This review may contain spoilers
Best and the Worst
After the disappointment I've experienced with "Female Dudu general", "Wanted Detective", "Prisoner of beauty" and many more hyped dramas, I had my doubts about "Fated Hearts" as well.It started strong , the dynamic between female & male leads was great but then it just died when they fall for each other.
In the final episodes I didn't care about the main leads and fast forwarded their scenes. It was too predictable and boring. The only reason I didn't drop this was because of the Princess of Susha who married the prince of Zhennan, then slept with Emperor for intel. It didn't make sense but was forcing me to watch what would happen. :)
Good things
* Cast of many gorgeous and some good actors.
* Nice costumes and not everything felt like green screen studio set.
* Princess of Susha,Prince of Zhennan and Emperor of Jinxiu stole the show as support characters.
Bad Things
*Main plot was too predicable.
* Many side plots were left undeveloped (for example Murong Yao).
* Beware the annoying fake crying kids in the first episodes. It was 40 mins "shifu" Shifu".
* Some scenes looked very cringy because actors were posing for cameras instead acting.
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Pizzabox with only half of pizza inside
I am not big fan of Chinese fantasy series because the special effects cheapen the entire production. In Fangs of Fortune however everything is done with the right amount and the special effects look really great. The entire soundtrack was unique and especially the end music with the fangs dance looked amazing. Costumes and the entire production looked expensive with so much details. Each of the characters had unique style and interesting background story.Fangs of fortune delivered however some chaotic main story progression, 2-3 episodes were linked together but then unrelated to the next bundle of episodes which revealed different plot. They tried to create somehow of a mix between romantic, spooky, comedic, dramatic moment. The comedic moments looked quite cringe, the dramatic moments had a lot of beautiful fake crying ( all actors cried same way with cosmetic tear drops). Also all the actors were beautiful, but I could not tell if they were actually good at their job because the poor script.
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Lovely Runner indeed
I liked this Korean drama but it could have been good 12 Episodes. The actors did amazing job, we saw also well developed side characters and stories. Something which I find strange is to see 30 years old actors playing school students, also the ML looks much younger compared to FL lead even though birth records say something else. It is not one of the best but still amazing and entertaining korean drama with good score.Was this review helpful to you?
Dropped dead boring
I was so hyped by the trailer when I watched it, It started somehow interesting.I watched until episode 19, it feels they forgot what they were investigating. The more I watched the more I was forcing myself. The way ML got poison by his own ppl was also pretty idiotic, how can the pro poison expert would give the wrong uncurable poison bottle as if it was package of M&M.I hope it getter better for the ppl keep watching it. This year we're getting so many flashy dramas with very few substance.
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Too ambitious.
Moon River is overall good drama with solid 7.5-8 ratio. It tries too hard to be too many things at the same time: ridiculous comedy , serios historical drama, fantasy inspired moments with unnecessary CGI. As end result the plot feels messy and chaotic. I enjoyed it but it won't leave any imprint to my memory like "Red Sleeve" or "Moon Lovers" did. Ending was cheap and predictable. The best thing for me was the great main theme folklore song performed by Song So-Hee.Was this review helpful to you?
Old Story new faces
I love both leads but this story simply can't keep me interested. First of all, I miss the main villain, and it looks like brave girl searching for new hobby instead revenge. A fragile lady in man undercover, but in what universe someone would think she looks like male. The romantic exchanges between the leads were cringe. This is from the dramas where I feel sorry for the actors. With better scrip and directing they could achieve much more. The only thing worth watching are the fighting scenes, The choreo was outstanding. The only reason this could get 6.5.Was this review helpful to you?
Title should have been "Love of Sadness"
Love of Nirvana is one of my most favorite Chinese dramas. Ren Jia Lun is flawless in his acting and such pleasure for the eye. I loved the story progression, some people were disappointed by the sad ending but this is what makes this TV Series so good. There is no victory without sacrifice. Costumes and music were great, the story pasing was right with different locations and nice side characters.Was this review helpful to you?
Gem in the mud
I was reserved when start watching , but it turns out to be quite entertaining .Great actors ,plot with interesting progression.So far I can say that Korean fantasy Tv series look much better compared to Chinese one , because special effects here complimenting the story, are not overdone and don't look too cheap. I started immediately season two but the actress was not the same.
