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Fun concept well-told and acted, surprisingly complex and emotional characters :)
29-year-old Tae Myung Ha gets transported into a virtual world game where he exists as his 19-year-old-self. He's given a mission to make Cha Yeo Woon happy, else there will be a dire consequence. Will Myung Ha accomplish this mission? Would Cha Yeo Woon be happy if he likes him, though?A fluffy romance with thrilling twists. It has a unique concept, time-travelling to a virtual game world and using the game prompts to move the plot. I really appreciate that the mission was dropped right away, and that they explained the rules and world-building so well. I think those rules are very important to get me on board with any time-travel story. I also like that they added details about the ālove supremacy zoneā, debuffs, etcā¦ which make for an exciting watching experience.
Among all characters, Myung Ha was the most engaging for me. His 29-y.o. confidence stays in his 19-y.o.-self, so he doesn't hesitate to speak up his mind based on the game prompts. I like how he initiate conversations to Yeo Woon. Furthermore, him being fish-out-of-water in this game allowed him to face his own internal struggles besides doing his mission, so itās easy to feel sympathy and invested on him.
As the story goes on, the foreshadowing danger sneaked up when I wasn't aware of it and the way they do it felt thrilling. The last two episodes gets quite emotional, but also a little confusing, and I felt it ended a bit random. I know it's a weird word to describe an ending, but that's how I felt. Nevertheless, it was fun overall!
Mar, 2024
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A simple fluff with almost no angst, perfect for this short drama, I appreciate each episode. Itās well-paced, well-acted, and has well-behaved characters. This is one of the rare friends-to-lovers tropes that Iām not feeling icky about. While it might be a classic story with well known tropes, the execution makes it fun and entertaining that I think many will enjoy. I loved how they utilize a dating game for storytelling at the epilogues, with spot on dialogues.
Thanks to the well-written script and natural chemistry of Lee Seung Gyu and Lee Jong Hyuk, both leads were equally exciting. Gi Tae is confident, positive, but not overbearing. He gave the right amount of playful teasing. I like how he puts Lee Wan on the spot and makes him flustered like how he did to him 7 years ago. I like Lee Wan, too, for how ārealisticā his character was. Introspective and hardworking, he value things that are important to him. They are just so lovely together. They made my heart happy.
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Twisty plot with full-blown crazy characters
This drama was chaotic and mysterious at first, but also intriguing. Many secrets to unfold, who is bad and who is not. None but one of the leads in this show are truly likable. I wasn't always felt connected with our female lead Jae Won, maybe because her mannerism and thinking process was hard to belief.With each passing episode, there were satisfying moments, but the plot twists are annoying and becomes a hot mess towards the end. Just when you think it's time to warp up, the next scene is another drama and not everything of it makes sense. It was a quite enjoyable watch, though. Mainly due to Jae Won who is strong, bearing and still can attack despite being hurt a lot of times. Also, the villain, who is obsessive, borderline psychotic and selfish, carried the show's momentum and excitement. Great performances by cast all-around, especially So Yi Hyun, Jang Na Ra, Lee Ki Taek and Park Ho San. Despite not feeling head over heels over this drama, their acting kept me wanting to watch until the end.
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Interesting characters and well-written story.
A serial murder case has been happening around the people acquainted to the employees of a local supermarket, intriguing these employees to secretly start investigating the case. They tried looking for clues among the various items purchased by their customers. As more suspects appear, their spectrum of suspicion widens, messing the teamwork among themselves."The Killer's Shopping List" is unique and well-written, it's only 8 episodes. It was amazing since the first episode. It was funny and bright, yet it was smart. From the opening scene, it sets up the story and the characters so well. Starring Lee Kwang Soo as Ahn Dae Sung, an intelligent employee of MS mart, owned by his mother Jung Myung Sook (Jin Hee Kyung).
I am not a big fan of murder mystery, but this drama was enjoyable. Comedy and crime sounds like a weird mix of genres, and there were a lot of seriousness, triggering topics around the cases (child abuse and trauma), but somehow they were able to bring comedy through the characters. They're also not one-dimensional characters, they have their own personality. As the plot reveals what they're individually dealing with, it makes them feel more human. I was grateful and relieved with how they handled a trans character. What I didn't like is few other characters that felt a nuisance because their behaviour and choices were annoying. As far as investigation goes, they didn't lose the momentum although by the end the culprit was quite obvious. The ending was satisfying, a surprisingly good watch!
