“Battle of Survival”
I think most people will misjudge this drama and its focus on what it’s trying to portraythe drama is actually more on the survival and thriller side and less on Methodical Logical investigation
and what this survival side does to the human conception of the word “trust” because human nature leans toward trusting than untrusting at first
and can one person achieve his happiness by joining dangerous path ?
so if you understood this part then the drama will be highly entertaining to you and will make you feel all the emotions from the beginning until the end
the drama has many good points , starting with our main characters “heeju” that want to lead a happy life since her life wasn’t good since the beginning.., heeju the girl that never got involved with the gangs world suddenly becomes part of it
this alone makes you want to “see” what will happen to her and how she will handle it
then you have woogy who will follow her to satisfy his needs from the golds
the villains and her boyfriend as the third party in this war of survival
all these coming together to make a good story
not to mention the directing 💯
top tier with the cinematography and the theme and colors
the actions scenes too
I am really satisfied with the drama and I don’t have many problems with it tbh except the ends
didn’t like it that much and I hoped the police took part in the story as a whole but you know I understand the writer intentions here
Disney usually struggles with dramas but they nailed it for me in this one
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Tragic and painful
one of the best thrillers drama if not the best already in my opinion.., This is an S tier showStory wise, characters ,cast and acting, direction
All take 10 rates for me , It’s a complex and smart story with a great sense of thriller and tension throughout the drama
and its psychological part is so well written
It will hook you from the first episodes until you wish you don’t finish it because you will miss it but guess what? you still can’t stop watching it until the end
it leaves you curious every single episode
Most thriller dramas.., don’t focus on the psychological aspects and doesn’t makes you attached to the characters .., mostly cares about the storyline only
this is not the case with this drama because it’s tragedy drama to begin with, told through thriller lens and I think too little watchers will notice that
“Kim go eun is the goat”
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Masterpiece
I don’t have many things to say about this drama other than it broke me every timethis drama is told with a creepy tone and high tension level that you can feel it every single moment
I loved everything about this except the brother story.., they could have handled it better than that but still wouldn’t make it a big difference
“Too real that it hurts you”
best Netflix drama until this moment
maybe Netflix damaged the korean drama industry but at least brought us some great stories if you think about it
the only thing I don’t like is that Netflix dramas don’t have the classic endings songs at the end of each episode
you don’t change that,, it should be a blueprints for all k dramas regardless of who the original producer is
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Classic
This is the definition of “Rom-com” this is the pinnacle of Romantic comedyand this is how it is supposed to be done
I know many people downvoting this drama but you know what? I don’t understand them
This drama has everything, comedy, good characters, great chemistry, a little melodrama moments,
a good message of how a poor unemployed man can’t afford to be with a rich woman who is being spoiled all her life
The dynamic between the poor and the rich is common in Asian dramas but this one is done differently somehow
eun hye is the goat man
“never believe the ratings”
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absolute entertainment
The most underrated family drama ever, and my favorite family drama in the 30-39 episodesI was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t stop watching it
they were at episode 8 and i caught up in two days and finished it weekly
it’s not your daily “family drama” that has shock value like a mother against her daughter or secret birth or these melodramatic elements
its purely realistic with an engaging storyline and plot and all the characters played their so well
don’t get me started with the main couple, because they are still my favorite couple in the history of asians dramas
their slow burn was burning me weeks by weeks until they left me satisfied
the money plot and the reality of it was relatable which is what made it painfully realistic..,
the theme of the drama is what makes it so good because in the surface it’s a witty, funny everyday story but in hidden they play with their lives and can cost them everything at any point
that creates a sense of tension throughout the story.
