Not as good as S1 but still worth watching!
Epic continues 4.5 years later.... Everyone's been waiting and I am so happy most of the main and supportive cast returned. Must be a tremendous effort to coordinate all the schedules. However, having rewatched S1 to prepare for S2, the absence of Xiao Zhan was felt immediately. I get it, he's a big star now but sometimes a small part in an epic drama beats ML in a mediocre drama. Actor Wu Xing Jian did not deliver the intense stare Xiao Zhan had for Yan Bing Yun's character. Not that I expected him to, but I was hoping for more? The entire character felt flat.Story started a bit slow with some OTP crying but by ep 4, the humor really kicked in when the faceoff between the Crown Prince, 2nd prince & Fan Xian happened. You know how great the acting is when they can deliver that micro expression.
Sure, there are lots of things I am not liking:
-Dubbing for Liu Ru Yu (Madam Fan) is different and not in a good way.
-The yodeler music for silly funny scenes is a bit overdone.
-Yan Bing Yun's character changing from sexy mysterious feel to blahhhhh
-YeLingER's character went from spunky hot head to serious bitter? No issues replacing the actress but common don't replace the personality.....
-Over heavy on political scheming. Ep 15 was hard to watch as it was way over done on the interrogation scene
-Zhang Ruo Yun (ML)'s weight loss? Questionable healthy
-Lack of Fan Si Zhe, Uncle Wu. These are awesome characters from S1 that worked, and they should've continued with more scenes not less
But there are also improvements:
-Lighting (S1 was olive... browns... yeah not flattering)
S2 lighting is better but still not great. No over skin smoothing, no heavy makeup, you can see people's skin textures
-Continued character development like the crown prince, 2nd prince
- Introduction of new interesting characters like the 1st prince & princess pairing (very cute), the little Eunuch that seems to know what to say at all times
A must watch for anyone who loves beyond idol dramas.
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For the budget this was a success
I really like Xiao Zhan's as his eyes are so intense but this isn't his best work. I am anti voice dubbing (unless the actors have heavy accents) so happy he did his own voice dubbing. It just took awhile to get used to as it's a lot deeper. However the sound quality in general was a distraction. This is where budget shows, over drowning background music with some questionable music choices. CGI was not too bad since I didn't expect a lot.What's good
1. Xiao Zhan & FL had great chemistry right from the start
2. FL pulled off the ideal cute without being cringey
3. Storyline , from a person not familiar with the novel I really enjoyed the story. Feels like an adventure with some mysteries along the way.
4. Good friendships are formed along the way
5. Funny side characters
What's not so great:
1. Audio in general
2. Bad hair days and lots of them
3. Over acting in quite a few scenes
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Weird Skin smoothing is super distracting
Just going to start by saying I love the leads in other roles before the hate comes at me. I'll start with the positives:1. FL: compared to all the other female generals in the past few years, Li Qin is a stronger performer up to those physical demands. Her acting is quite good also.
2. Overall casting choices were pretty good.
3. Some cool fight scenes.
On to the ... not for me ... after 18 ep:
1. Story is nothing new.... unless you are competing with other female general dramas on the level of hate and torture between the ML/FL before making them fall in love with each other. Then this wins the prize.
2. FL/ML no chemistry. Amazingly 2 actors both acting their parts and yeah... not a spark (IMO)
3. Isolated overdone skin smoothing with lots of pink tones while other people in the same frame with no skin smoothing is super weird. Smooth like AI face next to bumpy galore.
4. I get it she's injured (arm only) with memory loss, but I lost count of how many times she fainted and/or requires ML to rescue her.
5. Played out drama tropes to stretch out to 38 ep. Repetitive fall, catch, shine white light on frozen stares, memory loss, vision loss ... *sigh*
Potential lost....
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Love TJC, Love TJC's voice
Total fluff out of a lovesick teenage girl's play book. ML's a full time doctor, a voice actor at least part time, sings like an idol, cooks like a chef, speaks like a therapist AND never dated. He'll love this girl for years only based on her voice and music without knowing what she looks like but thankfully she's equally hot and pure. That characterization right there already puts this drama in the unplausible fluff category.It's a very slow & mellow drama with uninteresting interactions between the leads but both are good looking.
The supporting couple is cute too.
Both couples are with significant age gap and maturity gap making the relationships even more unbelievable. Age gap is not noticeable when both people are working, but one is in college & one's been working. Even when the age gap is not a big deal the maturity gap feels huge.
TJC fans will probably watch just to hear his voice. Most of the time this drama feels like a one giant cooking music video.
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Better than the Korean Adaptation
Completely different style than the Korean version. I did like the FL's OTP glamourous version in the Korean version, but I didn't feel the pairing of the ML was strong. In that sense I felt that the Japanese version did a better job at pairing. I am biased though because I love the ML Satoh Takeru ever since Rurouni Kenshin series. In any rate the FL also felt more real, not OTP. Even though it's the same story, it felt different. If you didn't like the Korean adaptation, you might still like this adaptation because it's a different vibe.Was this review helpful to you?
