I saw a post saying this drama didn't pass censorship. I guess that's why it disappeared from the upcoming dramas…
I know some new censorship rules were passed recently right? Does it maybe mean the drama, not being released yet, was caught out by new checks it couldn't have foreseen? Could also have big ramifications too for the future of the Joy of Life series. Maybe these new rules are putting spanners into the works of many more or less finished productions...
Sex scenes don't bother me but I dropped GoT because I was bored. Nirvana in Fire is good but I'm only at episode 17. Not sure when I'll pick it up again, as I want to watch Story of Ming Lan soon. AoT season 4 bugs me a lot, but overall the show has many memorable and amazing moments (I've read the manga so know how it ends.) Dark is very very clever and mysterious. I tend to think that people who liked shows like perhaps Steins;Gate and Death Note might be into Dark. I can't help you with the sex scenes, though. Overall, Empress Ki is too flawed as a production for me to give it a 9, but the journey was so epic and it was an emotional rollercoaster, so at the time it hit me hard.
Breaking Bad, FMA: Brotherhood. Dark as a whole is borderline... seasons 1 and 2 yes, season 3 possibly bumps it down to 8.5. I gave Mother an 8 - it's a highly poignant and impactful drama for me, and quite memorable. I did originally give Empress Ki and Alice in Borderland a 9 but upon further thought dropped them a notch, especially after watching more dramas and having a better impression of range of quality across the board. But my scoring is kinda strict compared to most so it's best to just add 1 point to every score I give if you want to equate it to your own scores. Any drama I give 7.5+ means that I highly recommend it.
In some ways a great drama so far but a lot of tacky coincidences, and it seems writers depend on these "synchronicities" to stir the audience. In the end, it causes some sentimental scenes to feel outright cringe. Aside from that and the mediocre OST I can only praise this drama so far.
so you watch a story about bullying, and then you complain that characters are deplorable? What? what were they…
Not to this degree typically for shows purporting a particularly heightened basis in reality, no. Naturally, every drama is dramatised (and therefore hyperreal) but not every attempt tries to take from the worst extreme to be found for the subject matter. In that sense, I far prefer something like Band of Brothers to D.P., and 20+ years on it also beats D.P. in many other aspects for my money, including cinematography and acting, holding up incredibly well after such a long time. It's a much more tasteful dramatisation. On the other hand, The Invitation irked me similarly to D.P. for similar reasons - worse, even. big levels of difference in the "air of contrivance" between the three shows. That's all I've got, and I suppose that's why the vast majority of what I watch firmly establishes itself early with some level of more explicit fantasy (e.g., Signal, The Bad Kids).
so you watch a story about bullying, and then you complain that characters are deplorable? What? what were they…
You probably only care because you like it. It has a nasty whiff of contrivance despite trying to present a real and gritty story based on the likeness of military evil. Also generally it's a little bit dull from beginning to end. That's my take. But episodes 5 and 6 were particularly hard to take seriously because of the sensationalist license taken by the writers. That chase scene was ludicrous and pretentious. the whole crescendo to the climax of the show just left a very unsatisfactory taste in my mouth. Characterisation isn't just about what the characters are doing but how that jives with writer intention and how that's then framed within the drama's inherent framework - and for me this just didn't work as it felt off and tasteless to the extent that what's supposed to be a realistic presentation verged more on the hyperreal or the unreal (remember this drama is not actually based on a true story but tries to present itself as real, so to speak). I get that it did work for most of you and that many love it and that's fine. No problem here. This is just my opinion. There's no point for me to speak further on it. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
It's a wonderful day!
I hope it's good though.