Reviews

Bask in the youthful sunshine of dreams

It is really hard to watch this without grinning! There are no high-stakes here other than the beautifully blown-up agonised imaginings of the teenage mind. Lots of fluff, hugs, smiles and super supportive best friends and allies cheering them on.

You can see Japan take cues from the sleekness of K-drama here, but still retaining the moody colours of the Japanese aesthetic. The boys are styled to a T even in their school uniforms but their bedrooms still look like teenage rooms - I find the interior designed bedrooms of K and C drama Land pretty unrealistic so it’s nice to see the balance here, it really helps the world building feel more genuine.

This is a warm nostalgic breeze of a show that highlights the sweetness of first love without the drama and toxicity of high school. Perhaps it is a utopia that doesn’t exist, but it is so nice to imagine a universe where this could happen, preferably one where Takara and Amagi can bashfully smile at each other forever.

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Glued to my seat from beginning to end

It was intriguing from beginning to end. Kim Tae Ri was phenomenal (she really deserves any and all the awards for this role!) as well as Oh Jung Se.
I felt like the story was very interesting and well-executed. I wouldn't say this was horror, more like thriller, but there were moments that were terrifying (I still made sure to watch this during the day!)
Overall, I loved it through and through. There was nothing that made me feel disappointed or underwhelmed. As I said, it was intriguing from beginning to end. This is definitely a bingeable drama. Highly recommend.

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Pleasantly Surprised...

Wow what an epic show, it had me at the edge of my seat each episode.
I liked the overall story and even more I liked the character and how fully fleshed out they felt. I especially have a soft spot for the villain because he is my favorite out of the whole ensemble.
If I had to rate them:
1- Kim Myeong-il aka the villain, that actually felt like a proper human being that's blinded by greed and that would do anything to get what he wants. He also felt like an actual mafia boss, from the way he organized his surroundings to his expansion projects.
He is actually intimidating, and I will not shut up about how powerful Park Sungwoong is as a villain. Fucking hell he ate that and left not even a little droplet of h20.

2- Obviously Gun Woo and Woojin. I can't rate them separately because there is no Gun woo without Woojin and vice-versa, they are so adorable and funny when they're together. I especially loved how they first met, it felt so real and sincere I can only hope to meet such a friend like that in this lifetime. They lift each other up and support one another no matter what, especially during such hard times where its to each their own. They uphold their values, morals and integrity, so I can't tell you how broken I was when Gun woo broke down as h realized that he himself had become a bloodhound but his big bro Woojin was there to remind him of what brought them to this point. I love their dynamic sm, I just smile whenever they come on.
I could write tons of paragraph about how they are the best bromance pair I have seen in all of k-drama history, but imma hold back lol.

3- Mr. Choi. I don' t have much to say other than I liked how they built his character, how the actor managed to actually make us feel that this man had been through sm and was trying to change but also tired of the world he had once ruled. Maybe I don't actually like the characters lmao, I have some mad respect for the acting. Once he left the show, the hole that he left was truly massive.

4- Hyeonju. Oh, dear Hyeonju what a missed opportunity you were. For those who don't know, Park Saeron who portrays her had a DUI scandal during the filming and thus why she was hastily written out. Her presence was really important, and it felt too unnatural that she of all people would run away after the death of Mr. Choi, they tried to replce her with Dami, but it was a failure especially since she was introduced only two episodes away from the end.

5- Im Beom...why? I just really liked seeing that huge mountain like Blackbear get squandered like a bug by Gun woo and Woojin, so I put him here. Appreciate the actor for being so good to the point of making me want to punch him even though I would just break my bones.

I would add the other characters such as Duyeong and Yangjun (the knife masters) who were really cool but I'm still mentally recovering from what happened to them.

So why was I pleasantly surprised? I was pissed off when the story decided to kill off 3 of, if not the most, important characters in the show. The knife maters and Mr. Choi.
But then I cried, complaining that I was watching the show to escape reality and they were just serving me a cold plate of wake-up soup. Yes, I hate how sudden their death was, but it felt so gut wrenchingly realistic, reminding us of how dangerous this was, how high the stakes are and in the words of Mr. Choi: "All this will end with someone dying".

