Brogana Sunfrog

messed up story with plot holes.

Set your expectations low. This is light on the drama with no draggy plot resolutions or too much intensity. Happy endings for most characters (that deserve it) & righteous justice for those who don't. There's enough kissing & warm fuzzies to keep romance junkies content. I gave this the same score as Love in Contract, My Demon, Immortal Goddess, Radio Romance & Trot Lovers, but I would rewatch this & Trot Lovers over the others.
Here's the parts of the drama that downgraded it:
Time skip : 1 year at the end. I hate time skips. I don't care if there's a good reason plot wise, I just hate them-they ruin the continuity and made the happy ending stutter instead of soar.
Male lead's brother changes hair color (& make up) so he goes from scary looking evil guy to normal attractive nice guy. It was unnecessarily blatant & just plain weird .

Spoilers*
no talk of replacing the pacemaker ? no other options except eminent death ? sick guy needs to limit his physical exertion, but then (much later) suddenly, it's not an issue as he fights bad guys & gets vigorous in the bedroom (speaking of which- knowing she was going back in time never to return- did no one consider she might get stuck in the past , but pregnant?)
But more importantly:
how many times do we have to see the female lead traumatized, by repeatedly dealing with the death of the male lead ??? The "happy" resolution of the lead couple felt sloppy as in the last few episodes they kind of ruin the lead's romance as they revisit the difficult love triangle (with 2 of the sides of that triangle being the same person, yet not). My affection for the female lead was on a see saw as she started with one version of her husband then got romantic with another version of him, went back to the original version, started to like him but then went back to version B again. The worst part being : that version A's love was rejected & he had to die twice. This made me want to swear as the whole triangle was an untenable plot device .
My solution would have been to simply have had the male lead go back with her & live in the past ( after his past self had passed or become one with his past self!!)
I require very little reality in my fictional dramas, but there were too many "what" ??/ huh"? moments for me in this drama to rate it higher.

Read More

I like the lead actor but not in this

I Barely got through episode 1- I like the actor but the plot & method of acting felt stale. Episode 2 was very very much for dog lovers and had ethics that were on the fence. Episode 3 had the lead being dragged off to an LGBTQ festival-dressing up like a rainbow sailor moon. So far I'm not only underwhelmed, but I'm also not connecting with the plot at all. The cases the team take are pointedly real issues of contention in South Korean society. By episode 8 it's obvious that this is a heavy topic landmine of a series. As a westerner, I feel a good bit of disconnect with the clients/issues. I also didn't find the case topics "entertaining" . A boy suing God for letting him be born, a "mail order" bride from another country, an idol who is suffering from oppressive & obsessive public scrutiny. Although there is lighthearted times sprinkled throughout the drama, thre is no disguising the passionate calling out of the imperfect law that feels like it's one big pitch & platform for reform-which for me, is not the entertainment escapism that I'm looking for. The heavy topics coupled with the male lead character's selfish grumpy childish demeanor is unappealing & falls flat comedically. The reason behind why the male lead is in the position that he is in, IS the only interesting thing about this drama so far (for me). I decided that instead of waiting for the rest of the episodes to be aired, I would just bail out at the end of episode 7.

Read More

Bickering, Violence, unhinged female, uncharismatic male & a happy ending

This has alot of bickering & alot of violence
The female lead is the central character & plays against type. I'm sure it must have been a challenge for the female lead to play a character who is irritating & unlikeable, with the the intelligence of a spastic puppy (or, make that ;chicken, as they are loud & very high strung !) Male lead 's character is deadpan & bland. The few dramas I have seen him in have him playing the same type of character. Even when he's in action, he still just feels like wall paper (albeit, pretty wall paper). This drama has the feel of the American series x-men, heroes and umbrella academy. I didn't really enjoy it, (though the last 2 episodes pick up in interest &character investment). The bickering, whining, complaining, bad attitudes & selfishness of the 4 leads was not fun or entertaining. That they threw in a last minute romantic moment was ludacris, because at it's best this is a buddy drama & should have stayed that way. This whole drama really feels like it belongs to the female lead, who does manage to convey scatter brained & unhinged. By the time the happy ending comes she has toned down a good bit & ALOT of side characters (that you feel sorry for ) die.
not a rewatch.

