Completed
Unforgettable Love
7 people found this review helpful
by Jilly
Aug 11, 2021
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 8.5

Sweet and Simple

I read a lot of negative comments about this drama and I didn't want to give it a chance anymore, but then I read someone's comment and decided to give it a chance. I have no regrets, this drama was very sweet, cute and pretty simple.

Almost every drama have a cliché, and plot holes, I really don't see why this drama has so many negative reviews, it has no negative reviews than drama's I've actually put on hold or drop with higher ratings but turned out so boring and no chemistry. The leads have such a great chemistry in this show, and with the son it was even better. I actually enjoyed this show so much, even with some little plot holes and so on, if you look that that then you'll also enjoy it.

My expectations going into this show was zero, because of all the negative comments etc, i went into the show with a blank mind and wanted to experience it myself, and I'm so happy i did. i loved this, if the couple did not have any chemistry and couldn't act then I would have dropped, but the chemistry and acting was great, it was really sweet. Apart from the reason why they got together with the contract and the lack of scenes regarding the explanation for the accident, and the FL kept leaving now and then (this was my biggest issue). I had no other issues, those were the only major things I can see anyone having a issue with, but they're not deal breakers.

My review overall score is 8.5/10 this is my own personal review of what i think the show is wroth based on what i look for in a show, everyone has there own taste in drama's so there review would also be different, but it doesn't mean you shouldn't give a show a chance. try it for yourself as I did, its wither you'll love it or you wouldn't.

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Completed
Dr. Romantic
7 people found this review helpful
Dec 5, 2021
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 3.0
This review may contain spoilers

it's not in the same league with Hospital Playlist.

The Good:
-Seo Hyun Jin
-The show has charm.
-There is no love triangle.
-The head nurse and her ?ex-husband?

The Neutral:
-The romance is alright, but there is very little of it.
-It's not a very well researched medical drama
-The overdramatized surgeries
-I could just not warm up to Teacher Kim.
-Hospital Playlist is just a thousand times better in almost every way.

The Bad:
-There is not much plot beyond going from emergency to another emergency, but what plot there is, it is just pretty bad.
-The hospital politics
-In Bum is a somewhat poorly written character
-Surgeons do crazy non surgery related med things.
-The silly main villain
-There were way too many unreasonable BS characters.
-Yoo Yeon Seok's acting (It's crazy how much he has improved since this drama finished airing)
-The big cheating/drunk driving reveal never really happened.
-Seo Jung's PTSD faded into nothing. "It's alright, the audience won't remember!"


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Completed
Brave to Love
7 people found this review helpful
Jun 26, 2019
15 of 15 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
If you haven't seen this show yet, I really suggest doing so, and I mean that thoroughly and honestly.

The story starts off with friends but topping it off with your main main characters and everyone plays such an amazing part; it's a slice of life thrown in with some romance but friendship turned into family and even more. Everyone has their own story and something going on but at the end of the day, they love each other to no end. On an honest level, this show will also make you mad, make you cry and frustrated, all at the same time. There's a lot going on and they go through so much together but thoroughly this is a nice warm story. Even though some parts are so nerve wrecking and anxiety riding, to be honest, it's just a realistic look on slice of life from complications in your relationship to learning how to move on from an old flame as well.

The acting was done amazing, Zhang Ting Hu was just an amazing man overall and Gingle Wang played an amazing person in her character and the chemistry between them was wonderful. Edison Song was the best friend you always wanted, that was affectionate, sweet and hard headed all in the same sitting along with Sylvia Hsieh who was just an amazing friend overall, every single person did so amazing as they acted, 10/10 for them for sure.

The music was nice and effortless; during the sad scenes it made you feel the feels basically and the piano melodies were nice to hear as well.

Rewatch level? 10/10 for sure. This show was such a beautiful show to watch, the acting was easy, the story was nice, even if you were mad out of your mind, you weren't really mad. Like even though you got frustrated at certain parts; it's nice for a show to make you feel some emotion so it'll be nice to go back and watch for sure if you want a tear jerk er for something warm for friendship.

Overall? 100/100. This show is good, easy, fun and nice and basic. The acting was nice; they were also extremely easy on the eyes to watch as well. So would I watch it? Yes and it may or may not be your cup of tea but everything's worth a shot!

