Alchemy of Souls

Superb fantasy, thrills and feels!

I absolutely love this drama, from a fabulous cast, where not one was a weak link (including all the great supporting/small parts cast), to great writing and direction.
Jung So-min is wonderful as the strong soul (Nakdu) in a weak body (Mu Deok), with a great dialect to boot. Lee Jae-wook partners her perfectly and keeps his character just the right side of entitled, a little resentful and rebellious; without being irritating at all.
Go Yun-jung was also gripping as the actual Naksu and a character I really liked as her story unfolded. Mistreated, lied to and manipulated to become a deadly assassin.
Arin, as Jin Cho-yeon, was suitably spoilt and brattish, but her character matured a fair bit as the drama played out. I was very pleased with one aspect of her character's life, as I liked the character concerned.
I loved Hwang Min Hyun as Seo Yul, too ~ I was really torn about his character... if/when you watch, you might see why.
Some of my favourite interactions were actually between Naksu (as Mu Deok) and the Prince, Go Won (Shin Seung-Ho). She knew exactly how to handle him, but it was most enjoyable when she pushed her luck! He definitely has a (large) soft spot for her.
The pace of this drama is exactly how I like it; there are action scenes, light hearted banter and amusing moments, sadness and intrigue. Whilst main characters talk, ponder and reflect, it never felt slow or drawn out to me. In more complex plots, knowing where a character's actions are coming from and what motivates them, all add to understanding the story.
There are flashbacks, but well timed and enhancing the plot, rather than confusing it, which can sometimes happen.
The music fits well too, without overpowering scenes or being mismatched. I absolutely love Car, The Garden's song, 'Scars Leave Beautiful Trace'.
I love fantasy, romance and action, with humour to balance. Whilst the romance side is relatively low key, it is there and, for me, the level fits perfectly within the story.
A lot of people have complained and written unpleasant things about Jung So-min not being the lead in S2.... I find this both annoying and weird.
I am a very big fan of JSM ~ but she has not been replaced, or written out, so why the backlash?
Her actual character was never Naksu, but Mu Deok, whose body Naksu inhabited for S1.
If Jang Uk fell in love with Naksu for her personality and drive, then he does not love the body, but the soul.
If the actresses switching again is necessary for the story to continue and to be plausible, then so be it.
The actresses returning to their original characters, was always going to be a possibility.
I admit I shall miss JSM in the LFM role, but, I am excited for the story's conclusion and hope it is a huge success for the entire cast and crew.

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fed up about the characters' stupidity!

I started watching this because of its high score on MDL's community. but soon the problems began... all the characters are incredibly stupid! this just makes me feel frustrated and angry.
example: the female lead changes body and decides to run away from a boat. but her new body is so weak that she couldn't. you would think that she understood the situation, but no! she will try again and again to fight back in many situations, as if she was her old strong self, and every time she will be beaten up! she could have think about training her new body, exercising, something! but no! she just run into situations head first then is beaten up.
and the same goes for all the other characters: they go into fights and problems without planning any way out, are beaten up, and feel like crap!
I am sure at one point they will be strong enough to fight back, but if this is all about muscles and empty heads I don't need this show.

when watch this? I don't know... never?

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EXCELLENT

This is a high fantasy drama, and typically I tend to stray away from fantasy k dramas simply because it is usually not executed well. But I am glad I decided to give this a chance, the chemistry between the actors is magnificent. I hadn't watched too much of the main leads' dramas before so I was a little hesitant however the interactions between each of the characters are so interesting to watch and I am enjoying each storyline within the show. During the pandemic, I hadn't enjoyed a k-drama in quite a while, but with this drama, I've rewatched each episode that has come out multiple times because the imagery is beautiful and the acting is really captivating. Definitely give this drama a try, if you're on the fence!

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Epic Addiction

I thought I will be facing a period of hollowness after FROM NOW ON SHOWTIME. Who knows I am hooked immediately to another amazing drama. I usually don't like historical drama, but because of JSM, I gave it a try. Goodness, it is no turning back.

From the casts, OST, storyline, cinematography, CGI ... absolutely 5 stars and more. I am addicted. While waiting for another week's next episodes I rewatched the previous episodes again and again. This is how crazy I get. Perhaps hypnotised by the crazy master and student :)

The couple is so beautiful, matching and funny. I pray for a happy ending.