Which pisses me off even more because as we got closer to the ending, I was surprised how easily KMI had gone down. The same fearless man who fought knife to knife with a master but couldn't have a go against two rookie boxers. When he killed the Mr.Choi and his men, KMI had understood that his boys could not stand against the Gun-Woojin duo and so calculatively attacked them from all sides. But you're telling me this man went down after a simply auditing?

I'm not very happy with the ending nor the characters introduced around that time except for the chaebol's cousin. Speaking f I hate the chaebol and would never trust him with the gold, he looked like he would be laundering it all away from the main guys.

Overall, I still like it and I understand that the difficulties that arose externally to the show, shaped the ending. Still highly recommend it. 9/10!

Also I refuse to accept Duyeong, his wife and kids are dead... they died off screen so bring me the proof!!!!

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No one is going to save you except yourself

The story is okay, the plot is convoluted at some places but the characters are 10/10. I love Sanyoung and Professor Yeom.

The police officer felt like a side character with too much screen time till episode 9, after that I could see his purpose. The trio was formed and the drama was a lot more fun.

Things I liked
- The whole vibe.
- The use of folklore and old stories.
- When they had one subplot story that lasts one or two episodes. (The village, the hungry ghost)
- The scene where Professor Yeom takes Sanyoungs hand and gets saved.
- The scene where the evil ghost goes after the detective and then after the professor.
- The scene where evil ghost hugs Sanyoung and begs to stay.
- The scene where Sanyoung saves herself at the end.
- The mystery about the evil ghost that's unveiling slowly till the end.
- The ending.

Things I thought could be better
- Sanyoungs mother was beyond annoying.
- How did the evil ghost get to Sanyoungs father. They never show that. We can assume it's because he touched the head piece (The same way Sanyoung got the evil ghost).
- Them looking for five things that could seal the evil ghost dragged.
- The older detective dying in the second part of the drama, I feel like it should have happened earlier or plot twist, what if the younger detective died? That would turn everything upside down.
- The younger detective just being there for half of the drama not believing in ghosts.
- Why do Professor Yeom and Sanyoung see ghosts? Is it because they were possessed?
- What happened to the ghost of Sanyoungs father that she saw in the village?
- I didn't like the whole plot where the younger detective has a crush on Sanyoung.

I feel like there's something missing in the story but I don't know what.

I have to say this, I love Professor Yeom and I could watch a whole drama of him going around and teaching about folklore and ghosts.

Overall, I liked it, I had fun watching it, it has a nice message, mystery, good characters and interesting vibes. I would recommend it.

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The only good part: the FL

I'd been waiting for this childhood-friends-to-lovers drama to come out for the longest time, but after watching it...I think the only good thing about it is the FL.

She's the very typical type of FL you see in Chinese youth dramas — not too bright but really optimistic and bubbly, but I absolutely love how Zhang Miaoyi plays her. She's endearing, chaotic, lovable, fun, but most importantly, stands up for herself when it counts. Which is why it was very disappointing that none of the other characters really matched her energy, and it was even more disappointing that the drama gave up on developing her character in exchange for tropey romantic scenes. For example: the FL is apparently good at martial arts but this is suddenly forgotten so that the ML can come and save her.

Just in general, the plot felt choppy. A lot of youth dramas have cookie cutter scenes; the better ones link them together well and make it seem like they're memorable moments in someone's life. In the more typical youth dramas, they remain recognizable tropes and it just feels like one scene after another, which is what this one felt like. In terms of the side characters, they were also very cookie cutter and I didn't really care for the friend group as a whole either. The plot and the characters all just felt like they were going through the motions.

Additionally, this is one of the dramas where the dubbing really negatively affected it. It was very obvious and made lots of dialogue seem off. For the FL, it was best when we got ZMY's original voice, but there were some lines that were dubbed and it was very jarring to see the mouth and sound suddenly not match up. For the ML, the voice didn't match the acting at all.