Read More

Full of plot holes/unexplained events. Bromance is fun, but sequel is better

short review: The ending of the series is a happy one. but IS he a human ? The big problem is that the eternal beings seem to treat life as one long yawner. it's all about the game to them, not about winning as soon as possible.
Long review:
I normally don't care too much about small plot holes, but I rated this lower because there are ALOT of holes in the story, & even more stupid & bad choices made by the characters.
Spoilers of things that made this less than perfect & the reason why it has no rewatch value for me:
A) Foxes can zip around super fast from here to there- but there are times when they seem to forget that.
B) ok, you're a human- you tranquilize a guy & then transport his unconscious body up to his high rise apartment all by yourself by.... ?
C) Characters constantly go into situations knowing it's stupid to do so & do it anyway-it's like they really can't hold themselves back, they just have to do the first dumb thing that pops into thier head!
D) The evil snake guy. WHY is he so lazy? He shows up to terrorize people, then backs off . Come on; He knows where they live ! Is it that he knows that once his enemies are gone he will have nothing to do ?
E) No one actually tries hard to hide from the bad guy! (Let's just stay in side our house & hope he doesn't come ?)
F) Villain can hypnotize people, but he rarely does.
G) The plague. Why are people coughing up snake eggs,.... that DON'T hatch ?? or if they did then WHERE are the baby snakes ??
H) Most people die right away, but 2 side characters linger & inexplicably survive
I) How does the decider of everyone's death date come back from bein turned to stone ?

There is alot of good story & acting. The guys ALL steal the show and are the only reason to watch this as their bond to each other is great fun.
There is a 2nd & 3rd (?) season BUT Jo Bo Ah does not return as they they change the female lead & go back to the Joseon era. Both Seasons 2 and 3 will have 10 episodes each.

Read More

A thriller that chases it's own tail a bit but has a happy ending, ( twice)

I should rate this lower as I was disappointed in:
1) how it stalled around episode 11 by throwing in the misnomer trope "noble" break up
2) the whole police force were inept at catching the villain (over & over & over again).
3) everything is all tied up & they throw in a last minute ......yeah just see #2
4) yup there seems to be 2 happy endings, but let me just complain about how annoyed I was at the first "happy ending" that wasn't & how the second happy ending irritated me by suddenly turning into a comedy with the police force , again proving to be inept & crashing the main couple's honeymoon.
5) female lead acts like a puppy...felt miscast & her character poorly written

rating is as high as it is due to the really cool idea of seeing smells & how that worked really well with the storyline . Also , the male leads were the highlight of the drama.

Do be warned, this is a thriller with a scary (although sexy) creepy villain. violence is mostly in the first 8 or so episodes . This is one of those dramas where the bad guy is scarier because he's so cold & inscrutable.
My advice: stop watching in the middle of ep. 15

Read More

Fun with some Quirky characters & alot of full length staged songs

This could almost be called a musical as the characters sing alot of songs on a stage of one sort or another. The music is fine for the most part, but I was more interested in the plot. I would have liked this better if the music had just been snippets instead of full length songs. Mukai Osamu shines (he literally seems to glow) as the male lead who benevolently wears a fixed smile throughout the drama. He's attractive, & in character, so he can get away with that! I felt that they kept trying to make female lead Kamishiraishi Moka look & act very young. This drama is a bit of fluff that tries to make the plot about how songs/singing can bring peace to the world (no, seriously the goal is world peace...through music)
There are some quirky characters that show up every so often giving the drama a circus vibe when unsettling Avu Chan & Sekiguchi Mandy are on screen. The over all story is heart warming & the conclusion unsurprising,
though I have to say, as a character, you're a wussy if you choose to be a mentor/facilitator in the modern world over standing as tactician with your king (in the past) to fight wars!