“The best”
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Poetic tragedy
This Drama man!!! i am positively sure that this drama had one of the best storyline ever.., the writer sure knows how to draw you in from the first episodes,even though the name of the drama refers to one character which is Jamyung/poku yet the drama has three protagonist
Jamyung, nakrang, and hodong
the three had one of the best dynamics you will ever see in any drama and how their dynamic keeps shifting politically and emotionally
storyline, music, direction all top tier
poetic tragedy
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“Cdramas don’t know how to do enemies to lovers right”
The weakest drama in 2024 tho it’s potential to be good, The drama starts so well with much hate/angst and actions scenes with alot of mysterythis starts alone make you intrigued to continue with the drama and to see what will happen next!
then boom !! everything changed by episode 6-7 I think and it was drastic change
it suddenly became a journey of cultivation and lovey-dovey relationships
I don’t know why cdrama always do that
if the novel so dark that you need to change its narrative then simply don’t make it into a drama to begin with
many novels has positive stories to adapt into drama
the best thing came out of the drama is the music(one of the best in cdramas land”
“not worth it unfortunately”
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So Realistic Sometimes
one of the best to watch, story, acting, characters, even directingthe atmosphere of this drama makes me feel like watching a jdrama more than a kdrama.., how the direction and cinematography were shots and how the storyline went
I never saw anything similar to it In kdrama
it has a weird pace., sometimes it gets fast paced for a 3 episodes then suddenly it goes quiet and slowly builds up again then starts to pick up
if the drama doesn’t have that pace problem then I would give it 10 no doubt because there’s nothing more to dislike about the drama
the strategy game between the two leads are amazingly realistic.., you either enjoy it or don’t
because it doesn’t have much dramatic elements in it
no drama to escalate the battle
the story goes fine without much drama
but its realism is what makes it interesting and powerful
you rarely see it in a revenge driven drama
“loved it”
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Unique
This drama is the definition of “if you are not into historical drama, it won’t be for you” seriously not jokingbecause it has that unique vibes, than the usual historical drama that people actually can enjoy.., wether the romance or the action one
this drama is based on novel tells a story of a real historical timeline with fictional characters but tries to explain and solve a mystery in korean history on why korea in 1568-1592 was so weak internally and externally
this drama story at 1570- years when the jurchens attacked joseon many times that years
It deals with the internal corruption in a gangsta style which is something unique to historical korean dramas
the only problem with this drama is that it’s so short.., only 9 episodes and it’s only 47 minutes each episode
so if you liked it from the beginning then you will feel disappointed by its short
“loved it”
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Balance
great drama overallit started with a good performance then unexpected twist and became lighter at the end
it has a great music and romantic elements
and a good portrayal of the moral aspects and losing your own soul to the evil
it’s in the middle between high intensity and the realistic approach
it has some intense moments but also many realistic moments .., good balance
good characters with great chemistry
This is choi wan kyu (screenwriter) touch
he doesn’t like his dramas to be overly dramatic and overly realistic
great screenwriter
“watch it”
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Emotionally satisfying
This is story where you finish each stage of it feeling satisfied , satisfied with how the characters behave, feel, converse, fight, try hard, etcTho it’s sad and makes you teary sometimes but it comes with satisfaction which is something genius for a writer to do
this is by far the writer best work in terms of storytelling, content, characters depth
not too much gloomy and not too rom comy ..,
and choosing the entertainment industry as the profession of the characters is what sets it apart tbh
because it is a place where you can dive into and see the many faces of people
the try harder, the jealous , the hard worker, the talented, the hypocritical etc
we want more stories that try to expose human nature and its difficulties
The story should have been at least 16 episodes tbh but because I am totally immersed by it I give it a 10
“too good”
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not the way I expected
I haven’t finished the drama, I stopped it at 22 but still wanted to give it all the credits that it deservesnote : this is not enemies to lovers story
first, the story is interesting.., that “romeo and juliet” vibes
and the actors did great job in it
why I dropped it? because I lost interest too fast.., here’s the things that kept uninterested episodes after episodes
the series started promising with its political turbulent times especially with the wei and qiao families and how they were enemies for years
then the marriage alliance comes to pacify this tension between the families
just for us to see the growing romance between the leads.., even their tension didn’t last long only a couple of episodes
then what after all that? because I want to see a good political plot line but all i see is characters personal development and their lifes
even the villains wasn’t interesting enough to keep me going on
in my opinion the premise of this story and that shakespearan vibes of it would be good on historical kdrama.., i have seen historical kdramas with a closer plot and they were very good at focusing on the politics, romance, acting, action etc
but I definitely understand why people loved it tho
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“Shine or go crazy” indeed!!!