Emotionally charged well balanced pacing and interesting characters
I was literally fine until the very end where I ended up tearing up over the emotional scenes.This was a well written crime drama (It's been a while) with good pacing and excellent cast.
Although I guessed the killer early on, I couldn't guess the motive. The twists and turns weren't so crazy out there and made sense.
I end up binging through the drama in 3 days because I just wanted to see the end.
The seasoned, yet socially awkward, introverted detective delivers incredibly moving scenes. I absolutely loved this character!
Recommended for the crime drama lovers.
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Solid execution with "Logical" Ending
There's been multiple promising thrillers with less-than-ideal endings, so I've been holding off on this one (still recovering with WTH endings from other dramas).Script isn't completely unique, but the execution and pacing was solid. No overly absurd twists and not overly gore.
Short 11 episodes, there won't be any supporting character development and most of the bad characters were just one dimensional. The focus will be entirely on the leads.
Amazing pair up:
Shin Ha Kyun (previously in Beyond Evil) had a similar vibe, but I enjoy his character in this one way better. His character transition from a beat down lawyer to morally twisted vigilante is spot on.
Kim Young Kwang (coming from Somebody) is the perfect choice for Seo Do Young. He's charismatic, psychotic & calculating all at the same time.
A partnership that started out from fear develops into a promising business codependence. There were hints of friendship and trust at times but as the greed & ambition expands, it leads to the ultimate ending.
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We go fast .. pass on side characters
There's a lot of enjoyable aspects of this drama but # 1 reason is always:1. Zhai Zi Lu - ML. He is phenomenal. In the drama wasteland amongst pretty faces famous w/o much acting skills, Zhai Zi Lu is not one of them. I first enjoyed him as the sleezy boy in the Pavillion as a small supporting role then found him as the ML in Hello Debate Opponent S2 followed by Calorie Boy. He will be the reason you'll want to watch any drama. I love his expressions (go full force on ugly cry scene and not worry about how great he looks like some idols....). His voice is never dubbed which I think it should be a part of any actor's skillset (unless they really have a heavy accent that warrants it).
2. ML FL polar opposite personalities. They are not my favorite pairing in terms of chemistry but it's nice seeing a race car driver falling for a brainy girl. They complement each other and somehow it works.
3. Race car stories not so common. I mean how many office dramas have you seen vs race cars?
What I didn't like:
Zero to little character developments on supporting roles and there were a lot of potential too.
Draggy after abrupt break up trope ~ ep 16. Felt forced to prolong the series into a different direction making you pretty much want to 2x watch it through.
Patriotism -- hmmm is that due to censorship? suspicious....
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Decent story with lots of potential, killed by some fatal decisions
Usually these kind of stories starts off with a FL wronged in the prior life and gets a 2nd chance. However in this story, The FL is trying to correct her wrongs.There's a common theme referring to the scent (hence of scent of time)
The leads Zhou Ye & Wang Xing Yue is a good pairing visually.
Sets/production overall decent although inconsistent. Costume & accessories are beautiful especially for the FL. Then there are props that looks incredibly cheesy fake too.
What killed this drama little by little ...................
1. Poor choice of dubbed voice for the FL. Even when her facial expression is on par with the mood, the voice didn't follow. Actually it sounds like 2 different dubbed voices. One sounded older but either way, it was not good.
2. Mu Yao -- I was wondering how they picked someone who can't act AT ALL. Apparently she's some internet celebrity and end up getting this supporting role with enough lines that can kill a drama. So that happened.
3. OST overkill. It's a nice song but the ONLY song which they play bits of it 10x per episode x 30 episodes ....
4. Over smoothing of people's skin especially of Huan Rong Zhou. He has a wax figure face at times.
Potential not fully realized but not bad overall.
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I guess I am a sucker.....
It's not that this plot is anything special but I didn't feel like it was as bad as the bad reviews out there. Maybe it's because I love the cast and/or maybe it's because this was so much enjoyable while wine-ing.What I loved:
Cast: ML FL I've been a fan of from their other works
Bitchy producer: Fine example of antagonist w/o having to backstab someone for a love interest
AGE appropriate casting: I appreciate this part so much! It seems that lately so many K dramas fail as they cast age inappropriate actors for the characters.
Unhatable 3rd wheel. She as very likeable
The webtoon fat girl. I was definitely hoping she would find true love.
The dating show , how scripted it is. It was fun for me to showcase the unreality of it.
Spin off typical drama tropes: instead of randomly reaching for something high up and falling into a kiss scene this was more of trying to kill a Mosquito.
Best friend couple so supportive of the ML & FL.
What I disliked:
The implausible plot of that HOT of a FL (with good personality) could be the laughing stock of lack of love interest through the years
The instant on/off like button from the ML
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Way worth watching over standard story lines
Under the radar gem. Creative story line with seamless story telling. There's no "filler" episodes or useless characters taking too much screen time.It started out with lots of laughs. OTP acting completely worked with the story. Kudos to the actors who did an amazing job. This is where a good script can be amazing with the perfect casting.
