Grumpy Witch

Story: I've always liked Long's "Madame Butterfly" story. This version seems to be based on the Opera rather than the short story. Even then, it has a few differences, but it doesn't take away from it.

I thought the story was well played out. And although, it was not a terribly exciting drama, I thought it had a good pace and the time jumps were very easy to keep up with.

Also, I loved the way they showed different traditional aspects of Japanese life during that time setting and the way they managed to allude to some of the ones which were not shown.

Music: The music was great, it never felt like it didn't belong in the scene.

Acting: Miyazaki Aoi did a good job playing Chou-Chou, I think most of the Japanese cast was pretty good too, but the ones playing the American roles were a little stiff, although their English speaking was very good.

Overall, I thought it was a good drama and I would watch it again sometime in the future since it's only two episodes long and I didn't find it boring.

Read More

Fun, if You Leave Your Brain at the "Door"

I woke up at midnight. Instead of attempting to go back to bed, I watched two verticals. First, Escapade of the Baby Bump Besties (Iqiyi, could not find on MDL) followed by this one, Triplets Tame the Cold CEO. Both shows featured Wen Zhi Cheng as a male lead.

The show was not great. But to be honest, when I watch verticals, I am not going in expecting a masterpiece or a life lesson teaching drama.

The male lead was possessive which is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. It was sexy went he went all tiger stalking his prey. The female lead was a cute doormat and a damsel in distress, which I normally dislike but in this case it didn't bother me. Why? Because I went in for "the plot" and I got exactly what I wanted. I managed to turn my brain off through it, laughed a few times, and enjoyed it for what it was. Also, Shen Yue was funny.

The drama has romance, kisses 💋 , a whole lot of jealous workplace wenches , trash family members, older family members begging their heir for babies, men who can't take "no" for an answer, and a whole lot of nonsense, but it was fun even if the ending was abrupt.

Read More

"You Gave Me Everything"

At the beginning of the show, the drama was relatable because of the terrible father the female main lead, and her siblings, had. I thought, despite being interested in the story, it would be difficult to watch. However, I was able to put my own experiences to the side and fully immerse myself in the story unfolding before my eyes. The drama does an amazing job at bringing to life one of my favorites tropes: two broken souls finding and being able to comfort each other despite the darkness of their past traumas.

The acting was phenomenal. Kim Young Kwang’s portrayal of Han Dong Jin, an empathetic soul who touches and crosses the line into loser territory, had my whole heart. Meanwhile, Lee Sung Kyung as Sim Woo Joo, a jaded and sometimes bitter soul who still manages to find compassion resonated with me deeply. Her apparent apathy for life and others, sometimes mirrored my own feelings. There were times, to my own surprise, that I found myself crying because of the excellent portrayal of the main leads. The supporting cast were not left behind as they also had their own stories and their own trauma to address. And there were some truly hateful characters, which speaks to how well these actors portrayed their characters. For a moment, I thought one of my most hated tropes, the obsessive second male lead, would rear its ugly head, but, thankfully, these were unfounded fears. It was really an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end.

The drama had a great script, performances, and cinematography accompanied by a moving and fitting OST.

Read More

More Gruesome than Scary

I watched Tarot as the anthology entry for one of the challenges I am working for 2025. In all honesty, I chose it because it was short, both in episode count and episode run time. Needless to say, I was expecting nothing from it. So, when I say I was pleasantly surprised it's an understatement. Tell me why this was so darned good? Or at least, it was for me.

The episodes are a mix of suspense and gore. The stories all stay suspenseful, but the amount of gore varies from story to story with some not having any at all. So, if blood, murder, and body parts are not your thing, I would say this is not for you. Overall, I really enjoyed six of the stories, and loved how even if they were not related completely elements, like the tarot cards, the locker, the chunks of hair, weaved them together. The fifth story/episode was the least enjoyable for me. Still, I ended up wanting the episodes to be longer just so the stories could be a little more fleshed out. The mood of the stories is very dark and the pace can be slow at time, but I thought this helped in building anticipation and the dark ambience of the stories.

Read More

Spoiler: Blood Free is not blood free.