With that being said, the acting of the ML was...not good. He had very few expressions (and basically no microexpressions) throughout the show, and I just felt like it was very flat and bland.

And so: I don't think I really felt the romance. The hardest part about doing friends-to-lovers is transitioning from the platonic relationship to a romantic one, and that transition was very confusing and random. I wasn't sure when it happened and because of the lackluster acting and lack of well-paced plot progression, the leads felt better off staying friends.

My advice? Watch When I Fly With You instead. It's one of the few recent coming-of-age dramas that did everything right.

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Sweet mini-show about a Fox and a Prince

This is a sweet and adorable mini-show with a storyline surrounding a Fox and a Prince. Even if it is a simple story, we also get an epic love story between the two.
Character wise:
FL is a sweet and peppy Fox Demon who accidentally loses her inner force to Prince Hong Yi (ML). She needs to retrieve it before the first snow falls.
ML is a cunning Prince who plays a fool in order to uncover a conspiracy within the palace.
Acting wise this is not exactly top shelf but since most parts have a comical aspect, this is understandable. This couple often does these kinds of shows and I, personally, am always highly entertained.
So, if you want something fast, sweet and a little mysterious, this is definitely well worth watching.

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Incredible story telling

I couldn't help myself as I've already watch this title 3x. Currently all the dramas with big names are stuck in never ending drama trope. This little short semi low budget drama outshines all of them (imo for those who care about storyline > big name eye candies)

Short 14 episodes (30 min per ep) with no time to waste on filler scenes. Seamless narrative follows a love that transcends time. Outstanding character development of FL, ML & Li Yong.

FL (Zhang Ya Qin) I only saw her in Love in Between but this role Lu Yu An (Demon Queen) really showcased her acting. She's compelling at every age. The moment you meet her, you can see the love & pain in her eyes and later on the 18 year old her ever so cute & innocent.
ML took awhile to warm up. By the 3rd encounter is when I felt he was fully in character so overall he was pretty good.
Lesser known supporting cast: Lu Shi / Emperor / Li Yong were all good in their roles.

The unavoidable ending came to a full circle!

The story, script is refreshing & unique. It's even worth watching every recap in the beginning as the storytelling is so captivating. It's worth while watching this 2nd time in reverse order.

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Shocking on how underrated it is‼️‼️

(This is my first time writing a Review so I hope it makes sense ?)

Out of all the kdramas I've watched this has to be one of my favorite. The acting and writing of this show was amazing especially kim taeri's acting. Ive watched a lot of series that kim taeri has starred in and honestly think this was one of her best. I feel this genre was made for her because it showed off her true potential for example that one scene in episode 10 seriously creeped me out and as a person who loves watching thrillers/horrors it shocked me since im not easily creeped out lmao.

The reason why im giving the acting a 9.5 because I felt like the the grandma could've put more effort into her acting. Her screams of distress(?) were just not doing it for me ifyk yk?. The casting for the other characters was amazing though ?

I'm the type of person to skip boring parts of a series/movies to get to the good parts but everything about this series was interesting not once did I skip a scene. I have to say for me most of the time when watching a kdrama the plot feels rushed and like it's missing something especially the endings of some but this kdrama felt complete. Their was no questioning on what will happen later on it was clear on how the characters might live on into the future. I also like how there was no romance between characters but just simple flashbacks of the old times when it came to hongsae and sanyeong. (although their may have been a bit of tension in my opinion)

Each episode had me left wondering what would happen next and second guessing my predictions, overall this was a great series especially for a 12 episode kdrama.

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Like when you're rained on and left wet or damp and unhappy with that feel.

The premise was interesting and the series had a great start with good themes and some depth.

From the second half, it started losing it's interest on me. The pacing, for one, felt inconsistent. Sometimes it was good and other times, it dragged. Too many unnecessary flashbacks. It's not hard to forget something we just saw five or ten minutes ago or even an episode before for Pete's sake. Needless to say, some information could have worked as just being mentioned without the need for a flashback. I'm beginning to think some of these flashbacks are used to just fill out episodes and give a series more content. Episode 12 turned out to be more enjoyable for me than any of the preceding five episodes, which was a good thing at the very least.

