gunshi Kanbei right now and must say, I actually prefer his version of Nobunaga to Eguchi Yosuke's Nobunaga, who's far more stoic and less interesting.

Kirin ga kuru is a bit more controversial than other taigas, but that's also what makes it special. Others think it's "revisionist history", I simply think of it as, everyone has a story and perspective. When you look at it from Mitsuhide's perspective, this is his story.

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7 stars just because of Leo. everything else just mediocre

this drama leave no impression.

no character development, the FL and ML got their happy ending, because they're the leads and entitled to happy ending.

I agree with other reviewer who said that the ML character is somehow always get excused for being wrong/childish. so does with the FL character.

I have more symphatize for Fu Chou and Rong Qi. And their character development actually better than ML.

ML always had the previleges, and FL is a bratty spoiled princess. Judging that she has more good value and principle than others, while actually she had no idea about the truth. That's why she regret that later.
They're both a pair of spoiled and arrogant character who think that they're the right ones and others have wronged them.

No chemistry between ML and FL. Even their romantic scene didn't impress me.
Their acting weren't bad. But just didn't leave a great impression. like it's just : oh okay.. and not swooning over them.

The only deep touching feeling I get were from Leo's character (Rong Qi) and General Fu Chou. Leo's acting is incredible as always (I don't need to explain). And the actor who played Fu Chou also acted well.

recommended for you who have a weak heart, since it won't leave you wondering, conflicted or traumatized.
After finished watching you'll just yawn and 'okay, time for bed'.

rewatch? absolutely NO.

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Neo Hou and Zhou Ye Acting Supremacy

This cdrama is surprisingly good. And I find it quite underrated. Zhou Ye and Hou Minghao did well.

Romance is a bit lackluster. I felt like they're just best friends because of lack of kissing scenes and romantic contacts. However, they have good chemistry. Not great chemistry but good.

Story pacing is well done. It's not everywhere unlike other wuxia/xinxia dramas. It made me cry, and made me laugh. Bai Xiangsheng's character as antihero/hero is commendable. He became a God of Love/Matchmaking/Marriage in the end. It made me smile.

This drama gave you a lot of love perspective
Epic love - Tian Yao and Yan Hui
Obsessive love - Su Ying to Lu Mu Sheng
Til death do us part love - Lu Mu Sheng to Princess Yun Xi
Wrong and naive love - Tian Yao to Su Ying
Friends to enemies love - Zhu Li and Huan Xiao Yan
Hidden love - Xian Ge to Feng Qian Shuo
Destructive and dark love - Fu Yin (Dark Phantom) to Queen Xue Lin
Unrequitted love - Bai Xiao Sheng to Yan Hui
Patient love - A Cha to Master Qi Yun
Romeo and Juliet kind of love - Ling Fei to Zi Feng
The challenge of love and duty - Xue Lin and Chen Yi

Overall, I enjoyed this drama and might rewatch if I have time since I have a lot on my list right now. Lol.

Neo Hou is sooo handsome. :D

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mid way review

I'm writing this while watching episode 6... the long break up (several episodes) was excruciating to watch. the back and forth of the relationship and trying to see both sides of it... the ML is obsessed, but I can understand him. The FL has her reasons for the breakup but she doesn't make a clean break of it and makes it agonizingly slow to watch.

there are moments when I just wish she'd quit... or either character would refuse to put up with a stupid scene forcing them to interact.

oh no they have to eat together... NO... just leave the restaurant. or go sit alone.

in episode 6 wr get a breath of fresh air as the other couple in the show (the older brother and his arranged marriage wife) starts up. man I wish they brought the wife I. way earlier. she's a favorite actress of mine a d more of her would be better.

but the biggest problem with the show, especially in episode 6... is the ARTIST. What an annoying character. he's introduced as a total creep and he just keeps being a creep. first as a man blindly texting our FL with a weird and creepy smile on his face. later when he's calling her a d being intrusive. annoying.

then they have to work with him and he just insinuated himself everywhere. and of course the FL can't see he's hitting on her. that he's playing with the characters breakup and that he's a creep.

in a real world his phone # would have been blocked, and he'd have been punched in the face when he for ed himself into the MLs car.