-Feb 2024, Yovita
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Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!
2 people found this review helpful
"Cherry Magic" is funny, adorable, and light-hearted. The fantasy aspect might sounds superficial and weird but the story touches upon common problems that most of us might face in our everyday social life, like fear of misunderstanding, or hesitation to express ourselves, or to stay in our comfort zone.
The romance was cute and healthy, but not really memorable, maybe because Yuichi is simply your typical perfect boyfriend, so there's nothing really special within their relationship. The second couple, on the other hand, is a nice bonus. Theyāre endearing, cheesy and their chaotic hijinks were fun!
What gets me invested is Adachi. Even though he felt uneasy with his mind reading ability, it helps him to pursue his dreams and social skills that he ends up relying on it. At some point, he wants to be independent from this magic, and I wanted to know how he handles this challenge. By the end, I appreciate his character development, but I wish it came much earlier so they can flesh out more of his independence. I think it would make a more satisfying redemption for him.
-Jan 2024, Yovita
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Boo angst! Yay silliness!
If you've been watching dramas for a while, the premise might should familiar: an immature chaebol boss, Cha Ji Heon (Ji Sung), falling for his secretary, No Eun Seol (Choi Kang Hee). Rather than inserting melo and angst, Protect the Boss brings a very fun lead couple.No Eun Seol is a kick ass and I love her being strong and independent, even reluctant to fall in love. It's rare to see a female lead who is not a damsel in distress. Ji Heon, instead of being the perfect businessman weāve become so familiar within dramas, he has a stage fright. As he's trying to overcome it with Eun Seol's helps, romance ensues and I get to see his persistent and confident side. Their dialogues and hijinks are hilarious, kept me entertained throughout.
The highlights of this drama is the clever use of clichƩ, which makes it a refreshing experience. For example, Ji Heon and his father relationship are not frustrating despite the conflict between them. His father loves him deeply and secretly support him, which is a rare thing in dramas.
I have to admit, the pacing suffers in some episodes of the series, though it is not too boring that it ruined the enjoyment. Overall, entertaining, a solid ending and excellent acting from the leads, for sure. It has a good combination of romance, comedy, and friendships!
-Jan 2024, Yovita
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Personally, I enjoyed watching the movie version much better than the series for the pacing reason. In the series it keeps going on and on for quite some time before I understand Kiyoi's inner thoughts. Also, the ending of season 1 opens a great potential for a more progressive relationships in season 2, but story of season 2 turns out to be just okay.
What I think it does excellently well is the unique power play between the two, which I don't see often. The one who is dominant in the relationship is actually not the dominant one sexually and that makes it very interesting to watch. My favorite scene is (no surprise here,) definitely the bathtub scene. If you know, you know (ā§ć®ā¦) /. They were together in a bathtub and one of them was getting shy so he turn his back on the other one and facing a mirror. As we see his expression in a mirror, the other one approaches him and grab kiss him. How fantastic, the whole thing is just hot!
-Jan 2024, Yovita
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The artistic visuals just comforted me so much.
Ban Ji Eum remembers all her previous lives when she reach the age of 11. She never looks back to her past each time she reincarnates. In her untimely passing in her 18th life due to a car accident, she left her childhood love, Moon Seo Ha, who lives solitarily with a PTSD from the accident afterwards. When Ji Eum is reborn in her 19th life, she wants to reconnect with him and her family she left behind.This show looks very artistic throughout. Cinematography, costumes, and the color grading are all delightful. Itās very well-shot and edited, that the emotional scenes hit me perfectly. Shin Hae Sun's portrayal of Ban Ji Eum is exceptional! She really shows a sense of wisdom and maturity in her speech that I feel sheās an ancient soul. I loved the acting of other cast too, especially the child actors in their characters. They really create a lasting impression and good foundation for me to invest the characters relationships, which is difficult to achieve if thereāre many faces and lives involved. My favorite bonds are: the reunion between Ji Eum and her younger niece from her 17th life, to whom she was an uncleā¦ and her reconnection with her 18th life sister, Yoon Cho Won. It really shows how familial bonds retain regardless of gender and time. The romance is okay, I don't think the chemistry is super strong, but they have sweet and emotional moments that adds to the pacing.
Each episode in the first-half was very interesting, but unfortunately, I didnāt feel that way on the second half because the mystery behind the car crash was handled in an uninteresting way and resolved too simply, that it feels a bit anticlimactic. The ending was really cute and acceptable, to say the least. Despite any plot holes and weak subplots, I really enjoy watching it.