The actor who played Tien did a good job and made this whole thing more interesting. It didn't hurt that I also liked Lomfon. I honestly preferred Lomfon and Tien than Phat and Tai. Phat was great, but Tai... I didn't like how the character was played and wish the actor would have been different.

And then there was the communication issues. I hate it when communication problems become the essence of the whole plot and are dragged on til the end. That it took almost the entirety of the drama for Tai's parents to have a talk with him, and even then, it wasn't anything so mind-blowing and was something he understood in fewer minutes than he spent fuming about. I get that they had to use that to fuel the other plot of him not believing in soulmates, but them hinging on that conflict for nearly the entirety of the series made it even more annoying. Since they were subverting a trope, they could have also done this one and have that conversation happen as soonest possible, but oop! then they'd have nothing to hang on.

Also having a gaping plot hole just for the sake of furthering a plot isn't it. It just seems lazy. Given that that wasn't the usual restaurant Tai went to, and it wasn't one they'd been at before and there was no communication of any meet-up to Tai, how Phat knew the exact restaurant to go to to just happen to see Lom and Tai and have his great misunderstanding, so he could quit his job and move out of Bangkok and Tai would have to take us on a tourism trip to look for him, is a mystery. At least he didn't find him on his first day.

It would have been much better if he was just going there and coincidentally happened to see them, but him showing up there with flowers, (and full intention of making up) makes no sense cause it leaves so many questions. Just lazy.

I wish I could have liked it better, especially since they took the subverting a trope direction, which is not often used in bls, but I just couldn't. The director had a good vision, but it wasn't put together so well. Too many annoying things that would undo any enjoyment I'd had and unfortunately, the main cp weren't enough to pull me in and make me ignore those, so really low attraction and rewatch value.

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Miaoyi Fan Girls Unite

A simple youth drama that had me routing for them all - even Xu LingLong. If you're in the market to watch a youth drama this is one that should definitely be on your list. Its not complex and every character from students to adults are all charming. If you're a fan of Seventeen's Wen Jun you will not be disappointed! The amount of scenes in this show which had be gobsmacked is endless- If you make it to the last few episodes you're in for a treat!

After wifty, I became a fan of Miaoyi and when I saw she was in a drama with Jun I got pretty excited. A lot of people are jealous of her because she gets to act with Jun but I'm the opposite- I'm jealous OF jun. Miaoyi always portrays her characters well as she is a strong actor and her characters can never been seen as annoying. Xiao Tu is a perfect character for her as she can represent her diverse personality. The lead's chemistry is no joke either they look very comfortable and the acting is somewhat natural. Jun did quite a good job compared to how others are commenting on his acting. I would say he did a pretty standard job for a young actor and he was able to show a character that some experienced actors would absolutely butcher. I think the casting and acting was spot on.

The side characters are all well written and acted out but I do wish they spent more time on their development since a lot of them got only a few scenes, which made me feel incomplete for their storylines. Like seeing more of the business side and Ling Chao's roommates as their scenes were sprinkled in with less focus and when any information come up about them I was a little bit confused due to lack of context.

The story feels natural and refreshing as all youth dramas should be. Nothing felt too rushed but at times there would be jumps in the timeline that would confuse me etc at the start of a new episode they're suddenly 1-2 years ahead without any notice. Though it was nothing too major. Overall, the story was very bright all the characters had their charms and no one really stood out in the wrong way. I love when stories incorporate not just the boy being chased but the girl too. I will say at some point whenever a guy appeared around Xiao Tu I hoped it wouldn't turn into a 'crush' situation because they milked that but then again I'd prefer it to be that way round.

To summarise, Miaoyi strikes again. An easy watch with tons of fun and laughter along the way, enjoy!

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Great show - coming from someone who doesn't like ghosts stories!

