Reviews

Polished TV Production Honours Manga Origins

I loved the series and watched it twice over the 2024 new year. I particularly enjoyed the culinary conversations and even learned a few new tips. Jun Shison oozes sex appeal ... and appealing arrogance. Some viewers may be unaware Takahashi is a trained cook and Shison has recently directed a couple of short films. They are both absolutely outstanding actors on an ensemble of amazing talent in front of and behind camera. Would be wonderful to see a Season 2. But please, Director ... lose the awful Gaku bowl cut wig! Hiding the most handsome man in Japan! ?
I would have liked more scenes of Ego Gaku, that period of the show serms too brief but
is very intense and Takahashi Fumiya again cements his potential as an amazing, emotionally powerful and broadly skillled actor at just 22 years of age. He typically plays brooding, moody types; check him out in the new movie release Our Secret Diary. I personally believe he could be a significant talent beyond Japan if he so wishes. Enjoy ?

Read More

Love it

The story is wonderful with rollercoaster ride of emotions ? Salute to the writer ?‍♀️
This was such heartwarming drama with endearing character ?

The cast and the crew did a great job.
At early episode, I don't really like Jiang Yi expression but in the end, i do understand why is soo hard for him to change from friend to lover. Fan Cheng Cheng, you and your goose neck, i'm your fan now ? and i love Zhu Yan Man Zi in this drama, she nailed it.
No mention Yang Zi, she deserve an award ? She always manage to deliver the hardest scene and it just hits right through.

About the song, honestly this is my first C song i've ever search in spotify ? finally i know the voice of Yang Zi and Stefanie Sun ?

Hoping oneday VR really can do help people with trauma.

Read More

I was confused

I dont think a singl plotpoint actually like fit with the other plotpoints ngl.

I only watched the show for Cha Woongki tbf so I wasnt expecting much and I could have probably focused more and understood the plot better.

For me, it felt rushed at the end and the plot just suddently shifted in a weird turn.

Like bro, how was the message of this show "enjoy every day" like my guy, this show was a fantasy about being in a game, like wth.

I also didnt think the characters had ANY chemistry, like none, nada. I mean other than that one sister (dont remember her name). I feel like she actually made the show better cause she was funny.

Read More

Not as bad as many say

I know many have given very bad reviews for this drama. But after reconsidering my first impression, I would say if you fast forward certain cliche scenes where female lead ,her mother and her grandmother Flex their super powers you might very well able to enjoy this drama. This is not a sequel but a spin of mind you. I wish they um did not go to far showing superpowers off call the ladies. As it only added to cring. If they had
Toned down the showcasing of superpowers of female lead,Her mother and her grandmother. This would have been very much enjoyable as The original strong woman though bong soon. I must say few lines about Villain played by Woo Seok in this drama. I know he did very bad thing . But i kept thinking he was not like that from birth but the environment he grew up made him like that so even if he did evil things,I was feeling pity for him. I did not want so much tragic end for him. I know I should not Feel like that. But what can I do make handsome villains fate like that only in k drama. I was so impressed by the good looking villain that I i'm going to check his past and future works. So all in all just was forward The cringe scenes , and you are good to go.

Read More

If there is anything to love, it's the freedom to drop it and never look back

It is always sad to see a drama have so much potential and then lose all of it in the first 3 episode, this could have gone so far and done so well instead it stayed right where it started, stagnant, dull, annoying.

I have watched 16 episode and there is no character development, no plot, no plot twist, no plot development, no obstacles, no setbacks, no punch, no pull. It is just a bunch of 'designed to be cute fluffy' moments strung together in a pretty backdrop with pretty people wearing subpar clothing and eating overhyped food.

*It is less like a drama and more like a food blog, a side of recipe with too much useless shit around it.*

The romance started unrealistic, gave a glimmer of hope and fell flat. It was so repetitive and so mind numbing. The least they could have done was shown some character development in the romance part but no, Mr Mo almost looks predatory when faced with Sheng's exceedingly childish reactions. I get shy, I get first love and the jitters of first relationship- this was not that.