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Aug 19, 2020
32 of 32 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 8.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 10
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 5.0
This review may contain spoilers

The show is about Iron Triangle. So you'd hope that Qi Ling would at least appear as much as some supporting character AT THE LEAST - let alone giving him the actual deserved screen time.

The second Yangyangs Qi Ling disappears, you watch season after season, episode after episode, spin off after another spin off, only to get to Reboot (Reunion) and have him still pretty much either so far in the background, or just simply gone.

And okay, I loved Baron Chens romance with the mute girl, it was genuine, had everything in the right amount even though in the end even that didn't go anywhere.

And then you think omg Yi long is the perfect older, mature Wu Xie, so please give me SOMETHING WITHMY OTP I'm not asking for much, but they could have done something along the lines of Untamed or Guardian - I mean I thought I was going to leave confused considering Yilong and Bai yu are one of my top couples.

And in the beginning it looked like that was a possibility, because you guys know I'm extremely partial for Yangyang and for the first time the actor for me had the potential to be a close second to YY buuuut the poor boy never got a chance.

Because halfway through they got into some bullshit office romance - which they probably thought was a clever Warehouse 11 storyline, but seriously the only clever aspect was how much money they saved on the production that went from badass, dangerous, and rather narrow escapes, showing the Uncle and Baron Chen, and the rest like a family - however screwed up it might be, you were still rooting for them.

And then someone gets the great idea that screw tomb raiding, and badass action, or even focusing on the fact that his uncle was being so nonchalant about the cancer news, like WTF.

And then they took my last bromance hope Pan Zi to some hetero storyline too, TWO SECONDS AFTER he confessed his love to Wu Xie lol most likely to give Wu Xie that completely contrived 'romance' which okay not going to lie I was shipping them during that one bonding scene where they lay down and 'watched the stars' XD but apart from that Wu Xie was being so wishy washy. It didn't seem sincere AT ALL not from his side anyway, not like Baron Chen was so into the chick and doesn't just go save her in some ending scene twist.
And omg that ending ugh are they still going to be in the warehouse lol I don't know if I can take the torture.

So, yes, for me it was fantastic till Wu Xie joins the warehouse and then it had it moments - Jia Le story, especially, or Kan Jians ADORABLENESS XD

Anyway, I loved the characters, actors, but I hope the story lines improve and I see more of Qi Ling and iron triangle ACTUALLY BEING TOGETHER AND BONDING TOGETHER instead of being apart and just talking about each other. I mean where is the pining, where's the eye fucking XDwhere's the WORRYING ABOUT THE GUY WHO HAS FREAKING CANCER.

Okay anyway, waiting for next part lol because I'm a sucker for pain.

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Completed
Kill Me, Heal Me
7 people found this review helpful
by SSKF
Apr 16, 2016
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
Amazing! Heartbreaking.

You know those dramas you anticipate but are afraid to watch because you're not sure it would live up to it's hype? KMHM lives up to the hype and surpasses it.

The story was phenomenal. Ji Sung is a very versatile actor and deserves all the awards he got for his work. He's excellent. Aside from him, all of the cast did excellent jobs. You forgot you were watching acting, because it didn't seem like acting. It seemed like true heartbreaking emotions. I sometimes wondered if the actors themselves haven't developed split personalities, they were that good.

Some people complained about the flashback scenes being too much, too repetitive and making parts of the drama boring. I disagree. The flashbacks were numerous, yes, but each was tastefully done and told a different story every time it was shown.

This drama was worth watching. I think I wanted it to be longer, to go into the origins etc of all the different personalities. I felt sorry in a different way for each of them, and it was hilarious how one of them was jealous of the other. Imagine being in a love triangle with you, yourself, and a woman. Seeing the story, developed by the excellent, flawless acting, makes you understand that each and everyone goes through difficult times and not to judge or treat people harshly. It really appeals to your empathy.

The music deserves Best OST. Jang Jae In is my new favourite.

Writer of the script gets 100/10. It was that good.