I am so happy I was able to watch this all in one go. I didn't pay any attention to this drama because I couldn't bring myself to watch another show about a ghost - good or bad. This one was so well made and well told that it didn't feel like a ghost story.

This is a show you shouldn't spoil before watching. Don't read too much and dive into the first episode you'll find yourself watching the next one.

What I loved was that the slight romance (that last episode scene when Hongsae held the cup is going on my top 10 romantic scenes), the historical background, and the acting were all in the perfect doses.

Shout out to the drum OST sound that hypes up the horror scenes.

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Melo Romance/Action Drama that requires your patience

Having watched quite a few first responder dramas (You Are My Hero/A Date with the Future/Light Chaser Rescue), it’s difficult not to compare “Fireworks of My Heart” with them. For many elements, “Fireworks of My Heart” is very similar to these other dramas. What differs, is the romance story of the main leads. The romance between Song Yan (ML) and Xu Qin (F) is melodramatic. The romance in the other dramas are more fluffy and sweet and rom-com like. It has about 50% romance and 50 % cases/missions.

Romance
Song Yan and Xu Qin were forced to be separated due to FL’s parents' strong disapproval. They are reunited after 10 years. The drama did not set a good foundation for viewers to understand their love for each other that could last more than 10 years. I am a big fan of second-chance romance, but I had a hard time rooting for this romance in the initial 10 episodes. I disliked Xu Qin and thought she was pathetic, selfish, cowardly and greedy. She was also very shameless in wanting to get back with Song Yan and became stalkerish and clingy. I had such a difficult time continuing. HOWEVER, I stuck with it and then realized why she acted that way (more about that later below). I was expecting the romance to be rom-com like, but then it dawned on me that this is a melo-romance. Once my mindset changed, I started to enjoy this romance a lot more. I understand why she acted that way and I slowly root for them to be together. When they finally get together, we have some scenes of sweetness and fluffiness, after all the angst we went through. A few decent kisses, a lot of hand-holding and hugging. I find the chemistry between the two leads OK but not great. I heard many of the kisses were censored out because they disappeared towards the last third of the show. This is probably due to the fact that this drama is broadcasted on national TV and the content is more controlled than web dramas.

Xu Qin (female lead)
As mentioned, I disliked Xu Qin so much in the first 10 episodes. But then I realized she has been emotionally abused and manipulated all her life by her mother. She was grateful for being adopted but she was having a hard time standing up for herself. I bet all viewers hate the mother and most are disgruntled about her ending. It was really sad to see how traumatic Xu Qin and her adopted brother are because of their parents. Xu Qin’s relationship with her mother seems like a domestic abuse situation. You want to leave, but you can’t. However, I am glad to see that she’s trying really hard… little by little, step by step. It was rewarding to finally see her stand up and leave her family for the man she loves.

Missions/Cases/Firefighting
If you have seen enough first responders drama, the cases in this drama will not surprise you. They are very similar to those I’ve seen in other dramas. I think “Fireworks of My Heart” actually does a better job in showing a variety of smaller, regular missions, e.g. catching a spider, helping an old lady, snapping a ring off a finger. Compared to what I’ve seen in other dramas, the bigger accidents, fires, and natural disasters are not as dramatic and the CGI not as good.

Firefighters and camaraderie
The boys together are always the most fun and most enjoyable parts in such dramas. You can expect funny banters between the guys, shirtless scenes here and there, training very hard and unfortunately, the loss of a life. I accidentally read a spoiler in the comment section and found out who died. Arggh… don’t be like me and please put a spoiler tag, people! We all look forward to the guest appearance of Vin Zhang, and like many, it was lovely to see his bromance with Yang Yang. I was expecting a certain exit for this character, but it was different than what I imagined (it was better). Now we just need another drama of Yang Yang and Vin Zhang as leads together!