I had hopes from this show and the trajectory of the rise, decline and death of those hopes would have made a better drama.

If anyone wants to watch it still, I suggest watching highlight compilation on youtube, if any. It would be a better use of your time for an equal, or better, enjoyment and returns.

Read More

I have so many emotions

I watched this show a while ago and after I finished it, I felt so empty because all the characters had grown on me so bad. I legit screamed when I saw one of the actors for a split second in another show.

Anyways. The plot is very easy to understand, but still intriquite with a lot of beautiful messages in it. I love the different types of characters you get to see, the different personalities and the different sceneries that other shows do not give you in the same way.

I also think all the romance in the show really felt true and not fabricated which I love because it can often feel very fake in kdramas.

The music! THE MUSIC! I friggin die for the music. The soundtrack can put me in a trance Istg. Like it's very thought through and fun when it needed to be. The music made the show much more lively and added a lot of emotion to the sadder scenes.

The show manages to be serious, sad, romantic and also friggin funny at the same time. I can't even count how many times I laughed during each episode because ir just felt like hanging out with your friends while watching.

I recommend very much! WATCH IT, Im holding you at gunpoint?

Read More

I have some thoughts ig

So I did like the show itself, idk about the storyline cause I heard there was a plottwist, but if there was, I didnt see it.

There were many plotpoints I wanted that could have added more dimention to the show that never happened.

I also dont like the way the show practically guilttrips Yi Jae when he was already miserable.
The message feels very backhanded at the end because it's basically just saying. "Life sucks, but dying sucks more".

I obviously think suicide isnt the only option when you're struggling, but I dont think we should guilt the people who do not feel they have anything to live for.
Those people already get enough shit as it is

I really love the cast though so I enjoyed watching the actors in the show and I liked the fact that I could laugh at the serious plots because I already found some of the show goofy.

I do recommend watching the show though, it was very entertaining.

Read More

i dont agree with the last episode

the show itself was pretty good to watch, it was fascinating and entertaining. However, the last episode was unsatisfactory personally. Is the message of the show to not kill yourself and just endure living even if you're feeling depressed? Is it saying that it was a grave sin to want an out for himself? I don't agree that he was entirely at fault for making his mom sad. Though i enjoyed watching it. I dont know what else to say, honestly, the show is great it's just my preference.iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

Read More

Really the one thing I'm glad about is being introduced to win as this was his debut as I love as an actor. But hey this is a review on the drama.
The story was boring with nothing happening or too many cliches. It only picked up when wat's friend came to take him so had him at odds with tine but also Mann being involved as well
I hated tine brother to another degree, he doesn't do anything morally wrong but how he went about things with others especially his brother. If you knew they were dating why hide it from them considering you're the third wheel.
This drama has shown me no contact when dating isn't for me as well as showing little to no love questioning whether it is a bl or not

Read More

Homerun

Now the ending upset me as I felt like his position should've been the same yet in life it doesn't always work out that way.
Now Baek was a difficult individual to socialise with due to his rather blunt and cold personality especially whenever he went against his superiors. I felt like he was positively affected by everyone he had to interact with rubbing off him as you could see the subtle changes. His backstory to how he got where he is a massive factor impacting him in that made me cry.
Se young I didn't enjoy her parts much as at times seemed needy of approval from Jae Hee
The baseballer Kang Ki and Jin Won looked too alike sometimes confusing me on the individual story.
This drama adequately illuminated the power dynamic in a company and how power is used on different levels especially if you have inferiors and superiors. It reminded me of a food chain where one disappears making it collapse.

Read More

As a stand alone drama: okay-ish. As a loosely based story on the previous drama: trash

Edit: dropped in the 19th episode. All edits are marked.

My notes app was the most used app while I watched Battle through the Heaven (BTTH) and simultaneously rewatched Fight Breaks Sphere (FSB, we know it as BTTH as well but for the matter of this review, I'll use FBS to differentiate) because I didn't remember many of the things referenced in BTTH... I didn't want to compare these two too much but you can't have one apart from the other since BTTH is based on FBS.

