finished 2026

I was interested when I first heard about this, but then less interested when I heard the plot involved a soul swap. However, this drama exceeded any expatiations I might've had. It handled the soul swap in a way that made sense and was also interesting. I enjoyed every episode starting from the very first one, and unlike a lot of dramas I didn't loose interest at episode 12! This felt like an old kdrama in a lot of ways and gave me hope that kdramas are going back to how they used to be. 

finished 2.22.26 

This drama was almost perfect. The first half: impeccable. The second half: a little rough. I think this director excels at the smaller, more intimate stories rather than the big battles/court intrigue because, again the first half was so so good, but the second fell short.
It almost seemed like our leads were pushed to the side towards the end as the story hurried to finish (some things in the end were extremely convenient). It also seems like Xie Zheng was de-fanged a bit in terms of his character. I would've liked to see him be more brutal, like how it was hinted at in the beginning.
However, all in all, this was such a good drama and I really loved it. I'm certainly going to watch anything this director does because WHAT do you mean he's delivered two back to back bangers?!

finished 4.8.26

Director Edward about Tian Jiarui: I want that man in countless headbands! And I want him to cry at least once an episode! Also get him a brother! It doesn't matter if they die or if he's just a replacement brother make it happen!

What can I say about this drama? I think at this point I know what I'm getting into when I watch this director/writer's work. He's fantastic at creating relationships and characters that feel so alive. He's not so fantastic at creating coherent plots. It's often convoluted and confusing, and I think that's the dividing line for people that enjoy his work and those that don't. For me, I love his characters too much to really care about the messy plot, and honestly even if it is messy at least it's different and interesting (unlike the many copy and paste cdramas coming out every other week).
I will say that Veil of Shadows is certainly one of the most convoluted of Director Edward's dramas. It really got confusing at the end and if he is going to have five climaxes and deaths (oh wait! they're alive again!) it begins to loose it's impact. I totally respect the people that didn't like this drama, but I'm not one of them. I'm completely aware it's not that great, but Li Jing and the rest of the crew were there pulling me along all the way to the end.

So keep it up Director Edward! Keep making your messy dramas. But please hire Tian Jiarui for them all.

This was a solid drama! It had me interested the entire way through (12 episodes were definitely the right amount) and I wasn't sure who the killer was until almost the very end. Everything was really well done and I'm happy that kdramas seem to be picking up again. 

finished 1.27.26 

This was a pretty good sequel. The pacing was a bit better than the first season, but it also felt like there was a lot of waffling around. Like, I do think, given what the plot was, it didn't have to take that long to get to the end.
But we've got a fantastic cast (surprise! Park Seojoon has a cameo...my guy should certainly play another character like this one), the acting is great, the filming is quite good, and the fight/stunts are excellent.  

Lastly, why, in that big ol' house, were Gonwoo and Woojin sharing a room WITH a bunkbed?? 

finished 4.4.226

I enjoyed this. I wasn't crazy about it, but I really did look forward to each week's new set of episodes. I think the plot was pretty good, even if some of the willful misunderstanding was a bit annoying, and I liked the characters. However, I didn't care AT ALL about the sisters/grandma and their sideplots. 

finished 4.3.26

Spirit Fingers is my FAVORITE webtoon so my expectations were extremely high for the drama. Everything about the drama was almost perfect (The overall vibe, the characters--KEVIN!!! MY GUY) except for one huge issue (for me). I think U Yeon was miscast. She's one of the best characters from the webtoon as well as a hard character to play well, and unfortunately I don't think the actress pulled it off.
It kind of put a damper on the drama overall. I really wish I could've loved this, but....

finished 3.28.26 

I FINALLY finished this after starting and stopping it so many times. I actually do like this drama and think it's well made, but it's also SO slice of life that it can be quite boring at times. 