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Completed
Uncontrollably Fond
7 people found this review helpful
Sep 28, 2017
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 4.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 4.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
Kim Woo Bin and Suzy Bae’s romantic melodrama ‘Uncontrollably Fond’ was one of the most awaited dramas of 2016. I personally couldn’t wait to see the drama from the moment I saw its trailer with Woo Bin asking Bae Suzy out in the most quirky way possible. I must mention that the marketing team behind this show did a great job in creating all the hype around it that generated a lot of curiosity in the minds of the viewers. However, four episodes into the show and I started feeling the gradual loss of interest. And after 14 episodes I practically I gave up on the show. And it’s not even the depressing feel of the show but its slow progression. But I somehow coerced myself to come back to it only because it was listed in the ‘Upcoming Show Review’ section of AlphaGirl and I did not want to disappoint my readers who were waiting for this review. So here it is.

Good Weights
Kim Woo Bin’s Acting: Honestly, when I saw Kim Woo Bin in The Heirs, I got scared. He looks a little intimidating with those bushy eyebrows and glaring eyes. But when I saw the trailer of this show. I started to see him in a completely different light. And despite the show’s disappointing script, Woo Bin managed to carry it gracefully to its climax.  His acting was simply stupendous! He gave more than a 100% to make Joon Young convincing and managed to shine even in a dull show like this. Be it the flirty Joon Young or the sick and dying Joon Young or the jerk Joon Young he did it all with ease. I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that the show was bearable only because of him.      

Unexpected Chemistry: Joon Young and Noh Eul’s chemistry was rather bland but there was a couple that brought a smile to my face. Noh Eul’s brother, Noh Jik’s pairing with Ji Tae’s sister Ha Ru was simply adorable. Their chemistry is evident from their first scene together. And their little love story gets better and better with each episode. I used to actually look forward to seeing them on the show.  Their puppy love definitely stood out and brought some liveliness to the drama. Sadly, this cute pair hardly has any screen time. I wish the makers could give these lovebirds some more role.

Music: Whoever selected the background scores for the show must be applauded. The soundtracks suited the show’s melancholy theme and gave life to scenes.


Bad Weights
Snoozy Suzy: I have never seen any of her previous shows so I wasn’t aware of her acting skills. Sadly, she was the show killer for me. Being the show’s lead, with two men fighting for her, she looked terribly clueless as an actor. I realised her lack of acting skills in the first episode itself when Joon Young asks her if she remembers him and she says that she does and abuses him. Such a well-written scene and well performed by Woo Bin but Suzy managed to ruin the classic cliffhanger with her blank expression and shallow dialogue delivery. Actually, I should have understood from the much exciting promo itself when Joon Young asks if she was willing to date him for three months and she gives him a blank look. The show could have been much better had she put more efforts in her acting. Though she started acting better in the last 4 episodes where her character experiences major ups and downs in life and she changes as a person, but the improvement came too late. She’s cute but pales before Kim Woo Bin’s strong screen presence.

Sad Script: The show is about a dying person’s past and his last few days of life. So the general theme of the drama is ought to be sad but more than that the show was confusing for me. Joon Young was perpetually temperamental. He kept going back and forth with his love for Noh Eul each time for a different reason. One day he is flirting with her, wooing her and then the next day he treats her like trash. And it’s not even because of his sickness. His character was so capricious that I found it difficult to keep up with the story. OK! He has a plan and is working according to it but this only makes the female lead look utterly pathetic. His actions make her look too needy and weak as the main character.
Characters on the show seemed to have no other work than mess with Noh Eul’s life. Everyone seemed to be doing something that directly or indirectly affected her. It’s funny how both the sons of Assemblyman Choi were madly in love with the same girl. What’s surprising is that both the guys are super successful but are still fighting for the attention of a miserable girl who has absolutely no zeal in life. The drama was so slow-paced that only those with great patience or great love for Woo Bin could manage to follow it dedicatedly.    


Though the show’s beam balance has tilted with good weights, it’s bad weights still weigh it down on the negative side. Apart from the OST and Kim Woo Bin, there is nothing great about this show.

Uncontrollably Fond is strictly for those who love Kim Woo Bin. It is one of his best performances and he shines like the brightest star in this drama. Others can ignore this one. There are better shows to watch in 2016.