Main Acting
I am a big fan of Yang Yang and think that his acting though might not be excellent, does not warrant all the criticisms. I think he did fine here, not as good as his performance in “Glory of Special Forces”. However, I don’t find him ‘posing’ instead of acting. And if so, it was the director’s fault. His acting of emotional scenes are more subtle since he is the captain and has to maintain a certain demeanor. On the other hand, Wang Chu Ran has a more difficult role to play. You can see the stark difference of her acting when she’s with her family, at work, and with ML. She is emotionless, soft-spoken and obedient when she’s speaking with her mother. She’s a cool, genius doctor who could be authoritative and business like at work. It’s when she’s with ML that her smiles, pouting, whining come out. I think Wang Chu Ran did an admirable job. For a drama playing against Yang Yang, I think she might have gotten my attention just a little more.

Supporting Cast
I do not get the ship between FL and her brother. There’s no way I will pick Meng Yan Chen over Song Yan! Everyone in the supporting cast did a pretty good job with no obvious subpar acting. I find Jiang Yu’s character quite adorable and he’s a good stand-in after Vin Zhang’s exit. I like the feisty little cousin, who stands up for Song Yan and says everything the ‘adults’ want to but are afraid to say. I love the sweet aunt and uncle who are there to support Song Yan. I dislike the subplot between Meng Yan Chen and Ye Zi. There’s something about Ye Zi that I don’t like from the first moment she’s introduced.

I worry many dropped this drama because they couldn’t get past the first 10 episodes, and were also expecting a rom-com instead of a melo. But if you like a more angsty, melodramatic romance in a drama like this, I would recommend this for you. This is not the best drama for its genre, but it has its own charms.


Other Random Observations:
1. Bad teenage wigs!
2. So many coincidences for the leads to meet in the first few episodes.
3. They really like to pour a whole bottle of iodine (?) on the wounds and cause pain.
4. Love the scene when families cook meals for the firefighters (but also quite unrealistic).
5. Like the healthy competition between the doctors. Not too many medical cases.
6. I quite like the songs in the OST. The lyrics are perfect for some scenes.


Completed: 7/29/2023 - Review #335

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BEST SHOW EVER

I LOVE THIS, WE WAITED FOR SEASON 2 FOR ALMOST 3 YEARS AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT. IT'S SO GOOD AND THE ACTORS HAVE GROWN SO MUCH AND THEY FEEL LIKE FAMILY. I REWATCHED SEASON ONE 6 TIMES AND THERE IS NO DOUBT I'LL REWATCH THIS SEASON ALSO. THE PLOT, THE ACTING, AND THE FILMING ARE JUST IMMACULATE AND THEY CAN'T BE TOPPED. THE STORY IS TOP-TIER AND HASN'T BEEN DONE BEFORE. IT'S NOT CRINGEY AND IT'S FUNNY AND SERIOUS AT THE SAME TIME. THEY KNOW HOW TO BALANCE THE EPISODES AND IT'S JUST SATISFYING. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS JUST PERFECT. I DON'T THINK ANY SHOW CAN TOP IT AT ALL

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Not happy with the ending....

Since the drama had started I always had a guts feeling that something bad happened with th ML's character . Because the drama went into flashback ,in present time they both ere not there and FL's character's daughter got her diary in whi h her story had mentioned . Seriously I am not happy with the ending . I am all the time emotionally connected with the ML's character . This character's didn't get good ending and at the end where he had disappeared ,why they never be together ?In the end drama had shown that everyone's life then get better then why were they never meet ? Whatever the episode I were watching but my mind always been thinking that what would be happened in the end? Why were the main characters not be together? Why ? I liked the story but ending disappointed me.

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Terrible characterization; unrealistic plot line ; one dimensional acting

One of the worst kdramas I have ever seen. I hatedthe female lead who was afraid for all throughout the 40 episodes; the ridiculousness of storyline -complete face change in a month and surgery with no swollen mess at least! So unrealistic. The coincidences are unbelievable; the actor who portrayed the husband has only one expression - angry and trying hard to look intense; the surgeon who looks like gay - I thought that’s what he was at first a gay surgeon. The character s are all one dimensional. The ost was soooo bad- felt like the 70’s music overly dramatic and so oldies. Don’t waste your time on this. I’m being kind with a half star rating.

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