Dec 2023, Yovita
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I like the over-the-top energy level in the music, as well as our four main leads for their own complexities. Love Park Jin Young's character as Lee Ahn, obviously. I came over this show from The Devil Judge because I'm impressed by him and would never miss the chance to watch him act. Not only does he portray that very light-hearted, very youthful energy very well but he also has a couple hard-hitting moments. There is one where he finds a puppy and brings the puppy home and I legitimately teared up. Another thing, since he needs to make skin-to-skin contact to pick up a psychometry, he always wears long baggy sweater sleeves that passes his hands. I just think itās a nice detail that explains his personality that he's not picking up psychometry randomly while he's living his day-to-day life.
The story was interesting and also heartbreaking. I caught myself questioning so many things throughout... Although I enjoyed the conflicts, a few dark and gruesome scenes were hard to watch. I got a bit bored by the ending because the suspense felt rather flat and dull. I'm glad that we somewhat got a hopeful ending, though. To sum up, the drama is worth watching for the original plot as well the skilled actors, but could have been much better plot-wise.
-Dec 2023, Yovita
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It scratched the surface of juvenile justice without taking risks.
This drama handles criminal cases protected by the Juvenile Act. At the center of every ruling is a judge who is vehemently biased against juvenile criminals, Shim Eun Seok. Her colleagues who believe in remorse and rehabilitation constantly demands for her tolerance as he thinks her rulings are too cruel.Juvenile Justice was dark, thrilling and suspenseful ā dedicating approximately an episode and a half to cover each case from murders, domestic abuse, to sexual harassments, etc. The episodic nature hinders the narrative from delving deeply into many of the societal issues that lead to criminal acts. Personally, I was disappointed for it to be that way, that it didn't focus on Juvenile Act. Rather, it was more about the judges' struggles and trauma. I found that the victims, the perpetrators and the parents were more like some plot devices for the judge's stories, which I never was really touched by, the judges were the ones who need rehabilitation, in my opinion.
The actors were great, no doubt about this. The most admirable was Judge Shim Eun Seok, very well-portrayed by Kim Hye Soo. Her screen presence brought a unique shock and awe. Whoever is on screen with her, good luck being seen. Finally, I have no clue about the ending, honestly. Why is it that weird?! Nevertheless, if you like a serious law drama with a lot of thrills, you might find this one enjoyable.
-Dec 2023, Yovita
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Does not deliver its promising premise and instead digresses into the utmost bonkerness...
When a PD makes a variety show about a cryogenics experiments, Ma Dong Chan and Go Mi Ran, a part-timer struggling with family debts, participates in the "24-Hour Frozen Human Project.", but they are accidentally frozen for 20 years. To survive, they must maintain a body temperature below 33Ā°C, while seeing all of their loved ones aged 20 years!The premise about two people being the sole survivors of a truly unique traumatic incident, is a creative premise, but I canāt enjoy my drama if I canāt get on board with the story and the characters. To me, Melting Me Softly does not deliver itsā potential and instead digresses into the utmost bonkerness... I got really bored when the show becomes more of an office romcom with a jarring murder mystery in the latter part. Of course, it can make an interesting subplot, but shouldnāt they focuses mainly on the characters and their love developing firsthand?
Ji Chang Wook, being our male lead Dong Chan. Honestly, his character doesn't leave very much of an impression, and my liking for his character is truly driven by the actor. Even though he is so cute, act so well and have good chemistry with Won Jin Ah, their romance feels forced since they both have no relationship outside of colleagues, I am not seeing any buildup towards them as a couple. I feel the true love story would be between Dong Chan and his previous love Na Yeong, rekindling a true love story that transcends age differences and experiences. I would love to see them finding each other again after time apart and forgiving each other. To not end this on a negative note, I got to give a shout-out to one kiss scene, which is pure brillianceāin order to keep their temperatures and heart rates at a safe levelāDong Chan turns on the shower and kisses Mi Ran, with both fully-clothed. Talk about one of the most steamiest kdrama kisses out there.