finished 3.1.26 

I really liked this at first, but the longer it went it the more draggy it seemed to get. Certain parts went on too long and not enough time was spent on others. I do think it was a fun idea and I liked it a lot for a little while, but in the end it just couldn't hold my attention. 

finished 3.31.26 

This isn't a bad drama, but it's not for me. I think that's because I never connected with the leads (this might be due to the actors, who are good, but not people I tend to vibe with) and the writing started to bother me halfway through. The (willful) miscommunication was starting to grate, which I do understand was kind of the point. I just didn't like it.  

finished 1.29.26 

I really don't have any attachment to this series one way or another and I really did enjoy parts of this season, I really find the second half a bit lackluster. Part of the problem is simply because the show can't have a complete arch because the existing anime isn't finished (and is super long). It's more like a series of different adventures, which isn't bad, but not really for me. 

finished 3.26.26 

It took me three years to finally finish this, which says a lot about this drama. It's frustrating because I actually think this drama could be really good. It has an interesting plot, good acting, and decent filming, but it's strangely slow and boring at times. The pacing is SO bad and it's probably 2-4 episodes too long.
Anyway. 

finished 3.29.26

I don't usually bother with minis but this one wasn't too bad. The budget was well used and the actors looked like real people (and were decent actors too). It's a pretty typical reincarnation drama, but doing a speed run (because it's so short). 

finished 2.15.26 

There really wasn't anything that I liked about this. I do think it was well acted and filmed, and even some of the twists were interesting, but overall I didn't like a single character and didn't want anyone to win/get away with their crimes. 

finished 2.18.26 

I had very little idea of what this drama was about when I first saw the trailer, but I thought it looked cool and I enjoy Zhou Yiran so I was looking forward to this. At first I liked it, but expected the editing/filming/acting to get better. But that never happened. By the midpoint the poor editing and filming was starting to get to me and by the end I was downright sick of it.
In general when the editing/filming is bad, I can usually look past it if the plot and acting is good, but this drama could hardly give me that. I liked bits of the plot here and there, and I'm probably not being very fair to Bao Shangen, who is as cute as can be, but she unfortunately couldn't lead this drama and I never truly believed her acting.
Overall, I was incrediably let down by this drama and wish that Zhou Yiran could've been in something better.   

finished 3.13.26

Solid idea of a celebrity/normal person romance that's completely wasted by typical modern cdrama storytelling. I just mean that every single time there was a chance of some conflict, the situation was solved so easily. Most of this drama is spent on giving extremely detailed info about aerospace engineering and the two leads just doing normal things together.
However, this certainly isn't the worst and I was interested at times (and interested enough to finish it, even if I fastforwarded most of the latter episodes)

finished 4.25.26

Yeah. I know the rating is really low, but I pretty much hate watched the second half of this drama. I kept waiting for it to get better and it never did. The writing is just...not good. The plot and pacing and character arcs are so bad. The two leads did NOT have chemistry and I'm probably being really mean but the FL was either miscast/given the wrong direction/or just a bad actress. The only saving grace for me was little guy Woo Joo (and his relationship with ML)

finished 3.21.26 

This is probably one of my favorite dramas. It's so good. The characters and their relationships with each other is truly the heart of the show and what drives it forward, but the overall idea of the Japanese experimenting on the Koreans and accidently creating a monster is so fascinating too. 

rewatched 2.22.26 

Listen. I get why Lady Maeda was obsessed with Jang Taesang. I get it. 

In all seriousness, this season isn't quite as good as the first, but I still enjoy it very much. I'm a sucker for superhuman experimentation stories and this one is so interesting just because there's a fine line between monster and superhuman. I wish more time had been spent with Lady Maeda and her twisted relationship with Taesang and even Seungjo. She's such a good villain and she's kind of wasted here. I would've liked to see more of all of them before Taesang's nanjin was removed.
I wouldn't say no to another season, but that doesn't seem likely at this point. I do wish that dramas would stop leaving loose ends just for the possibility of another season. 

rewatched 3.1.26