Spoiler: Blood Free is not blood free. This is an action packed show in which blood gushes out at every opportunity whether it's from bullet or knife wounds, being bombed or being punched. It touches upon controversial topics of bioengineered food and organs and the ethical dilemmas that come with this. Is it for the benefit of humanity, is it for a quick profit, or is it for a more nefarious reason? The show was thrilling and it kept me engaged through most of it. The acting was great, for the most part, Ju Ji Hoon and Han Hyo Joo portrayed their characters extremely well. As does most of the supporting cast. However, Jun Suk Ho has a tendency to produce exaggerated expressions and mannerisms which took me out of the story during his scenes multiple times. This actor has a tendency to do this. I was watching another drama he was cast in alongside BF and his acting is also exaggerated there. The ending hints at a possible second season, much to my dismay, but I can just tie the loose ends in my head even if the second season is not produced.

Read More

I don't know about anyone else, but the reason I started watching this drama was Kim Hee Chul. Yes, I know he's not a good actor. BUT he's one of my two biases in Super Junior (Si Won being the other). He's also the reason why I even gave the group a second chance. "Sorry, sorry" is just not my thing... Sorry! Not really. I also like Lee Soon Jae, I think he's one amazing veteran actor.

To my surprise, "Flower Granpa" was really funny. I enjoyed it so much that I went through the first seven episodes really fast. The premise was also interesting and I liked that all the grandpas had their own concepts. I called them "grumpy grandpa", "cute grandpa", and... "delusional grandpa". And while Hee Chul and Lee Soon Jae were the main driving force which made me watch this drama, I ended up loving "cute grandpa" Kang Seuki the most. Although, it was kind of hard watching a grown man, who is old enough to be my father, around so much... pink. Did I just show my age? Jijiji.

But as it was nearing the ending episodes, it kind of went down a small hill. The story got rushed. The things Lee Joon Hyuk, grumpy grandpa, started to do made no sense at all. I mean, come on! He's supposed to be a smart police detective! I can't really say much more without adding a plethora of spoilers. Another thing which bothered me was the "main villain". Although I have nothing against the actor who played him, I thought he was too mellow. He didn't give me that "I'm a mastermind" vibe. I just wanted to smack him over the head and tell him to "straighten up" as if he was a teen misbehaving. I just couldn't buy him as a villain. *shrugs*

Although I thought "Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit" was really light and funny at first and I really enjoyed it, I have to say I was somewhat of disappointed with its last episodes. It became too over-dramatic and rushed.

Read More

Not All that Glitters Is Gold

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact wows viewers with rich, vibrant colors, gorgeous CGI, an emotional and addicting OST, a beautiful cast, and…that’s it.

While I was hesitant to start this installment because I am not a fan of Gong Jun’s acting, I was highly anticipating the Fox Spirit Matchmaker series as a whole since many of my favorites are part of the cast across all three installments. Who would have thought Gong Jun was going to be the least of my problems when it comes to this show? Certainly not me. The story is slow and tedious to get through. I had serious issues staying awake through most of the episodes unless I was multitasking. The villains were a joke. Their actions are repetitive and tiring. I hated them not because of their villainous nature, I love extra villainous villains, but because I was tired of watching them.

While the side couples oozed chemistry even in the background, the main couple’s love story fell flat. I do not care that Yuechu was a sweet baby angel when he met the much older Tushan Hong Hong. Both Yuechu, and herself, never saw her as a mother figure. So, if I don’t have an issue with ancient gods who are thousands of years old falling head over heels over a human with their short lifespans, I did not have an issue with this. However, they lacked that addictive chemistry I love so much which makes me yearn for love even when I don’t really want it in real life. There were no real fighting scenes, it was all “hand choreography” as some members called it. Dull “hand choreography” at that. Even the last showdown was so… spiritless that it did not feel like there was ever a real build up or climax. In fact, I recently saw a lower budget drama and their fight scenes, while not the best, were still significantly better than Fox Spirit’s. The story simply lacked depth in every aspect, whether it was the plot, the characters, and relationships.

I’m hoping that because this installment flopped, despite it being highly anticipated and featuring many popular and highly coveted actors, it does not affect whether the other two will see the light of day or not. However, I hope it does serve as a learning lesson; not all that glitters is gold.

Read More

The Story Did Not Deliver

Originally, I had planned to watch another drama, but that one did not have any official streaming platforms where I could watch it, so I decided to join dusty on her journey. I had also promised Jojo I would watch it and well, two birds, one stone. I also remember all the hype surrounding this drama, so it couldn’t hurt to try it out, right?

