The Uncanny Counter Season 2: Counter Punch
3 people found this review helpful
Make you miss S1
Everything felt differentActing was still ok but the connection didn't feel as strong. Was there really feel of character development? Not really to me.
New addition was a fail. He wasn't funny and maintained his annoying status all the way through.
Evil characters - they out acted the good characters. I really enjoyed them actually. Kim Hieora played a crazy one eyed b*8ch really spiced up the show. I absolutely loved her acting. Kang Ki Young (one of my fav. supporting characters) who always played as the comedic supporting role really pulled off the evil role.
The story had too many loopholes that makes you ask why didn't ... that happen? Made no sense. Sloppy writing honestly.
Still semi enjoyable. if you just focus on the stunts and action. Prob should quite at S2.
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Beyond your average Youth Drama
I found this Drama by chance because I enjoyed some of the prior works by the cast. This is not your typical youth drama that you can play on the side because you'll miss out on all the funny moments. It's a shame that this drama is under the radar as the subs are terrible. However if you do at least understand partial Chinese this would be a great pick even if you don't care for debate. Also I watched S2 before S1 and I am glad I did because if I watched S1 I would not go for S2 as the acting was so bad. S1 & S2 are completely independent stories because I saw a few same actors playing completely different characters (like Ma Nan & Tao Hao's ex)What I enjoyed:
1. Cast. After watching Zhai Zi Lu (in "My Calorie boy") & Wu Jai Yi (from "The Letter from the Cloud") I thought the pairing would be super cute. Great chemistry between them and love the pace of development from friends to couple.
Ma Nan (Wang Ze Xuan) - I've only seen this actor in supporting bad guy roles, but his character was my favorite one in the show with the best one liners. Honestly it's a shame he hasn't been in good ML roles.
2. Actual story. Yes its the typical don't give up till you come out of the gutter and reach your goal, but there's actual depth to the script. I liked how they tied the debate topics to what the characters are going through.
3. Comedy aspect - Lots of laughs every episode mixed with subtle and OTP acting but all so entertaining!
4. Coupling - Very rare do I enjoy all the match ups
5. Ma Nan's Ending - Classic!
Could've been better:
1. First 10 episodes were really good and then the pace slowed down. A few episodes felt like pure fillers almost out of place.
2. Scene transition isn't always smooth like the development of supporting couple just went silent for a long time then all of a sudden they are together.
3. Team 1 Yin Nan's character came in as an one sided antagonist and then the great face off never really happened.
4. Team 2 captain Yan Ze, his voice was so mono tuned, it was hard to watch
5. Tuan Zi's doll dresses .... YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
How about S3?
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Don't miss the Epilogues
Starting ep 2 there's mini epilogues at the end for about ~10 ep.Underrated cute drama ruined by no subs but if you can understand Chinese and enjoys costume rom coms, this is a great pick.
Loved great cast & characters:
FL Shen Yu is super cute without over acting (which a lot of dramas tend to do). Her character is cute, witty & smart! I loved her expressions.
ML (Old Male Chicken) is a great looking actor and the young actor they picked is a perfect match too!
The back and forth dialogue between the leads is written pretty well. Of course with any rom com there will be the standard "catch & fall" moments but if its cutely done, its very enjoyable.
Zhou Yue - one of few females that can pass off as a male at least in a drama.
Gao Mo - Funny supporting character
If you enjoy dramas like:
Dr. Cutie
A love so Romantic
Chances are you'll like this one too but personally I thought the pairing & dialogue was better in this one.
The only down side is that like many C-drama ending's kind of a mess starting ep 20. There are also a few one dimensional bad characters that you can skip through.
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Semi Dark comedy delight
I didn't expect this from a C-drama. Story started with a heavy topic but in a comedic way mixed with some artistic visuals and deep troubled thoughts. ML and FL did an awesome job acting out the characters. They had good chemistry and even though it's a short watch the character development was strong. With OST like these, I wished the story expanded as the dialogue was very good.Don't worry it's not truly dark but it does touch up on subjects of suicide, gang life, rape, friend's family betrayal with hope around the corner.