Read More

An "old school drama" that still has more charm than many newer dramas

I put off watching this for a long time because years ago I saw Lee Min Ho in Boys over Flowers -which I hated. I didn't think much of his acting or his appearance, so I avoided anything he was in. Then in 2020 I inadvertently watched The King Eternal Monarch & was struck at how much his acting had improved. I liked that drama so much that made me open to watching this drama when it popped up for "free" on Netflix. Yes, this drama is dated. And you kind of have to ignore the fact that all the actors ( that are playing 17 & 18 year old high school students) are actually in thier early to mid 20s ! Which is problematical as the story should be about college students, but the plot needs them to be believably old enough for serious relationships, but also young enough to be powerless to do much about it (being minors & all )

It does have the posturing male stereotype and the "old school "format & the characters don't do anything really surprising, But, I was also watching the drama The Potato lab the same month as I was watching this & I have to say that though the male lead in the Potato lab was very attractive (to my personal taste), I found myself enjoying & wanting to watch The Heirs more! ( I finally ended up dropping the Potato lab). WHY!? With all it's faults : being dated, not so great music & stereotypes that haven't aged well, the story & production value is still good. There is also a sweetness about it & an evolution of characters that is very appealing. I like that many of the main characters are equally invested in thier relationships. I like the equality of feelings & regard of the male & female characters for each other!

It doesn't hurt that it is stuffed with handsome men [Lee min ho, Kim Woo Bin, Choi Jin Hyuk , Park Hyung Sik & alot of others]

Park Shin Jye also brings her usual pretty & perky self to the drama with her consistent range of skills.
If you have a stomach for the older dramas like My girlfriend is a guhmio or Secret garden, or if you are just finding the newer dramas too unbalanced & crass, this might just hit the spot for you.

Be warned : you will encounter the ever stupid : " I will leave you because I love you" trope as well as the distant cold parent.
but silver lining, there is no time skip !
Ah, the OST :
Lee Chang Min's song "moments" is used WAY too much to the point that you loose the feeling they are trying to convey, and Park Jan Hye's song "Love is feeling" is a bit annoying but not as annoying as the female lead's childish sounding "Story" . The OST is redeemed by the other songs as well as the decent if not stellar "painful love" song sung by the male lead .

The end is happy for all the main characters & they try to tidy up the relationships by doing a really lame look into the imagined future (10 years forward!) that really gives you nothing more than a visual & not actually any new information

Read More

Non traditional happy ending. Story not exactly the same as the 2015 version

I watched the 2015 version:"My Little lover "before I watched this & so I was expecting this to be the same story (with the same ending). The 2015 version does NOT end the same. It took awhile for me to get into this version as the male lead looked (to me) like he was in 6th grade so imagine my confusion when he invites his girlfriend on an over night (intimate) getaway ! Much later they reveal that he is supposed to be 18. I deducted points for things in this drama, like :

1) The grandfather ,a father & a male teacher are physically abusive to highschool aged kids.

2) A female student makes bold sexual statements to a boy student. I think the point was to show a test of loyalty.

3) too much talk about sex & then a young girl mentions (to her brother)that an older girl has big breasts . All that just was uncomfortable & unnecessary.

I did not like the girl lead in the 2015 version, but I think I still like it better because it was a nicer story with a MUCH better ending. This version's ending really left me annoyed. If you like traditional happy endings, this is will leave you frustrated.