But first, let's judge BTTH as a stand alone drama. It is pretty much your standard drama centered around the martial arts world. It is not exceptional, but it is also not too underwhelming. I liked that we were getting into things and stuff right away and we did not wait for the plot to unfold develop for ages. One of the main evil characters is eliminated in the first half of the drama, I have been missing such element in many other dramas. One thing I couldn't buy is Xun'er portrayed by Ding Xiao Ying, edit: I think a different actress (switching her with Xiao Yixian actress for example) would be a better pairing with He Luo Luo (end edit). If you don't know anything about FBS, you'll be able to enjoy BTTH. And if you did watch FBS like me and enjoyed it, you could still enjoy BTTH if you watch it with an open mind. Don't compare and think about the differences too much and it'll be fine. But, I am the person who was not fine and I did have to compare FBS to BTTH. Edit: I had to drop it in the 19th episode, because the cherry picking of FBS was.... Ugh (end edit.)

When I saw that there will be another BTTH, I was really excited and I thought this was going to be a new season, where they would pick up on the cliffhanger from FBS iykyk. I was WRONG. BTTH is loosely based on FBS. The writers cherry picked characters and events and just went with it. Which is not a terrible thing to do if you pick the right stuff, discard some things, adjust it and go, I was just a little disappointed (who out of us who watched and loved FBS wasn't, am I right). What I liked about this cherry picking was: Xiao Yan (XY) and Yao Chen's relationship, I enjoyed the chemistry between them far more here than in FBS. The playfulness, the jokes, the genuine kindness. I have to say that I loved Yao Chen in BTTH far more than in FBS (he was my fav in FBS). We got rid of the Soul Clan pact XY accidentally picked up in the medicine making competition in FBS and it gave us load of space to work it.

The CGI was pretty good in both, but BTTH wins this one. We had some new characters, but I'd have appreciated even more new characters or recurring characters from FBS. Chance to bring back at least Lin Xiuya since we traveled a lot in BTTH and elder Hai was missed. Especially elder Hai when we had Xiao Yixian back (little medicine doctor in BTTH). I wanted to say that I liked that BTTH did not clench into FBS but in case of XY and Xiao Yixian, copying this story wasn't executed well by the actors. What boggled my mind here was, the writers mentioned the beast flame in BTTH which XY acquired in FBS when he met Xiao Yixian and in BTTH XY does not even mention having the flame in eps prior to ep12. Cherry picking the FBS plot done badly here.

Now, onto more plot holes. TL;DR: I HAVE QUESTIONS. First of all, how and why did Yao Chen get into the spatial ring, and how did the spatial ring find XY? By getting rid of the heroes went far north to fight Soul Hall backstory completely, how was the spatial ring created? How did XY acquire the mystical ruler in BTTH when it was an item of Soul Hall and he acquired it after fighting a Soul Hall member? XY was a pharmacy shop apprentice and learned to refine medicine, even got accepted into the alchemists guild and used his skills in FBS. But in BTTH we are thrown into the middle of things and the only background of XY's skill is seemingly medicine elder. In my opinion, another thing which didn't make sense was using Bai Shan and Bai Cheng. Bai Shan was the more powerful one in FBS, has his pride and stuff and in BTTH they made him into this not so powerful power thirsty dummy blinded by his ambition. Then, when XY fell into the Blazing Qi Tower, why was the Snake Queen not able to control the python? Also, she made XY the temporary Snake King in FBS, so he should've been able to control the python too. Edit: As I later learned in BTTH, XY wasn't made into temporary Snake King, only later in the plot (end edit).

If I should describe FBS with one word, it would be grand. The filming locations, the amount of characters, the CGI, the plot, the music were simply grand. To surpass this grandness is certainly not an easy task and BTTH would not be able to do it, unless the writers would carry on the plot precisely and if the production cost would be the same if not even higher. In terms of loosely based stories and spin offs, BTTH is slightly above the average in my opinion. And lbr, the bar is quite low here. If definitely could've been better, but as I said, it is difficult to follow up on such a staple martial arts drama like FBS.