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Only worth watching if you love the Leads
The only reason to watch this is because you saw the ML/FL in Love Better Than Immortality.The story goes from mediocre to worse
The character development goes from bad to intolerable
The few good supporting characters goes from few to zero
Zhao Lusi's lovely voice gets dubbed & subpar at that
after ~20 the story just gets worse and worse. Obsessed people all turns evil over unattainable love as that's an excuse for bad drama
It could've been a great drama w/ the frame work. Magical land with CGI, fun magic powers, powerful healer with mysteries to be solved. Instead they focused entirely on evil obsession love.
Chu Tian Yao lives to be one the worst written characters ever in c-drama history. Completely unnecessary.
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Started out promising, kind of a mess ending
Drama is packed with good actors and the story started promising (for mystery thriller fans)A questionable murder with multiple suspects. Victim actress has plenty of reasons to be loved and hated so who could be the murderer and why? Is it jealousy? hatred? revenge murder? Combined with a troubled detective unable to move forward obsessed with the case. This is the standard recipe to a promising murder drama.
However, 10 ep in, the story gets overly twisted and complicated. Twists are good but shouldn't be over 3x. Quality over quantity but apparently, they can't stop with the "But way here's another twist plot."
Characters started out likeable, but more & more became unlikeable.
Felt like a hot mess heading to the ending. I did enjoy the solid cast and the real acting.
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Another great collaboration between Rong Zi Shan & Zhang Song Wen
This drama is definitely not as same level as Bad kids, but the collaboration of Rong Zi Shan & Zhang Song Wen is just so good.If you enjoy dramas such as:
Bad Kids, The Disappearing Child, Homesick.
You'll want to watch this one.
Story pacing is very good. Being 16 short episodes, there weren't any filler episodes.
Likeable lead characters and good story overall.
Expect the annoying bold letters (Yellow in this one) absolutely spelling out everyone's outcomes, but that's how censorship goes.
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Happy 7 Happy Watch!
This is one of those silly dramas with stupid humor if that's your thing. It might be a good break between serious intense dramas.80% of humor is blah but there's 20% that really hits! I am not sure if this works if you can't understand Chinese because 1/2 of the humor depends on the accent and word play.
Initially I watched for the FL: Bu Guan Jin. She's one phenomenal actress known for her animated expressions. Her character portrayal with her fake accent and expressions definitely don't disappoint.
I don't know if she gotten plastic surgery or just the makeup is overly heavy, but she looks almost unrecognizable here. Yes she's gotten prettier, but I much prefer her natural looks in "Dear Diary" Still! Wonderful actress!
Supporting character Fan Zhong Ju (Actor: Li Yin Wei) would be the 2nd character that delivered the funniest scenes.
As you get through 10 episodes the characters will grow on you and the drama becomes funnier. I end up loved all the characters and the pairings. Sweet funny all the way to the end!
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Hard to watch
As much as this drama is filled w/ A list cast and A list supporting cast but the script itself its hard to like. The story started off intense with badass ML that even Italian Mafia can't mess with. Song Joong Ki's baby face wasn't exactly believable for the role but I still enjoy his acting. So as flames go up in ep 1 I am thinking K2 kind of drama coming up, hopefully he'll stop trying to speak Italian and just go into more action! Then came the over the top characters trying too hard to be funny. Most are just filler side characters that failed to be humorous at all. Maybe some people do enjoy this but the frequent switching back and forth between cool Vincenzo & idiotic forced humor really threw the whole drama off for me.I love all the actors so I made myself watch through the drama however it was a struggle to be engaged in the drama. If they just stick to the story as an action drama instead of the absurd comedy nonsense it would've been a hit. My favorite part of the story is Jang Han Seo's character and the relationship developed between him & Vincenzo. Story deserves a redo!