The characters started simple and very 1 sided love without reason. Of course! it's from a 12 year old mind. How deep can the characters be? As they become self aware, each relationship becomes more meaningful.
Ost is fitting with the beautiful scenes:
Like the 24 year old Chen Mei Ru facing the 12 year old self.
The moment Chen Mei Ru screams out all her insecurities
Memorable scenes that can really hit you with a wave of emotions
Great Drama!
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Light on Series - Love with Flaws
I started with a drama called Burning Ice (2017) then went on to "The Long Night" and found it's Light on Series drama from a review. Now I can't stop watching them! I can't say any one of the drama has been super amazing but all had quality stories and acting.This drama didn't have many twists and it was pretty predictable where the story was going but I really enjoyed the cast and the family dynamics. The trauma of losing a family member shattered each one of their lives in different ways. As the search for the truth progresses, each person reveals their struggles inside.
The last episode closed out with the family recovering but it didn't feel completely satisfying as other relationships did not get resolved like:
Between the parents of the boy in beginning of the drama vs the parents of Nian Mei
Nian Mei & Mu Ge
Mu Ge's Mom vs Nian Mei's Aunt
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Speed version Rom Com
Rom Com with all the classic moments but in a less cheesy wayRefreshing Rom Com:
1. FL is a bad ass that apparently can do anything and everything
2. FL runs like an athlete. Fight stunts well choreographed. I laughed so hard they were exaggerating the running awkwardly part.
3. ML speaks English fluently, adds to his sexiness
4. Manager guy reminds me of a Korean Judd Nelson (hair & vibe not actual features of course) <--- Anyone else think so?
5. There's still the classic piggy back ride but not cheesy: She's legit was injured and not like "opps I fell because I didn't know how to tie my shoes right so ML needs to tie shoe lace & carry her"
6. There's still the fish lip kissing scene but at least characters not a middle age still experiencing her 1st kiss story line
7. The shooting of a movie scene was a throw back to 80s Asian Gangster movie. They even got familiar Cantonese Song in the background. Reminds me of "A Better Tomorrow" movie with Leslie Cheung song?
8. The non talking director. His facial expressions cracked me up
What could've been better:
It's only 10 episodes so everything had to be sped up so you if you like more character development then just watch at .5 speed..... Like kissing usually is in ep 7 of your standard 16 ep dramas but got to speed that up.
Her Bestie, I am not sure her character worked for me at all. A good supporting side story had zero time to really develop.
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Ancient Detective Once More!
Ever since The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (2020) I've been loving ancient detective dramas. Most however are not big budget production. Although this does not beat Sleuth of Ming Dynasty on every level, its a solid pick.If you enjoy dramas like:
Sleuth of Ming Dynasty
Ancient Detective
The Imperial coroner
Miss Truth
Then you'll enjoy this one as well
Positives
Quality production
Great casting from MLs to supporting cast
Interesting cases if you like crime dramas
Good pace - not to fast in solving each case
There's a bigger mystery to be solved as well as short cases to keep the audience engaged
Could've been better
Drama is overly serious with only hints of humor
Bromance was only decent, not sure if the pairing really worked for me although both are very good actors
Rather short drama, each episode is ~34min x 29 episodes. I definitely could use more cases or wouldn't mind a S2!
I am still waiting for the next drama that can match up to Sleuth of Ming Dynasty
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Surprisingly Funny
Story is nothing new but this was such a enjoyable watch for anyone that likes school stories. I couldn't stop watching and end up finishing this series in 3 days..... Oops!Positives:
1. FL / ML chemistry - they are exceptionally cute , one of the best pairings I've seen
The back & forth comebacks are so fun to watch so I hope it won't get lost in the translations
Well done over exaggeration, animated facial expressions in a good way
Well written lead characters with strength and flaws
Relationship development is natural and sweet
2. Good looking school cast - quite a few familiar faces
3. Dialogue - witty back & forth especially between ML/FL & FL's parents
4. Stellar few supporting cast like FL's parents (probably my favorite), Female teacher & Male PE teacher. Her 2 besties
5. Positive friendship vibe in the class. They help each other even through misunderstandings
6. Hope & Idealistic -- some people may not like this but I think it's always a positive for school series
7. Girl power? more like equality.
Negatives:
1. Many negative characters with too much screen time. Seriously they could've shaved off a few episodes. I don't need all that repetitive negativity plus I got other dramas to get to.
2. Jing Jing's character. Could've used an actor with more convincing dance skill set.
3. Gaps in scenes. How come drawing of ML wasn't shown somewhere to him later on? What happened to V day dinner? It literally felt like they just skipped what should've followed. Boom years of gap and no hair change? They could've shortened all those silent study scenes and use the minutes for something else.
4. Rushed ending with minimal romance. Couple's too cute to just end it like that.
Hope to see this pairing again somewhere else!
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