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Okay

This is my first time giving a review, so it could be quite messy and unnecessarily lengthy. I'm halfway in, but I believe my thoughts are likely to stay the same until the show ends. I'll elaborate my rating for each category as below:

Story: 7.5/10
You probably read the synopsis in advance. Now back to my review.
The plot has a fine setup and the mystery factor tie into. Definitely not a simple one, but you can go along with it. You don't have to squeeze until the very last drop of your brain to connect the dots. The clues are quite in your face so you can guess some secrets right beforehand, even if it's a few seconds to an actual reveal on screen. But still, there are rooms to speculate and sometimes things turned out completely different from what some had theorized. Overall, it is unexpected and complex, but it's not crazy whatsoever.
About the romance factor, the relationships among the characters play out well, you can see the dynamics work. The love lines are still in the developing process as of ep. 10, but the love triangles do be a bit exhausting at times (yes, there are more than one.)
The script itself sometimes makes the execution fall flat for many details in the show. I can't specifically say which, but there are occasions when I felt some ideas can be explored further or given with a better explanation. Some scenes such as Park Jin and Miss Kim's bickering were extended longer than I preferred.

Acting: 9/10
To be frank, the acting is quite solid and convincing. Many of the cast are experienced and it's believable for them to pull off a good act. Even the so-called "idol actors" such as Minhyun and Arin both have the potentials and are capable to go further if they continue to improve themselves. The chemistry between the two leads, Jaewook and Somin is very over the place, which makes the dynamics of their relationship more real, hence why I ship their characters hard. Everyone has the visual and is talented as well. Perfect cast.

Music: 7.5/10
There is nothing much to say here, the tracks are played here and there, they definitely push the emotions, but they are not outstanding and leave no impressions to me. I personally would not look them up and listen to them.

Rewatch value: 5/10
Maybe I just rate this in a 50/50 way because I'm neutral about this. I'm not someone who rewatch shows, so I think I can't speak for the rest.

So that wraps up my overall thoughts about the series. You should give it a watch if you are interested in the fantasy genre and want to have a show as an escapism. It's a weekly show as well, so you can take breaks between the episodes to let it sink in. Hope you'll have a good watch!

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Give it a try!

This was a big budget drama that borrowed a lot from Wuxia dramas and it's super obvious when you start watching. Personally I loved the effect and was immediately pulled into the story. The costumes, sets, effects and music were all on point and amazing. The amount of care and effort is so visible in every frame. This drama has a very typical underdog story that is also propped up by an underlying mystery which takes 30 episodes to fully unravel. I feel that the first season was fine for the most part and had a lot of satisfying “anime-like” moments that pulled you deeper and deeper into the world. The problems start becoming more apparent when you consider the romantic aspects of this show and it falls a little flat. The acting in this show is phenomenal from everyone involved when you set aside the romantic parts. In the first season I couldn’t help feel a distinct lack of chemistry from the leads… The secondary couples are not not even worth mentioning at all. The chemistry between the main couple does manage to improve in the second part due a major change in the depiction of the characters. Despite the fact that the romance manages to improve in the second part, the characters all get REALLY dumb. They also start saying and doing the dumbest stuff to move the plot along and some of the retcons (pertaining to reincarnation) were too much to be acceptable. All in all its a pretty good show but it wasn’t tied up well enough to be truly great, memorable or rewatchable.

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warmly and positive drama , idk it gives me such feelings ) !

This drama has great energy! ) warmly and positive!))
I saw many reviews about this drama in the feed before I started watching, so , finally I can say - yes! worth to watch it ! ) , super interesting, funny and cool drama)! Lee Jae Wook -showed his character as well , it was amazing !!I fell in love with him hahaha Cho Son Min I dont like but .. she so funny so too plays very cool ) her and Jae Wooks facial expressing super hilarious !))))
I liked most of all that they made the plot at the same time in the style of historical fantasy, but with some modern funny facial expressions, mimic hahaha)) especially Lee Jae Wook! That way he smiles sarcastically or looks at people haha it was so hilarious and cute )) , to see them arguing or resisting in a modern way )
I liked the plot of 1st and 2 nd season too, at first I was apprehensively thinking whether to watch it or not, coz I didn’t know how Koreans make historical fantasy (I saw the Chinese ones usually and only earlier lol ), but after reading the reviews I decided to watch and I was drawn in from the first series)) there is no point in describing the same thing as it is in the description , just if you like the theme of jokes and magic and all that+, - you won't regret it!
very beautiful music and I liked the outfits)
Chan Wook , when he staring at u , its looks so mega hilarious idk lol that somehting ! he has funny cool smile )) i fell donw in lol he super funny guy ahah but he has staning look in the historical outfit ! handsome !
ther are many jokes in the modern way in the historical ancient atmosphere so its gives u kind mixed funny feelings ahaha their replies ( idk i watched in english and russian so can only guese if in korean its sounds same crazy funny too ahah )
prince Go Won looks hilarious too ! dumb a little when thinking a lot but then boom and gives u smart reply or ask some serious question so he only look like dumb but inside he so smart ) cool that at the end he chosed Chan Wooks side and helped to kill the Jin Mu ..