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One of the best of 2023!
This is not your typical idol drama but it's definitely an eye candy fest. You'll see many so many familiar good looking actors/actresses all gathered in 1 drama.This is a quality production in a very dark setting. Ep 1 instantly got me hooked with the female assassin concept which remotely reminded me of Bloody Romance. The cinematography, CGI & fight scenes are all really good.
Make up on the MLs are a bit overwhelming but it works well on the FLs with the dark costumes. Costume designs are very beautiful with lots of black and fine gold detailing. Even the plain monk costumes you can see the fabric texture detailing. Quite impressive.
Storytelling & dialogue is engaging to where full attention is required at least the first 1/2. Story revolves some power struggles , murder mysteries, assassin frenemies making me wish this series is longer than just 24 eps.
Only parts I don't care for is the sister of ML. OTP forced humor feels out of place for this drama. A few lines were funny I admit but most I can do without. 2nd half though she did grow on me to my surprise. It's been a while since I loved almost every character and every fight scene!
Overall:
2nd FL & 2ML out acted the ML & FL
2ML's brother makes a great trio dynamic
Ending is.... tragically messy to the land of no where. Hoping S2 will magically appear one day and answer all unanswered questions.........................
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Magic happens under this director Zeng Qing Jie
Even though the leads are both really good-looking, most of their past dramas were kind of meh for me. A few were decent enough to finish, but none really made me go “WOW” until this one. I never been impressed by the 傻白甜 roles that Tian Xi Wei always takes on, so thanks to this drama, she can show off her true potential. From wire works, to horseback riding to carrying ML on her back, she definitely lives up to the role.Honestly, I think director Zeng Qing Jie is the single biggest reason to the drama's success. Everything from the styling and lighting to the storytelling just clicks, and the camera really knows how to capture the leads at their best. Talk about maximizing face cards from leads to the supporting leads!
The opening visuals and music give off a similar vibe to Blossom. The chemistry is very good esp by ep 7, but I wouldn’t say it’s as explosive as Blossom because it's double the episodes so build up needs to be way slower. Its such a fun and enjoyable watch with everything going for it! This is really how I think idol period drama should be made.
Enjoyable characters all around even the evil psycho ones are shippable!
Best memorable scenes outside of ML/FL which I'll be rewatching:
Li Wen Kai saves FL ep 9
FL takes psycho bro hostage ep 18 followed by FL killer fire scene
Li Wen Kai, FL reunion scene ep 23
Yu Qian Qian/Psycho Qi Min ep 21
FL fight scene with pig slaughter comparison ep 30
Qi Ming/SuYuanQing Final scene ep 33
Qi Ming/Yu Qian Qian Final scene ep 40
Too bad there's only 1 Zeng Qing Jie. For sure this is drama of the year for me that I shall be rewatching.
Now that it's over ... I feel a bit empty for weeks to come.
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Best Costume Drama of 2022!
I am so sad that it ended. I honestly could use another 30 ep of this.Sure the drama started out with all the excessive ladies gossiping & doing evil things trying to get the ONLY bachelor in town but aside that minor flaw the story overall was executed close to perfection.
Why the perfect 10
1. ML/FL amazing chemistry. I've seen every Rosy drama but this pairing with Leo Wu was perfect. Leo Wu is just a talented actor since a baby.
2. Supporting cast. There were so many supporting characters that I equally loved in this drama notably:
- 2 Generals by ML for comic relief.
- Mom and Dad of FL. Dad is so funny and the mom's facial expressions always on point. I actually loved her character
- The Emperor and the 2 wives. The emperor especially was entertaining.
- Brother / besties of FL
- 2nd ML , 3rd ML (Yuan Shen) started out annoyingly funny then through character development became a worthy 2nd/3rd lead.
The whole cast was incredible.
