Ten straight to the point checklist
1.) Happy/Sad/Satisfying: satisfying
2.) Female Empowerment: yes
3.) Historical drama: yes
4.) ML/FL who do not look like teenagers: yes
5.) Strong, clever, kind FL: yes
6.) Bingeable: yes
7.) Angst/tragedy: enough to make you want to see what happens next, but not enough to depress you
8.) Romance: Sadly no, is more of one woman's personal empowerment story
9.) Acting: excellent
10.) Rewatchable: yes
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Little Miss Sunshine
This drama should have been called "Little Miss Sunshine", because the FL spreads her mega smile, cheerfulness and dopamine wherever she went. This drama shows that family can be one your are born into, or one you make and that everyone deserves love and acceptance just as they are. Families can also be the source of stress and anxiety, but this drama faces those issues straight on and everything is resolved very nicely in the end.Lovely romance and there was decent chemistry between the leads, but not enough fire for me. But it is still my most fav T-Drama that I have ever watched,. I do recommend this drama for it's humor, healing vibes, romance and of course the fab ladies of The Cage!
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Nuclear Chemistry with a Plot Dumpster Fire
This drama is the most steamiest French kissing, lip biting, butt grabbing CD I have ever watched! Can't believe it passed Chinese censorship! The leads had to have had some lip balm and mints in their pockets because every episode is full of kissing. The actors must have attracted to each other, because it did not look like acting to me!! Beware that the ML is 100% red flag... manipulative, calculating, possessive, pushy, obsessive and absolute crazy about the FL. The ML's only soft spot is FL and the FL is strong minded in her own way and refuses to be left behind on adventures and falls for the ML on her own terms.Now on to the dumpster-fire of a plot. It is one of those dramas that you walk away wondering "What the heck did I just watch"? One episode could be fantasy with a dragon and then the next car chases/gun fights, the next adventure quests and the next sci-fi, but romance is the central them in all episodes. It has a vertical drama feel, so expect shorter episodes with chopping episode integrations. The nuclear chemistry between the leads made this drama extremely watchable, but without them, the plot would have made me question the writers sanity. I have never watched anything like this drama and can 100% recommend it for drama fans of steamy red-flag romance.
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This review may contain spoilers
Rom-com perfection
This drama contains everything I want in a rom-com. Feisty FL=yes, every episode made me laugh=yes, romance was the main theme=yes, support cast were quirky and fun=yes, more than one love interest=yes, plenty of dominant, slightly pushy ML's=yes, leads have excellent, sizzling chemistry=yes, nice kiss scenes (no fish kisses)=yes, happy ending=yes, keeps you guessing which ML the FL will pick=yes, had me squealing like a fangirl once or twice=yes, lovely male eye candy=yes, and finally, the drama has limited filler (flash-backs to scenes to previous episodes), or is overly long=yes.....perfect length for a short attention span. The only thing that pushed it down a half of a star, was not enough passionate skin-ship. It is a nice quick watch, that you can binge on a rainy weekend and will leave you smiling.Was this review helpful to you?
Slice of life, death , the complexity of relationships, with a happy ending
If you are looking for a drama that deals with heavy themes, is realistic, has independent, mature, tortured, yet beautiful characters going through life and comforting -growing with each other, this is the drama for you. A central theme of this drama is both death and renewal. How death is part of life and love/family, regardless how complex is is the real treasure. Several characters go through grief in their own way, and it does a wonderful way of showing how every generation, every person, has their own way of dealing with grief.There is romance, several lovely if complex family's, friends and a wonderful town filled with all kinds of characters. This is a very well named drama, as Spring always reminds me that even in the harshness of winter,....life always begins anew. 100% recommended
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A Journey of Self Discovery
This drama on it's surface, looks just like another romance, but this it's really about the FL's ability to evolve from a person that believes that she is a "sticky note that should be used and thrown away" to a capable, independent, strong woman who can go through loss and tragedy and still come out believing in herself.You Are My Destiny is about finding your own destiny, taking the good and the bad in life and blossoming in spite of the adversity. Sure the ML/FL lead came together at the end, but as equally mature adults, each making the choice to be together.
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This has everything I am looking for in a drama....great story, acting and skinship. A FL who that every female can relate to from her insecurities about her weight, to her struggle at work. Those issues both pull her down and is a catalyst for her road to change. Her belief that you can do anything you believe you can, builds up her courage and makes her into a person with a positive attitude and a can-do determination. This drama is also heavy on the romance, with many funny moments....which what I like. Lots of action with mixed martial arts and lovely males bodies to admire while they are doing their thing. Mr. Dripping with Sexy is so handsome and amazingly in shape....a serious athlete! The story is adorable, uplifting and inspirational. Will watch again and highly recommend
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It's like a warm hug on a cold day
Just what I was needing on a cold January weekend. This one is sweet, funny, a little bit suspenseful and angsty, with supportive and funny grandmother's. Even had two ML's wanting to be with the FL...all in good fun, nothing negative. Just the right amount of episodes for me with my required happy ending. If you are looking for a light and fluffy rom-com, with all the feels that will make you smile....this is the one.Was this review helpful to you?
Romance with a side of suspense
The acting in this drama was phenomenal by all the cast. Romantic, suspenseful, heart warming and frighting in a couple of scenes with the the demon ghost....who looked seriously real. 😨 There was jealousy, but in a healthy way. The story was well written and no noticeable plot holes. Nice kisses, hugs and slightly intimate scenes. Enjoyable and recommendedWas this review helpful to you?