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Now that I have finished it reading, I am feeling sad and empty inside. It was such a great journey. Jung UK's character was my favorite, he was always the light of the drama, I feel bad for him because he thought he lost his life by the hand of his merciless wicked assassin master, Naksu. The love of his life. But his resurrection from death was my favorite scene.
It was so fantastic and mesmerizing. Loved it very much.
And the friendship among Mo duek, Seo Yul and Park dong-gu was so funny and heart touching. At the last moment, Park Dong-gu hesitate to kill Mo duek shows his affection for their friendship.
And the crown prince's friendship with Mo duek was also so touching. They saw each other's real face though they were sometime stood against each other, they were each other's well wisher and hope each other to live a good life.
And the love story of Park Jin and Maidservant Kim so touching and funny. Their interaction was more interesting and comedic, they supported each other for many years and had each other's back.
Lastly feel bad Park dong-gu and Jin Cho Yeon's wedding day ruined because of Jin Mu. That character is so hateful.

This story has everything beautiful. Beautiful story, great actor, and they act so beautifully. Magic and supernatural things blends so naturally that it made it fantastic. Everything seems logical. I loved it very much, haven't watched such great fantasy drama in a long time. It will always remain my favorite drama.

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My favourite Drama

This is the best drama that I've seen, From the story, Characters, Acting, Visuals, Everything was great.
It's not the type of show I'd watch but decided to give it a go and it was incredible.

I saw Lee Jae Wook in Do Do So So La La Sol and thought he was very good so I was expecting big things from him in this show and he killed it.

The whole cast and side characters are some of the best I've seen in shows, The visuals and fight scenes were done really well.

I highly recommend this show to anyone, It's a light hearted show with comedy, great fighting and a great story.

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Gosh now that is a drama you spend money on

this drama is one of those that were so good that I had to quit watching it for a few days just to have it in my watching list.
Just finished it and it would take me about a month to get over Mu Deok and accept Naksu who is in the next part. I am really impressed and depressed how they gave us a sad ending after a supposedly happy one really let them get married pleaseeeee. Why must you make us suffer like this.

Looking at it more rationally it is a fast passed and thrilling drama you can just watch the acting is A+ you will cry with them and laugh with them and just forget it's a drama. It has a unique charisma that is absolutely entrancing. The OST is amazing and just gives you goosebumps and the VFX is also great.

Like you can just see this drama and say "Gosh now that requires hard work."
Must watch

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And it's here! Finally, a series where Lee Jae-Wook can shine. For me it is perfect here :).

I dug into it for a long time, I was afraid that it would be cheap, especially when it comes to effects. Well, I was terribly wrong again. The effects are great, of course we don't avoid the classics (flying), but it's very limited. Otherwise, there are great fights and the aforementioned effects are also very nice. But what makes this series special are the characters and the story. The characters do not have a single flaw and the story is original, well-entangled and exciting. Even so much so that after a very long time I couldn't wait for the next part and watched until late at night. The main two are incredibly likable and their relationship softened me to an excellent degree. The chemistry between them shines and the actress who played Mud-eok is perfect. Her transitions from Naks to maid are worth it. The creators know how to perfectly combine comedy and drama. There are a lot of really funny scenes where you can really laugh, but it's not a problem to toughen up. Too bad they didn't make more room for the main characters after they finally got closer. Sometimes Koreans annoy me, that in the best start they kind of dampen it down, stop and start solving other things. But otherwise the magic effects are great. I highly recommend it, 20 parts was too little.

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