I was wrong. Tell me wHY THIS DRAMA IS SO UNNECESSARILY LONG? WAE??? Some of the episodes were 1.5 hours and for no reason. Love Next Door had no business having sixteen episodes that were all over an hour. The story could have been nicely wrapped up in 10-12 episodes. Would I have given it a 10 at that point? No, I wouldn’t have, but it wouldn’t have left such a negative impression on me. The drama has no substance and is overrun by extended filler scenes, ridiculous and too long mini subplots, and extended flashbacks. I get it. They have been friends for over thirty years. It has been established, move it along! By episode 11, the drama had become a chore and this was extremely disappointing. Why didn’t I drop it? I couldn’t since I watched it as part of a challenge.

To add insult to injury the main male and female characters are extremely unlikeable. They are both whiny, sulky, immature pseudo adults who lack communication skills. Actually, most characters were unlikeable and served no purpose to the story other than to extend the runtime and test my patience. This did not change much as there was little to no character development throughout the show. The drama could have had a nice ending at around episode ten. But no, there were six more super long episodes which were filled with more nonsense. Another thing that did not work for me was that after such a perfect ex-boyfriend, they took him away from me and I was back to facing a bleak, romance-less viewing. Jung So Min had so much natural chemistry and great on-screen chemistry with Han Joon Woo. Their scenes were incredible; whether they were cute or heartbreaking. This was the point where I was most invested in the drama. So, it was really hard for me to believe that Jung Hae In and Jung So Min made a convincing couple since their chemistry, as lovers, was practically nonexistent. Anyway, I hope Hyeon Jun is living his best life after leaving South Korea. He deserves it.

I cannot comment on the OST because I honestly cannot remember a single song, not even the instrumentals. This has no rewatch value for me. I never want to talk or hear about this drama again. I’ll stop here.

Read More

Besides being completely disappointed (after waiting for months for it to be subbed), I was confused as to what was the point of this movie. I didn't understand why I was supposed about to care the friendship of these four women since it doesn't give a back story as to how their bond began and developed.

The acting wasn't bad, I actually liked it, but the story was completely ordinary and it didn't hold my interest. The music doesn't really stick with you either.

The only scenes I truly remember are the ones DongHo from U-Kiss is in and I don't think that was what was meant to be remembered from this film.

I won't be re-watching this movie.

Read More

Intriguing Drama

My 2025 had a good start in the drama department. I love shows like this one, but they can easily go wrong. Fortunately, "Family Matters" did not disappoint. The pacing, while not fast at all times, was well done as it was appropriate for the story they were telling us. The mood of the show is dark and this is something I really appreciate. Another element I liked was that the flashbacks actually added to the story and did not weight it down. They managed to balance that out well. It could have easily become draggy even if it was only six episodes. Additionally, the actors portrayed their characters well and I was able to stay interested throughout the whole show. I wish they had fleshed out the story more and done just one season, instead of hinting at the possibility of a second season. But that seems to be becoming more and more. However, if a second season does make its appearance, I will for sure watch it.

Also please note that if you are sensitive to dramas with bloods, torture, violence, bullying, and so on, this might not be for you.

Read More

Hmmm... How to start this?



I had originally planned on starting before it ended airing so i could finish with "everyone else", but Park Min Young and all the spoilers flying around made me hesitate. But I finally got enough courage to watch it and I dramathoned it with all my might. Not because I was hooked and mesmerized but because my "real life" dongsaeng was.



Get your rotten gogumas ready because I think a lot won't like what I have to say. And that's ok.



The show, it was... Ok! I'll blame myself for not enjoying it as much as so many others seemed. I expected way too much from it because of all the praise it was receiving from my eonnis and other members and it didn't meet my expectations. I was even bored halfway through it and started to look for other things to do while "watching". So while my sister was excitedly yelling "DID YOU SEE THAT?" or cooing over the "real couple like acting", I was browsing through GR to see what else I could add to my already bloated reading list. Some might think I got bored because I basically just took breaks to sleep, but I once watched a 108 episode drama (it was only 35 minutes per episode, so it would equal like 54 episodes) in around 5 days and it never bored me.