Originally posted on www.alphagirl.in


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Completed
Goodbye My Love
7 people found this review helpful
Sep 12, 2015
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 6.5
It's your common Melodrama/Romance - nothing new, but it's Classic! If you liked Autumn Tale (a.k.a Autumn In my Heart) or Stairway To Heaven then you should like this one too. It's a very realistic drama (and no not that boring type of realistic but the kind that is believable - like you could see it happening to your or your friend.) I liked the Classic vibe/feelings I got from watching it and I liked the realistic/believable aspect of how this drama was made and brought before our eyes. It's a beautiful love story - but remember it is still a melodrama - I watched it with ease and maybe b/c I've seen my fair share of Melo's I didn't really shed any tears (my eyes did get teary but they never came out). I decided to watch it for Ahn Jae Wook (as I am a fan of his acting and music).

Kim Hee Sun and Ahn Jae Wook have great chemistry (I need to check out their previous drama together 'Sunflower' now ^^ hehe). I enjoyed their scenes together, they were entertaining at times, romantic at times and painfully sad at times :'( Min Su (AJW) works for Ki Tae whom he saved from being kidnapped 13yrs ago - Ki Tae says Min Su is his friend - but he treats him more like a slave than a friend (a friend would never do the things Ki Tae does to Min Su...ever.) Min Su knows this but puts up with it b/c his job is ok and he gets paid well - but when he meets Yeon Ju (KHS) he starts getting tired of how Ki Tae has been treating him. As the description says he meets Yeon Ju and her friend Jung Ae at a club where they lie to each other (which they later regret). I liked Min Su, Yeon Ju, Jung Ae (once she started acting more mature) and Hee Jung (Ki Tae's sister) Lee Tae Ran plays Hee Jung and she's so young and pretty on here ^^ (yes I'm a fan) luckily she's nothing like her brother on this drama who I will describe as a despicable scumbag. No HJ is nice, kind and bold (I liked that I could like her character on this drama). I will be following more of KHS' dramas in the future too (she too is really pretty in this drama).

Music: All classic stuff, I liked it but my two favorites were: 'Last Promise' by Choi Jae Hoon and 'Sad Fate' by Choi Jae Hoon & Choi Won Suk ^^ - Other songs: 'Doesn't Matter Now' by Oh Se Hyung, 'Confession' by Oh Se Hyung & Choi Jae Hoon, 'To Me' by Jang Hyun Chul, & 'Goodbye My Love' Epilogue by Ahn Jae Wook :)

I probably won't re-watch this b/c sad melo's are something I can usually only watch once.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes classic old dramas and or are a fan of sad melodramas.

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Completed
Law School
7 people found this review helpful
by Litzue
Aug 9, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 4.5
Rewatch Value 5.5

Only good for it's cast?

When starting a new drama I usually go in expecting nothing because the drama ends up being more impressive without expectations and gives me a lot to drool over. But this drama gave me nothing. The twists were expected, the storyline was boring and the characters were less than likable, a big problem because there are so many. It tries to do way more than what it has time for. Just barely exploring the plot points it brings up. Details are just flat out told to viewers via character dialogue/flashbacks (there are so many flashbacks). I wanna see some action not storylines handfed to me. I don't know who the director is but I would avoid future dramas shot by this person seeing how bad and bland the shots were. At times the camera cuts to this first person shaky frame which is so unflattering.

As for acting, I think everybody did their best with what was given to them. Though, I did find Kang Sol A's acting way over the top. No show stealers here though. There's a lot of screaming (thank you old office man who has zero significance to the plot), this show seems to think loud equals funny or emotional. You're not delivering anything, just hurting my ears. I can't handle the morally righteousness of the main characters. The one character that strays from that; Sungjae is given the bare minimum. There being so many characters is the downfall of this show. You can't establish an emotional connection with them because of the lack of deep diving characters are supposed to be given. So at the end I don't care about who gets to be happy, I just want the show to be over.

As for music, there are only 3 songs here. It gets really old really fast. It's annoying that the songs come on and basically tell you hey this scene is supposed to be emotional, hey this scene is supposed to be suspenseful, and oh hey look the characters are studying. It's annoying when the emotional music comes on and you're not even moved by the scene. You're stuck there cringing because what the characters said wasn't deep at all and here plays th-We are We are Where are we? We are We are.