Last edit: at first, I wanted to say that I liked that BTTH writers didn't try to clench too hard on FBS. Episodes 15-19 made me change my mind definitely. Placing Yan Xiao identity into a completely wrong place and even the medicines making competition.... It honestly felt like they made BTTH into a plagiarized version of FBS. Just no. I was dedicated to watch it until the end and try to not have a bias, but I can't. Also, a big pet peeve of mine, XY in BTTH is a reckless dumbass who unintentionally made Xiao Yixian fall in love with him while not publicly acknowledging his relationship with Xun'er. Just why was he so oblivious to what his kind words and live saving actions would do to Xiao Yixian. Hence the score deduction from 7.5 to 6.5.

Read More

Something-Something Inflation!

The drama had a good and gripping start with the trial and everything surrounding it but it was the only trial in the drama. The rest turned out to be something different. I wish we had more like that trial. Although the silliness and slacking around was fun at first but it got a little tiring later on and padding the drama with 3 full episodes of flashbacks with a serious tone wasn't enough. Despite its shorter runtime there were big inconsistencies rooming around, it's like they had 3 dramas with 3 different ideas shoved into one. However, the drama always felt like there was something missing to formula. I really liked the concept, it had much more to offer than we were shown. The characters and their dynamic had a lot of potential to be expanded upon. The cast also brought up a good performance to the screen. I found the murder case to be the weakest part of the drama and somewhat boring, it also took too much time before moving on to something else. Right just when we started to get real development the drama ended, that was really unfortunate. I don't think this will get season 2 based on what they've done with these 12 episodes.

Read More

Spoonless Mindset!

The very first scene we were introduced to generic high schoolers that left a sour first impression. Right off the bat we were hammered with the deplorable trope of bullies and rich kids that both were done in the most tacky ways possible. I hated every second but I kept my patience waiting for the fantasy/supernatural tag to kick in and change the scenery. It certainly did for a little while during the first half despite being very slow, especially with the insane 80 minutes runtime per episode. However, the drama started to fall apart around episode 7 and it became an unwatchable piece of utter junk after the insane 10-years time-skip in episode 9. Any potentials it had were evaporated.

The story had insane gaps that were impossible to patch. There are a lot of points to be made about the mystery, secrets, reveals, decisions, and transformations but I would be repeating myself. It was really frustrating watching the golden spoon's rules change and evolve to fit the story's new development and narrative, a very strong sign of amateur writing! It's possible to blame the writers' heavy reliance on the source material and doing the bare minimum to script it. Since the source material is a Webtoon, it wasn't surprising seeing strange behaviors and random elements starting to seep through. It's hard to trust a Webtoon story to translate well into screen without competent writers unless the Webtoon creator was exceptionally brilliant which in this case he wasn't.

Read More

Had potential but it failed.

Good things first :
Ji Chan Wook. This man can act. I think that's what kept me going with this drama.
The "documentary" format they tried to follow was interesting, it didn't affect the story thou. Could've been better.
The three couples storyline was fun because they were different and "realistic" .

Ok. Now the review. I never write reviews but honestly I just finished the drama and I have a lot to say.
I understand what they tried to do. Yes, it's not the typical series, the time jumps keep you with your eyes open, there's a good chemistry between the leads and JCW's extremely awesome histrionic abilities. But there's no more.
It had all the potential to become an amazing romcom but it failed. The leads' story started to go in circles and then suddenly they were just together. They built all this tension and angst for a two minute conversation at the end.
The Rin-in and Kyeong-jun couple was cute and it seemed like it would develop with an interesting plot but WHY they did them dirty at the end. Srsly???!!
And the other two characters were SO interesting but SO wasted.
Plus WTF was that final episode? I mean, I love Cho Minho but what about the other characters?
I don't know. There's a lot of things in this drama that were just meh.
If you wanna watch it, do it. It's not for everyone but it's entertaining.


Note:
- I hated the female lead so much, I'm sorry.
-I appreciate the 30 min. Episodes

Read More