3. Story . On the surface it's about love and revenge. However it's got:
-Plot twists. Not overly complicated. Not overly outrageous
- Best character development of main and supporting cast. Shao Shang started as a playful 15 year old. She went through varies struggles to learn about herself and the meaning of true love.
- Family dynamics, relationships between friends, family members
- Strong female characters
4. Beautiful costume, cinematography & music provided that dream land feel.
5. Rewatch Value. I already rewatched 3x.
6. Happy Drama overall. Not like traditional dramas where every character dies because let's face it, SAD endings sucks.
7. Ending of every episodes. Actors playing some games.
8. No cheesy voice dubbing. Unless it's due to actors having thick accents then I would always like to hear their own voices.
Sadly I really felt I want more in the ending not necessary story continuation but more of grand happy ending scene.
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Ep14 on gets interesting but can you make it there?
Ep 14 was SAVAGE! Before then I actually didn't care for the drama, but I kept watching thinking "What if this is the last of Zhao Lu Si I get to see" (which I really hope not)Before ep 14 I hated:
1. The nasty characters: felt like old tropey drama where everyone around FL is one dimensional nasty getting TOO much screen time
2. Zhao Lu Si OTP make up. She's beautiful in a unique way before she started doing makeup like AI.
3. Unrealistic amount of time to do ALL of that and be perfect.
Only if you are into makeup, fashion, glamour, there's unlimited amount of that.
Ep 14 post showdown
1. The Zhao Lu Si I once loved returned! Her crying scene felt genuine again. Especially the scene in ep 15 where she took off all her make up in controlled tears talking to her grandma.
2. The transition from glamor to her real self was so good.
3. Positive development on supporting characters though a few remained one dimensional (which I still skip)
Ep 19, they started to add more humor almost too silly but entertaining. They are so good together! (IMO)
For those who complain ML /FL age gap is too big. From head to toe he legit fits that Bossy CEO image (not like some young kid playing cosplay) His acting is always solid!
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Zhao Xiu Yuan [Face via AI] made it!
Zhao Xiu Yuan [Face via AI] : HAHAHAHA AI Face passes idol drama level acting! Although, I am not sure if Zhang Hao Wei didn't get cancelled that he could do any better with this boring EX character.Drama is watchable if you enjoy SPECIFIC actors. However put this next to Blossom 九重紫 that's airing right now, it won't compete. From a script, storytelling, characters, couple CP, cinematography, etc etc all fell short. However, if you watch it because you are fan of ML/FL then its enjoyable.
I am big fan of Zheng Ye Cheng. His Peking Opera background makes him a solid choice for these Heroic characters in costume dramas. He doesn't need constant doubles for horseback riding scenes, fight scenes, wire works, walking scenes, kneeling on the ground scenes.... (ahahaha like that 流光引 dude)
So I watch most of his dramas just for him, but he has zero CP w/ all the FLs thus far (expect for the Sleepless Princess).
As great as Tan Song Yun is, the pair just didn't work for me. Again, personal opinion.
Story is typical as is the dialogue. The evil character is always that actor.... Kind of lost count of how many times he played that type of character. It definitely did not need to be 40 episodes.
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Ep 37 she finally wore flats!
I started watching this drama for Dai Xu. It's been so long since I've seen him in a good drama like Burning Ice or the Legends.But this drama is about a gifted housekeeper who can walk in high heels anywhere.
High heels walking on grass
High heels walking in the country side
High heels pushing a wheelchair down the slope
The FL "gifted housekeeper" can fix apparently everyone's problems (other than her own). She's a psychiatrist, a nurse, a nanny all in one. Much of the drama lacks focus since it's about everyone else's stories and not really about her.
I keep watching this for sometime of development but it never really happened.
Honestly the basis of the story line isn't bad. Had they drama focused more on the slow burn development between the FL and the Man bun ML (who will grow on you) then the drama would've been more watchable.
Instead I had to skip through the filler lines and creepy 30+ year old calling "MOMMY" left and right. ...
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