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Interesting Begin and predictable Ending
Ok I really loved how this Drama started. I watched it mainly because of Liu Yu Ning and he saved many scenes where the female actress failed to deliver. The costumes, designs, plot and cast were overall really nice. FL Xiao Qiao role was interesting in the beginning of the story, I was expecting her to be mischievous, calculating and even backstabbing but after she went to Wei she acted as boring housewife, the scenes where she was trying to act as 5 year old girl Infront of the lord were not helping at all. This kind of made their entire romantic relationship flat & boring. Literary every other character like the peony unibrow lady, the half brother Wei Yan or the fat couple were fare more interesting and entertaining than the main leads. I thought the story will end with the last two major battles where the Wei lord dies to the north and his half brother Wei Yan wins by defending the capital, then moves north , unites the land and take care of his brother wife and new born. Would have been a twist but they went the most generic boring way with minimal side characters sacrifices.Comparing this to other master class historical (costume) dramas like "Love of like a Galaxy", "Story of Kunning Palace" it simply doesn't deserve above 9.
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Nice Idea with poor execution
Love beyond the Grave is a drama that you want to stay in the grave. The story is about cougar Goddess who tries to have fun in the mortal world and gets attracted to a young lad who is following her as as slutpuppy everywhere. This was at least what I saw until ep 20, i can't endure more even though Dilraba is amazing actress and stunningly beautiful. The plot was developing in such a slow paste I was forcing my eyes open at some scenes. What I see in last year and in 2026 is that these 40 episode dramas are unnecessary stretched and the side plots and characters are just boring filler material.Was this review helpful to you?
Looks familiar but done really poorly
I fall in love with Chinese costume dramas since I've finished "Story of Kunning palace", "Goodbye princess", "The double" and many more.Landy Li played in another top drama "love of Nirvana" and I was expecting Coroner's Diary to come closer, but omg I was so wrong.
Plot is a about a prince and a medic playing pro detectives who are not chasing injustices, injustices are chasing them . There is colleague chemistry between them and side characters are total fillers. I've finished ep 15 basically forcing myself to keep watching. Some scenes are so cringe: for example when the princess balancing on the heels with one hand holding on the edge with the other straight hand holding two other grown women. Another one was when the prince charming went though tornado under water to save the medic and then covered her with his coat but how are they soaking wet, but his coat is warm and dry. Because it fits better the romance scene, just turn of your brain, it is fine O0.
I also don't get how there are ppl giving this top score 10, with what do you compare this?
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To Korean Drama
I will add "Love in the Big City" definitely into my top Korean drama list. I saw some comments that it is inappropriate for young gay men. I think it is exactly the opposite because it brings visibility to a lot of vulnerable topics like HIV infection because unfaithful partners, societal stigma, discrimination and prejudice, leading to increased susceptibility to health issues, violence and deep depression resulting to suicide. Man suffer more from loneliness, finding soul mate is even harder for gay men.All actors did amazing job, I can't believe Nam Yoon Su got homophobic comments for portraying gay man, he is simply doing his job. Usually this type of gay dramas feel cringe and flat , I didn't expect such level of complexity.
What I didn't like was the ending or the lack of any ending.
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Diamond among all Gemstones
Red Sleeve really shook me with this great story, where love doesn't conquer all. I am so surprised by the open to interpretation ending, some people find it as happy other as heartbreaking.Usually when we see kids showing leads past is very brief and cringe moment, just to highlight they had somehow of childhood connection. In Red Sleeve even this consumed a whole episode where every scene was meaningful and had major consequences. The side characters were also well developed, I've never found myself fast forwarding a single moment.
Great story, directing and the amazing work of these Korean actors made this Drama one of my favorite. I didn't want it to end, as the emperor in his final dream.
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One of the best
This in indeed one of the best historical Korean Dramas. The plot varies from location to location following multiple character lines. There were some hard war and torture scenes which might be hard to swallow, but this reflects also the horrible human nature at this era and the hardship of war. From first until last episode My dearest commands completely your attention. What a touching love story, revealed in most horrific and beautiful way.Was this review helpful to you?
Wonderful Drama
Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency should rank a way higher than 7.8, the only reason coming to my mind is that it is older than 2020. It is not pretentions or super ambitious, has great acting and lovely story with happy ending. I enjoyed it more than the most recent Korean historical dramas. It made me smile, angry , i laughed several times. Just chill out and enjoy it.Was this review helpful to you?