Read More

take out all the scenes without Jang Keun-suk then you can say: "ah that was worth it"

I am coming [years] late to viewing this. If you are a Jang Keun-suk fan then you may be able to forgive many things but though I did love him in" He is Beautiful" & thought; "how bad could a movie actually be if it has Jang Keun-suk in it"?! I mean I got through" Bel Ami " and was a bit non plussed but it was still enjoyable [if not what I was hoping for]. With "Marry me Mary" , I had high hopes. If you take out all the scenes without Jang Keun-suk, then maybe you could still say; "ah that was worth it" But honestly, this was just a sad disappointment. Even for the date it was made in, it is an impossible premise , But this suffers from the same heavy second lead syndrome that "Boys over Flowers" did [-where you really like the guy who you know will not win, and he will just be left hanging in love limbo.] in this drama, however, It makes no sense as this 2md male lead actually had an interest in the 2nd female lead in the beginning so really they should end up together. "Should" being the key word. They are trying to redefine "happy" ending in light of a modern mindset by pushing hard the message that you can love someone but not want to get married for now or maybe never. OK, but ironically, they didn't actually sell that as a happy ending ! As clingy as he has been, we aren't convinced that Jang Keun-suk 's character actually is capable of such a commitment anyway [, especially given his past record of non commitment]. Female lead spent a great deal of time simply staring sadly instead of talking. So misunderstanding were the fuel of the last few episodes. Sadly, there is not enough fun, fluff, romance or happiness to keep me interested or invested.

*****
If you're going to watch it, you might want to stop after the kiss and the camping trip, because the last 4 episodes don't add anything to the drama

Read More

Bloated drama has too much detail & too many twists & turns

This suffers from a bloated amount of episodes and it stops being interesting after episode 12. Be forewarned there is a good deal of creepy Crime going on but
all the beloved characters will survive, (& yes the leads get thier happy ending) but getting to the last episode will frustrate you & tempt you to fast forward as it get's bogged down with too many twists, turns & details .
what's wrong:
1) The lead's playful relationship gets awkward with a badly written romance . Their first kiss is meh & right after it they (off screen) sleep together. The whole setup- first date and the male lead's sense of entitlement, expectations with no satisfying build up are real turn offs.
2) Non native English speakers playing Americans really tarnish this drama , getting words, grammar & pronunciations really wrong. Bizarrely, most the Americans (located in the American scenes) speak Chinese/Mandarin ! The male lead spent many years in America, graduated from an American College, is a professor AND yet in conversations HE speaks Chinese & The Americans speak English back to him !!??
3) Main male characters keep getting shot and surviving. Maybe just not shoot them so much so often ?

Read More

2nd viewing update; Leads have good chemistry. Rushed ending

free on youtube
At about 67 minutes long, this is almost the perfect length for this story ,though it could have used one more episode episode because the last episode leaves you feeling like you missed something as it rushes the lead's relationship to resolution. Still, this is a bit size K-drama with spunk & romance. . Both leads are appealing with good chemistry.
nice ,clean romance. I've watched this 2 times. Some things detracted keeping this from a higher rating.
1) it seemed low budget as they did a really bad job of making the male lead look "fat" or even chubby in the scenes before his transformation. I mean cotton stuffed in cheeks & over sized clothes did not make him repulsive or even unattractive, just like he had come from the dentist & borrowed his dad's clothes ! (totally still dateable :P )
2 times of viewing this is plenty , though it's pretty forgettable, so never say never.

Read More

Leads have no chemistry with anything other than the food

This was my first Mukbang drama. The food takes up 85%+ of each episode. I initially gave this a 9/10 rating, but some years later, after re watching it, I gave it a 6/10.
3 more years after that I give it about a 5/10
with all viewings: The romance never worked for me. The leads did not have romantic chemistry.
The office bickering was tedious. Usually there is one annoying side character, but here there are 3 here & that is 3 too many. The second female lead was cute to the point of ad nauseum . The male lead is VERY charismatic & mesmerizing to watch (especially when he eats). The female lead was attractive, but her character was shrewish & unpleasant. There was no real premise for any romance, nor did you want them to be romantic.

Read More