★ 2025

sizzling chemistry and loved that they were so open about the scenes. higa was hot and gentle at the same time, and sei was so cute and adorable.

a 10/10 drama. the ACTING! the tension was there from the very first moment wow! i'd watch anything with these 2 actors esp ting ting. the cinematography, the pacing, the music, the dialogues, everything is amazing! wow! reminds me of "where your eyes linger" for the expressions, the dialogues, the longing, etc.

I felt so bad for ting ting. she has always been a rock-solid support to yi ming. I honestly aspire to be someone like her. I also feel bad for the husband because he has every right to feel cheated and used. And mainly I feel bad for xIao zhe, that child is just there in a mess.

absolutely beautiful cinematography. I don't remember watching a kdrama based in countryside before this. both the leads have nice personalities and are charming! very happy to start it.

wow, binge-watched the entire series. it took me some time to understand what exactly happened that time and I could not understand why dohoe was being so cold towards him in the beginning of 12 years later, but it all got tied up neatly at the end. I loved loved loved juyeong and want everyone to be like that for real. having a partner like juyeong must be the best thing!

I liked how they actually had real problems instead of the usual cheating and lying stuff.  some of the stuff felt a bit rushed but I think if I rewatch it I'll get a clearer picture.

jiwoon's acting and the feels! wow.

[watched while ongoing]

I love seung won (the president) so much! he is the ideal type person: tall, slender, good at studies, soft spoken, mature, caring, and ofc handsome. I giggled so bad at chanyoung's confession, that was so smooth!

Ep 6: I love Seung Won istg. I like how Chanyoung said that and hence gave Heesu a chance to see that his wishes are like vanishing dust. I also love the fact that Chanyoung said that this time I approached her first. And ofc, Seung Won gave Heesu time to heal and didnt confess right away. Heesu has been liking Chanyoung for so long he cannot just oscillate into liking SeungWon now can he? I think next episode will be Heesu having his heart-broken and SW will help him cope.

Ep 7: I think this was the clearest episode maybe bcz they focussed on Heesu and SeungWon. The theme of remnants of a star and remnants of a crush was executed very well and I liked that Heesu had a falling out with Chanyoung so that he can completely keep him out of the picture. I also love how inspite of others forcing SeungWon to confess, he just stuck to supporting Heesu silently and also testing whether he gets jealous of JiYu or not. ehehe

Ep 8: Wow this episode really frustrated me. I skipped Chan Young and Jiyu's scenes cz honestly I have no interest left in their storylines. The hand touching scene was so good! I don't think that the end will be satisfactory though.

Ep 9 & 10: I just focused on Seung Won and Heesu. The middle sister irritated me bcz she treated her boyf like shit and then she is like why is he breaking up with me.  The boyf was too generous I would have walked out long ago.  Heesu and Seung Won were cute and their hand-holding scene in the bus was soo cute!

Ep 1&2: so cute and both of them acted really well esp the guy who had the obv crush.
Ep 3&4: had skipped but ended up being funny & charming.
Ep 5&6: Such a sad ending I was shocked for some time. The Jugyeong guy acted so well!
Ep 7&8: uncharmed.
3 stars for the three stories. didn't watch the last episode.

wow, the cinematography is beautiful as usual. i honestly don't know how japan does it every time. the colors are such that it feels like an old  drama although it is only 10 yrs older.

i totally understand sayuri. how refreshing it is to find a well-written fl in a japanese drama. the fact that she is actually a teenager but doesn't talk in that animated manner is fascinating. obv she will react like that. i kinda like sayuri so much that i dislike yui. she def started dating that guy for validation and he even tried to force kiss her that idiot and when he started drooling at yui obv sayuri felt bad thinking how her father chose yui's family and praised yui for her photography and now even the guy she is dating likes yui. her feelings are 100% justified. i get that since yui is older she "understands" that parents have lives and deserve romance but we can't and shouldn't expect that from sayuri especially after her mother passed away not 2 years ago. she is feeling that hamletesque regret that her mother and in extrapolation herself was betrayed and that her father is greedy and shallow.  the guy next door realised that sayuri doesn't actually like that taller guy and hence offered to listen to her worries. he rightfully realised that's what she needs the most atm. i honesty don't understand why yui kissed her but let's see. for now, i love sayuri and hence the drama. and also the visual aspect.  

this is the kind of dramas we see screened at film festivals.

they have genuine tension and angst. ji hwan is really charismatic. that kiss by the lake gave me butterflies! 1 star for jin hwan, 1 star for their chemistry. the story became less and less coherent and dull.

misa is a good actor and a nice female lead. the one who is strong from a female gaze. the guy isn't great but neither is he overbearing so it's ok. plus they have chemistry so that's a good sign. the things they are doing differently from the korean version are all good: not dumping every bad thing on reina and tomoya, focusing on misa and her self-actualization, doesn't have the "makjang" level - dramatic yelling or announcement thing they do.

i like the three of them sumiyoshi, miku and misa, they have such a nice bond. the worst husband and the worst mil was played very well by them wow. the actor for tomoya is amazing!

from the 8th ep onwards i felt so much more invested in reina's story. the casting for reina and tomoya was perfect. the ml wataru was calm and level-headed and solution-oriented but i would have liked a little bit more expressions on his face. overall, it was a good watch and a good blend between calming melodrama and thrilling drama.