I'm going to finish this show on fast forward. I seriously thought a 10 episode show wouldn't have all the unnecessary bullsh@! but I can't stand the artist.

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Another drama of Zhao Lu Si & Liu Yu Ning, of course here I come...

Story about a girl named Duan Wu (DW), that born as a slave in a brutal pearl farm. At the farm, every person must be able to swim to get the pearl in the ocean. If they can't the man will get harsh punishment and then sold to another place, while a woman will be as 'child factory'.

One day, DW meets merchant Yan Zi Jing (ZJ) and noble Zhang Jin Ran (JR) on the auction day. On that day too she's finally been able to escape from the farm, while sacrificing her mother. Before her death, DW's mother give DW a blood pearl and asked her to find her father relying on that blood pearl. One thing lead to another, in the end DW boarding ZJ's ship.

With success in her mind, DW try everything to gain ZJ trust. Slowly but sure, ZJ see DW potential and finally put her in his important plan. So, slowly but sure DW climbing the 'stairs' in ZJ's ship & of course their relationship also slowly deepen & grow into something more.

DW also find her connection to ZJ not as simple as she's first taught, DW connection to ZJ is go beyond to their parents. DW also learn the identity of ZJ not as simple as merchant, but it's more complicated than the eye meet. So, together DW & ZJ try to uncovering secrets about their family past.

When they think everything go smooth with their plan, something happen to break DW & ZJ apart. DW thinking ZJ betray her & even try to kill her. So, DW end up go to new place & renamed herself as Su Mu Zhe, and starts her own business. But of course slowly, DW misunderstanding for ZJ will wipe clean & they'll continue their relationship with each other.

At this new place, trouble seem unwilling to let DW go. DW whose been pioneer to inspiring women to take control of their destinies, meet trouble in the hands of old fold who's reluctant to lose to the woman. So, they're a few times make trouble for DW. But with help from friends and ZJ also JR, DW successfully avoid the trouble and thriving as a business woman. In the end, the last trouble is only the one connected with their family past. So, how will DW & ZJ successfully going through all the trouble...?

That's pretty much the story without giving anymore spoiler. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ Zhao Lu Si & Liu Yu Ning at my screen. Haha... Whatever people said about them, for me their quite a match for each other.
+ Zhang Jin Ran is a really gentlemen till the end
+ Cui Shi Jiu (SJ). This woman is so interesting one way or another.
+ Zheng Zhi Heng (ZH). I love how he genuinely love SJ.

Overall this quite good drama, but surely forgettable & have some holes. Below I'll write the holes that I notice, but that's also mean SPOILER ALERT!!! Read it with ur own risk.












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SPOILER ALERT!!!
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I feel the plot sometimes like jumping from scene to scene. It's like something supposed to be there but they cut it in the final edit.
- The attack that ZJ & JR experience. What the heck what's that... It's like one moment they ready to attack the next moment it's them who's under attack. Of course later is feel more clear after we find out about who's the betrayal. But still it's a little bit weird, feel something missing.
- The crazy and important cause that make ZJ's family assassinated. Or it's just me that really not take the grab of it...
- The amazing JR. Haha... JR a few time ambush his enemy by hand behind the scene. Haha... I don't know other word to put it, that's how I feel it. Like when he arrest ZH. Oh come on.... That's clearly lazy writing there. I hope they show us more like investigation or stalking or anything that indicate Zhang family is on the radar.
- The way DW been capture & the blood pearl suddenly be remembered again after been forgotten for half of drama.
I already a little bit forget some of it, gonna fill it later when I remember then... Haha...

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