-Dec 2023, Yovita
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Love the storyline, not so much the romance storytelling
This is a-3-hour-miniseries of a tragic romance between a genius stage drama writer and an opera singer. "Hymn of Death" a remake of the 1991 film "Death Song," based on real-life events. For those who are going in not knowing the story, trigger warning of suicide! So if you know that suicide is a trigger for you, you need to prioritize your mental health and just not watch this show. Even though it's done implicitly, characters' emotions and the vibe gave me much anxiety. There's a part of it that I wished I hadn't seen it. Thus, rewatch value is low, once is enough.The visual is very artistic: from the luscious costumes, to the very well done cinematography. Maybe it's just me, but I feel the music feels a bit overpowering, it could have benefited from a lot more quieter moments especially for this genre. The show does well in showing their family dynamics, though I think the romance is far too rushed. The first two hours go by way so quickly, and I'm left with snapshots of their lives. I wanted to dig deeper and explore the relationships and how they develop, but it's just not shown.
Overall, this drama is a beautiful tragic void that left me feeling empty... and that is a good point. I want to feel devastated because I appreciate the characters even more that way. I just think I would like it much more if we were given a little bit more time with the characters, to tackle both a powerful romance and the powerful dynamics between the families.
-Dec 2023, Yovita
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I only recommend the first 6 episodes
A con-artist Joon Jae meets a Shim Chung and he tries to steal her beautiful jade bracelet. However, they ended up crossing paths from then on and had to face a lurking danger. Can Shim Chung survive the human world while keeping Joon Jae safe?I enjoy the beginning the most for the many memorable and laugh-out-loud funny moments. Thanks to Jun Ji Hyun for portraying her characters as a literal fish-out-of-water meeting a con-artist and learning everything about human world. Lee Min Ho and Jun Ji Hyun is a great match together when they're bickering but not as lover. From the beginning I see them as strangers to friends and can never see them as lovers.
When the plot thickens, they showed mysterious and repetitive flashbacks that I found very predictable but drags for many episodes, that by the time it is revealed, there is no surprise anymore. I remember being more interested in the supporting cast scenes more than the leads because the main plot is just not emotional and feels so underwhelming.
After I paused watching it for many months right after the reveal, I ended up finishing it just for the closure. The ending is decent but fail to bring back the excitement I had in the beginning. I only recommend the first 6 episodes, the part where most of the comedies are landing perfectly. They really could benefit had they wrap up everything quicker.
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Not for everyone, you might like this if...
A group of mothers from a privileged neighborhood come together around their elementary children's schooling, but each of them have insecurities in their past and present lives. First and foremost, Green Mother's Club is pretty much a soap opera which has all the dramatic tropes, like false friendships, back-stabbing, stalking, drugs and murder. If you are fans of k-drama train wrecks, you would be entertained with this as the set up are quite intriguing right from the get-go. But if you're looking for a logical and realistic story, probably you would not get any emotional attachment to the characters as the series progresses.The highlights of this story is definitely on the mothers instead of the children trying to do their best at school, which sounds similar to SKY Castle. All these mothers are deeply unhappy with themselves, and they have to address their issues in order to heal and be able to do their roles as mothers. The way show is portraying these mother are deeply humane and touching, and gave a lot of hearts to the show. The fathers are not doing much to contribute towards their childrenās academic life. They are quite passive in their homes, but they're very kind-hearted. At the end, feel too ambitious to insert too many things too late, which leaves me rolling my eyes. While the script could have been better, the acting was great. From more experienced actresses in such roles as Lee Yo Won to the children, Choi Kwang Rok and his tri-lingual skills (Korean, French, English). The overall directing and editing is fine, it isn't trying to be artistic. It is presenting the characters in the story and in a really crisp way, which is good that it doesn't overpower any of the other aspects of the show.
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I donāt gravitate towards high-society melodramas, but MINE has itās own charms. Yes, it is a classic soap opera melodrama, but also a fun thriller. A major part of this show is the complicated lives of the rich 1%, with a āwho-done-itā mystery that gets revealed peace by peace. Whatās nice about this mystery is that each revelation affects how I feel about the characters.
The female characters are well-crafted. Behind their luxurious and appealing fashion style, they are real women, strong-willed women with weaknesses who strive to archive their freedom. I also appreciate that It also breaks the taboo by representing a closeted lesbian and some gays. The cast overall show great chemistry and performances.
The artistic and metaphors crafted in MINE are masterpieces. Not only visually, but the meaning and role behind each art piece is linked to the concept of āmineā; what makes you entitled to claim something as yours, or not. It delivers a good message that nothing in the world is really yours, except for yourself, your words and your actions.
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