14 Straight to the Point Checklist
1.) Happy/Sad/Cliff-hanger: happy if rushed2.) Four words that describe the FL character: kind, resilient, loyal, too flexible
3.) Four words that describe the ML character: protective, yellow flag ML (neither green nor red), stubborn, loyal, dedicated
4.) Drama quote that stuck with me: Marriage is the biggest lie, that it can always be happy and everlasting. Sometimes we will argue, will disagree and misunderstand each other. If loving someone means only accepting their strengths, but not their weakness, that love to shallow".
5.) Spice factor: 🌶️ 1/2 hot pepper-nice kiss scenes, 1 bed scene, a couple of ML backing FL into corner scenes
6.) Drama type: romance with revenge from side characters
7) Every drama starts with the script: I did not find too many plots holes, except the ending was rushed with not enough lead in to the final outcome.
8.) Conflict/Angst: The main leads had a short break up but together the majority of the drama. Most of the angst was from the side characters. Nothing will make you cry in this drama.
9.) Sucked you into the plot: The main leads loyalty and love was just sooo sweet!
10) Cinematography/Directing: nothing memorable
11.) Fighting choreography matters: nothing memorable
12.) Actors: I think that the ML was more convincing that the FL. But by far the FL's friend and her boyfriend kinda stole the show for me.
13.) Memorable/forgettable/acceptable: acceptable because it really provided the reality that love is not just about being happy, but about being their for each other no matter what life throws at you.
14.) Recommendation/rewatchable: If you are looking for romance to be the engine that drives the story, then this one does. Rewatchable maybe just once more, but not anymore than that.
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A Jewel of a Mini-Drama
Although a little rushed at times, (it's a mini drama after all), I did not skip a moment of it, which is pretty rare for me! You really want the FL to achieve her revenge and it's satisfying as the viewer to watch her do it. Not a lot of spice, but the kiss scenes are lovely (no fish kisses). The main leads acting was just as good as a non-mini drama, as were the hair and costumes. Even the art placed in-between the episodes was really pretty...I even screenshotted a couple of them. 100 % rewatchable and recommended for those that are looking for a romance/revenge/strong FL with a nice ending drama that they binge in a couple of hours. Favorite quote...."If all the heartbreaking agony, can ultimately bring me to you, than everything was worth i." Rise from the AshesWas this review helpful to you?
14 Straight to the Point Checklist
1.) Happy/Sad/Cliff-hanger: Happy2.) Five words that describe the FL character: naive, spunky, loyal, cute, fighter
3.) Five words that describe the ML character: manipulative, bossy, has PTSD, decisive, attractive but not a head turner
4.) Drama quote that stuck with me: ML to FL: Are you having your period? FL lead: no, ML: then not even your hormones can help you with your flat chest. 🙄
5.) Four Spice factor: 🌶️🌶️ one or two decent kissing scenes, two shirtless scenes, the M L attempts to block in the FL in a spicy move , which was more annoying than anything else. ML character slightly 🚩but more of a rich man who believes that he can buy anyone and you want to slap his face in annoyance , rather than being magnetically pulled towards him.
6.) Drama type: modern, slow burn romance with a large slice of manipulation
7) Every drama starts with the script: nothing really new here, but the art gallery family, death twist was slightly interesting
8.) Conflict/Angst: moving past mental health and childhood/family issues.
9.) Engaging drama: I skipped through much of the middle episodes, the manipulation by the ML character was a real turn-off and yes he redeemed himself later, but it stained the rest of the drama for me.
10) Cinematography/Directing: the ML dressed like he was part of a boy band, some of the scenery was decent, but nothing that provided a wow factor.
11.) Fighting choreography matters: standard one guy punches another guy
12.) Actors: the ML character had the widest variety of emptions, line delivery and sub-titles were all fine , but the FL fighting spirit and her supportive friends is what stuck with me as I write this review.
13.) Memorable/forgettable/acceptable: at the intersection of acceptable and forgettable
14} Rewatchable/recommendation: will not be on my rewatch list and is recommended if you have nothing else to watch
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The Magic of a Fantastic Support Cast
This is a classic style feel good rom-com, that is entertaining to watch. The lead actors did really well playing their parts, but what pushed this drama into a solid 9 to me was the support actors and the editing. The support actors were so funny and made what could have been a standard rom-com into so much more! The editor did a great job at split screening facial expressions to capture every quirky moment. Even the mentally deranged antagonist (the actress was very convincing) you just feel pity for, because she is missing out on all the love/support from friends, family and coworkers. The spice level was decently average for a rom-com, but the drama itself is a solid recommendation from this drama watcher for comedy, romance and a just enough angst to wonder how it will be resolved.Was this review helpful to you?
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Refreshingly Different
A drama that has a ton of romance, a bit of a red flag sweetheart of a ML(which is what I like to see in a ML), lots of lovely kissing and skinship, suspense, lots of action, a mystery that is no obvious until most of the drama is done, a comic book villain, fantastic OST, bromance, friendship and cool technical stuff. The FL was amazing and played both FL's very believably and the second leads were adorable.The acting, directing, locations were super nice and the story was well written and interested, although there were some holes here and there and some episodes were not 100% seamless. But the director would have had to add on a couple of more episodes to made it with no holes. Since I start to get impatient past 16 episode dramas, I am more than happy just as it is and it got a solid 9 1/2 stars from me. Totally recommended!
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