I will start this review by saying “I am shocked by the results”This historical kdrama is not like any historical kdrama nor does it have the “usual” atmosphere of what makes it a historical kdrama
it’s more similar to a historical “cdrama” to me which is why I find it interesting
then I discovered that the drama is based on a web novel then I knew why it looks similar to these cdramas since the web novel culture dominated by the Chinese writers.
now for the story, it’s about the wang family of goryeo and the aftermath of achieving their dream of uniting Korea under one nation,
here you have the wang geon children battling for the throne, and some political parties that against the wang children
which is their uncle who contributed to the unification and wanted his share of the throne
so it’s a family battlefield.., then you have shin yule who is a merchant from a fallen kingdom “balhae” …, she got involved in this fight of the throne
story wise it’s so interesting and beautiful to witness
the characters all played their roles right and made me both love and hate them
the acting was great by the mains
the music is a top tier.., arguably the best historical drama In music
I loved many historical observations in the drama
like how wang so loves another woman besides his Wife and queen
another one is shin yule and how is she a from a fallen kingdom.., balhae at that time was absorbed completely by goryeo so she’s being in the story as a balhae person not something off from historical standpoint view
the insane chemistry between the triangle Wang so , shin yule , hwangbo is just a chef’s kiss man
the only thing I don’t like is I think it’s short despite being 24 episodes.., I think the drama should’ve been 28-29 episodes but overall the writers did so well
the drama title “shine or go crazy” is the best title I’ve ever seen in any drama
because it represents the heart of the story overall
how the characters interact, fights, survive, love, hate etc
either it will shine or go completely crazy
no middle ground unfortunately and that’s why the story is so bitter
the shift in tone from the first 12 episodes into an emotional poetic one is something I didn’t realize I needed.., kdrama rarely has a poetic tone like cdrama has but this drama did a good job with it
the symbolism, parallels, characters destinies, the irony, and so on
“In love with it”
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sorry
How should I start? Since a long time and I heard about this Nirvana in fire and how “Great” it isI mean the rate itself being 9 out of 12k users says alot 🤷🏻♂️
so I started it .., and suddenly surprised that it was a revenge story disguised in political battles
The worst kind of any revenge stories in my opinion
because that’s will minimize the political weight and its moral impact over the nation
you don’t see a political battle or ideology
you see a man disguising himself just to revenge on his nation
this premise disappointed me
the other thing is the storyline of his revenge story and how it unfolds .., he will keep coming to the weakest to the strongest in order
so the story is already predictable from the start and you just wait and see how each character will die.., this is also what was bugging me so much about it
it reminds of a harem dramas where the main female character going against other females harem to defeat them until she wins
but here it’s a male version
the characters are okay .., the acting was not it sorry.., he gu character without any emotions so I couldn’t emphasize with him
the things I loved in the drama
the mind games between the characters.., it was fun ngl
the ending music
the females characters and their stories
“not that great”
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This review may contain spoilers
Great Journey for a Great Queen
This is not a simple drama.., it’s a journey full of emotionsanger , joy , sadness, satisfaction , tension
Can be your greatest historical drama depends on what you enjoy most.., for me I dont have problem call it my favorite historical drama since it contains all the elements I love in a single drama
great story with a sorrowful tone and them, top tier political thriller and power struggles.., great characters in an upheaval times that understands what they are doing
has one of the greatest villains ever “Misil” and its followers
facing the best character in the whole show “Deokman” we’ve seen her youth until her last breath
tho the drama has dramatic liberties for some characters but that doesn’t change how realistic the drama was
every episode carries emotion with it until you feel sad that you’re going to finish it one day
this kind of feeling tells you how great the drama to you was
my favorite characters :
1- Deokman
2- misil
3- kim yu sin
4- Bidam
there are also many good characters like misaeng , munno , chun chu and his mother
seolwan and all misil children , jukbang and all the hwarang
literally all the characters
if you love politics and wars with a touch of melodrama then this is it
“the best”
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