With all that said, I don't like this drama, I feel like I wasted my time and was blinded by an all star cast. I would still recommend you watch it, it might be your cup of lukewarm tea. But there are way better dramas out there, enjoy watching.

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Completed
Flower of Evil
7 people found this review helpful
Oct 1, 2020
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This review may contain spoilers

Lee Joon Gi & Moon Chae Won were fire in this one!

Once again Lee Joon Gi nails a role. Moon Chae Won was definitely the right fit for his wife because side by side these two fed off each other. Yes that mare their character cry babies at time but it was a tortured cry.

The acting in this show in general was really good. Lee Joon Gi nailed his role unsurprisingly but I loved the duality of his character. But the acting of the other cast was amazing as well. It made the story that much better because you didn’t have an actor or actress with phony feels.

Definitely need LJG and MCW to pair up again.

Kim Ji Hoon also did a fantastic job at bringing the crazy. The face was scary but i was in awe in the final scenes with him because him and LJG were both fantastic actors and I was feeling the intensity.

“I can see people that are already dead!” Was the most tortured line I’ve heard in a drama this year and I’m not lying. I was panicked cause I thought he was going to die but the turnout wasn’t that bad.

It’s a KDrama so I can’t be too mad when they go with an amnesia route because when your signing into a kdrama you kind of unintentionally sign that emotional waver right under the signing of “characters may or may not be taken out by unmarked white vehicle”. It was a good way to play it because he couldn’t trust himself that he was true with her and slowly he’ll find that he was. Because he had said his body remembers. And when he hugged Eun Ha that sweet little girl his body remembered that too. He got down and hugged her and like the Grinch his heart became that much bigger.

The OST was awesome I confess I downloaded 2 of the songs. Psycho by Doko and Feel You by Shin Yong Jae and I have no regrets.

Definitely would be wanting to see another season but we know how that goes. And they did a good job of wrapping things up,

I do want to see another Kdrama with a character that has antisocial personality disorder again and that character being the main just cause I think the actor or actress that plays the role has to do a decent job to make it believable.

Long story that became long I think that this one will stay with me. There are dramas you watch and they fade away but this one will stay. When looking for other dramas I will compare.

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Completed
R U Next?
7 people found this review helpful
Sep 2, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 2.5
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 1.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

R U Rigged?

This officially takes the number 1 spot for worse survival show. I mean the judges can't judge, and all of them had no clue what they were talking about (especially that mustache guy). Prioritizing visuals over talent and booking on potential is just crazy. International fans carried this show, but yet I don't think our votes really mattered at the end of the day. They actually thought giving Knetizens basically full control on who debuts was a good idea. The final lineup is just bad and there's no other way to put it. These girls will have a really hard time from here on out. The toxicity surrounding this group is just insane and I don't see it stopping anytime soon. HYBE you really messed up this time. Also what's up with that group name I'LL-IT like damn that has to be one of the worse group names in Kpop ever.

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Completed
Perfect Wedding
7 people found this review helpful
by Cho Na
Aug 29, 2019
44 of 44 episodes seen
Completed 8
Overall 7.0
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 4.5
This review may contain spoilers
Since there is no any review about this drama, only comments that formed bits and pieces of reviews, I took the advantage of being the first reviewer, after painstakingly watching this drama till the end. I was following the talented lead actress Andy Yang Zi's works when I found this drama and it took me sometime to find where I can watch it with English subtitle. From a tip given by one commenter below, I was able to track down the raw English autosub of this drama from Huace Global Fun channel in YouTube. Raw English, yes, as literally Youtube translate the Mandarin words word by word which can be very confusing to the conversation, that leads me to 'translate' the raw English dialogues to understandable meanings. They also forgot to sub one episode into Mandarin (which can be autosub by YouTube), but not necessarily lost my understanding as a whole story.

STORY: Probably it can be heart touching, if the whole drama was translated to English well, as there are a lot of stories on what happened in the Xia Ran's family. But I skipped MOST of the scenes of the supporting roles to avoid boredom caused by frustration from the inadequate translation. I gave a pretty good score for the story though, as the office stories are quite entertaining, especially about Xia Ran's clients. Every client's case is touching, especially since both main leads actually worked together to solve the proposal/wedding cases.

ACTING/CAST: Definitely Andy Yang Zi is the pull for this drama as well as other cast. She is pretty, energetic, bossy, animated, and sometimes mean. Qiao Zhenyu is a bit stiff as the cosmetic surgeon Jin Zhihao, but can pull unexpected moments related to the female lead. Their chemistry is great, starting with being hating each other due to some misunderstanding, compromising due to some agreements made, room mates, friends or brother/sister when they are forced to live in the same room, and finally (after more than a half drama rolling) they became lovers. The second pair (Xia Ran's boss and Zhihao's ex) is just meh. Notable, is the young actor who plays Zhihao's little brother, who delivers a refreshing and fun acting stood out among the complicated adult's love stories in the drama.

MUSIC: Since I'm not into OST of dramas, I never make notes on OST

REWATCH VALUE: No, unless I find a website or channel where I can watch it again with an understandable English sub,

OVERALL: Again, Andy Yang Zi is the only main reason I (and probably also for many viewers who follows her) I watched this drama, and the attraction of mini stories of client's wedding plans delivered in this drama.

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Completed
Fated to Love You
7 people found this review helpful
Apr 29, 2011
24 of 24 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.0
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 7.0
One of my all time favorites! This is pretty unique for a Taiwanese drama because it's a bit controversial, and that's part of what makes it so good. It is easy to watch, romantic, and funny. There are parts of this drama that will just jerk at your heart strings. The actors also do a very good job, even the supporting. I loved the beginning, middle, and end (yes I LOVED the end!) It's definately not a typical love story. The two both progress really well as characters. The music is also very cute and goes well with the theme of the drama.



The one thing I did not like was that when the new episodes were added, it was a bit slow. He also at one point said that a woman is pregnant for 10 months (it's 9...)



If it wasn't so long, I would probably rewatch it. A must watch for every drama fan!

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Completed
Jewel in the Palace
7 people found this review helpful
Apr 19, 2022
54 of 54 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

How much do we need to put this poor girl through?

I stumbled upon this Sageuk in my constant search for something new, and found out that not only was this drama rated really high, but was also historically important for South Korea. Internationally-speaking, it was the very first historical K-Drama to really gain notoriety outside of SK's borders, and one of first one to give an accurate perspective of what life was really like for women under Joseon (a lot of Sageuks, especially nowadays, sugarcoat the Neo-Confucian ethics that dominated the region, sometimes very embarassingly). Knowing all of this, I was quite excited to watch a show about Joseon's first female Royal Physician: Jang-geum.

The series actually started out really strong, showing the inner-working of the palace kitchen and the relationships between the women working there and the importance of this department in the whole grand scheme of the Joseon Bureaucracy. More than for "story", I wanted to watch this series to see how an early 2000s-era production of a Sageuk would translate today. Honestly, it looks great! Of course, it doesn't have a glossy sheen that all new Sagueks have, but I feel that if it were remastered into 720p/1080p, it would definitely work out even in today's production.

However, despite me being quite impressed with the production, acting, music, and script-writing initially...something started to make me dislike the series more and more as it went on. The show was no longer about a woman's struggle to realize her passion through a completely male-dominated Neo-Confucian world. It slowly became...almost a torture p*rn of some sort? I don't mean to crude, but really, how much do the scriptwriters want this poor woman to go through? I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who wants to watch this, but let it be known: you will have absolutely no breathing room. Every second, every scene, every sentence, is somehow connected to some woman or some man conspiring against Jang-geum in the most horrible way. Jang-guem suffers through so much in this show, and with absolutely no reward. It's an unforgiving show that will keep you at your seat, constantly trying to keep up with all the schemes people throw at this woman. I understand, what Jang-geum did was legendary and immensely (damn-near impossibly) difficult in the world that she lived in; however, I feel they could have portrayed her troubles in a different manner. The issue ultimately stems from this: were the script-writers trying to be *brutally* honest about Neo-Confucian ethics and hierarchy, or was this more for "show". My later sentences will show why I feel confused about this. Even if you wanted to be brutally honest, I think there could have been a much better way to portray it, with making the runtime of the show less tedious. The only thing that made this tolerable for me was the loyal group of friends Jang-geum kept with her throughout the episodes. Lemme tell you, if you had these kinds of friends in real life, they are 100% worth-keeping for their undying loyalty. Unfortunately, even Jang-geum's friends can't escape the curse of having everything bad happen to them as well.

In a nutshell: from the moment Jang-geum is born to the end of the show, everyone is conspiring against her. And this even applies to her inner-circle of friends as well. Not to mention, is it me, or is nearly every stranger Jang-geum interacts with automatically hostile to her in some way?

Again, I want to stress, I know how difficult things were for women back then, but I feel that this show goes a bit too far, or, at the very least, doesn't give you nearly enough time to swallow what's going on. It's a constant barrage of schemes, pain, and suffering towards Jang-geum. If you think I'm exaggerating, please watch the show yourself.

Also, this show has afforded waaaay too many 'conveniences' for my liking. Everyone seems to be at the wrong place at the wrong time (or the right place at the right time), everything that could go wrong does go wrong, the character constantly runs away only to end up right back where they started, Jang-geum is always right (and never wrong) and the villains are always wrong (almost a cut/paste Mary Sue character), objects that are supposed to be 'hidden' are always found by the villains, the super drawn-out 'forbidden love' in which the male is unable to help the female in much capacity, justice is somehow swift and harsh for our protagonists but the villains are always afforded some leniency, there's always some villain that happens listen on to a 'secret' conversation our protagonist is having with someone else, etc etc. It's tiring. How many tropes can you throw in one drama? I know it's hard to avoid using them, so if you're going to use them, use them sparingly and wisely.

If that wasn't enough, the ending is a complete waste of time. Believe me, once you go through all the episodes of this drama, only to see what this drama's ending has to offer, you will feel like you wasted your time.

I justify my 5/10 rating for this reason. It's a historically important Sageuk with incredibly competent production, with great acting and a sweeping soundtrack. I appreciate the history this drama tried to portray, and I have a lot of respect for the actors/actresses and scriptwriters as well who took on this massive undertaking. A story like this isn't easy to write, especially with a genre that is typically romance-driven or fantasy-driven. The story starts off good, but starts veering off into lunacy somewhere near the middle. The ending, is a complete bomb. There are too many 'conveniences' and cliches for me, and the main character gets abused to a sickening degree. It's a great show and a bad show at the same time.

Proceed with caution.

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Boku no Itoshii Youkai Girlfriend
7 people found this review helpful
Mar 22, 2024
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0

I really need a Season 2 for this!!

Firstly, I'd totally recommend this show if people out there want a soft romance with Fantasy, Action and Comedy elements mixed into it.

The main reason I began the series was the description. As a person who always reads the description first, I have this tendency to drop japanese series without much thought to it, but this time I assure you this series was so much better than what I thought.

As the title of this review says, I think with the limited japanese series I've watched, this one had the best fight scenes. I got hooked up for them from the start.
Then came the comedy. Laughed throughout the show. And the Fantasy, with the whole Youkai, it was a new type of fantasy I'd watched.

Finally, the cute romance. It was so cute that I have a whole list of cute romance shows like this. I loved how Izzy kept protecting Hachi and how Hachi kept on going about how she shouldn't kill anyone anymore. It was cute.

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Delete
7 people found this review helpful
Jul 3, 2023
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

Classic Horror

Ok, this is just the genre I love. I strongly believe that only Asians can make - not that original, not that innovative horror...and make my skin crawl nevertheless. That is mostly the reason I am here, watching Asian masterpieces!

In my book this is classic.

There is something so cool about Thai horrors, probably the gruesomeness (which is not dominate in this story but they just had to have at least one or two disgusting visuals) all in the purpose of the story of course.

The length of the episodes, the overall length and the open ending, or not that open, if you know what i mean are just right. The story builds fast, no long unnecessary side stories and yet it is full of them.

I do not think I will re-watch it, but in case the 2nd season happens (which is so not necessary) I would give it one more go. It is perfect Halloween season watch. So if you like creepy October this can be saved for then.

Overall: Decent horror story, do not expect something out of this world, but you might me amused. I am rating it high because I enjoyed it a lot.

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