The OST. It is pretty forgettable. I remember hating the music, but don't remember what it sounded like in the least. I, especially, hated the music choice they used for action scenes, it made those less exciting.



The acting. It was good, really good, for the most part. Park Min Young didn't even bother me... that much. And Ji Chang Wook keeps growing on me. Also, there were so many tearjerking moments in this drama, yet I didn't shed one single tear. It was upsetting to say the least. I'm a crybaby when it comes to dramas, yet... What happened? Good acting and touching moments, but I wasn't moved one bit. Well, that's not true. There was one moment that did shake me up a bit, but I still didn't cry.



The drama wasn't bad. If I hadn't fallen for the, I don't want to call it hype... The excitement most other viewers felt, I would have probably enjoyed it more, or maybe I wouldn't have. I'll never know.



I rated it an 8 because the acting wasn't bad, but I still feel I can go lower.

Read More

May the type of "love" that found Hong Ye never find me.

The people who know me know that I will drop a drama at the slightest inconvenience, even if it’s from one of my favorite actors, without looking back. In this show, the first of such inconveniences was the female lead’s voice. It grated on my nerves, and it bothered me that even the Zhuyu herb’s sounds had more feeling behind them than whatever she was trying to portray at any given moment.

So if I were to judge this drama solely on the main leads’ story, chemistry, and portrayal of their characters, it would be, at best, a 1/10. That means I wouldn’t even get a chance to rate it, because I would have already said, “Be gone from my sight, you putrid thing,” and dropped it after the first episode. Okay, I would have dropped it before the first episode was even over. However, despite how terribly the main story was written and how unlikeable the main female lead was, and, a lot of the time, even the male lead, the drama still had something that kept me going back to it.

First, it was Bing Zhu. His character’s story was so much better written than the main leads’, and I just wanted to keep watching him and his struggles. Then, they started giving me these mini side stories that tugged at my heart. Some of the guest characters’ stories, although rehashed time and time again, were still far better than the main leads’ overarching one. As if it wasn’t enough that Bing Zhu and the guest characters were outshining the main leads, they added Pian Pian to the mix. The drama did not give me what I needed, but Bing Zhu and Pian Pian certainly did.

So, after struggling through narcolepsy, rage bouts, and disgust, because of the horrible writing and a female lead who felt like an omniscient narrator, always everywhere, mostly looking like a deer in headlights, but not really adding anything to the events happening on screen, I can honestly say that even the “villains” didn’t annoy me as much as she did. Possibly because she was the main villain in the story. This is not a spoiler; this is just my opinion of her.

I say all this to justify why I decided not to rate it a 3 like I was going to originally do. It would be a disservice to Bing Zhu and Pian Pian, and to all others who acted their hearts out no matter how small or big their roles were. Final rating 5/10.

Read More

"When did it all go wrong?"

As I write this, I still don’t know whether my tears are because of how it ended or because it ended. Lost is a thought provoking drama which took me on a road trip of feeling exploration. The writing, the acting, the cinematography, and OST are brilliant and complement each other to create the mood. I felt rage, I cried, I laughed, I side-eyed and all of this was just in the first episode. There was also an underlying sadness in the monologues and dialogues of the characters which made it all the more appealing to me since it felt relatable. "When did it all go wrong?" is a line which will forever haunt me. The drama, while not categorized as a romance, was definitely a slow burn and my heart fluttered every time the leads were together. This is because the leads’ chemistry was off the charts and they didn’t have to do much more than gaze at each other to make me swoon and make my heart beat crazily. I felt the longing and happiness they felt whenever they were together.

One of the themes of this show IS cheating, and I usually do not get attached to characters who cheat. But, because of the way it was portrayed, it wasn't a quick and dirty rump in the hay, I was fine with it.

Read More

I finished this one after months and months on my on hold list. I also debated, with myself, whether I should even bother writing a review or not since there is only one thing I really want to say and repeat over and over. But for the sake of reviewing, I'm adding two, maybe one, sentences more. Short review ahead.

This drama had all the elements, in theory, to become one of my favorites. It's supernatural themed, it had action, and the effects while not mind blowing awesome were pretty decent. But it failed to make it into my top list of awesome dramas I just have to watch now!

The dialogue... It seemed like they were reading their lines from cue cards the writers were holding up for them. There was no feeling/emotion behind the lines. I just couldn't care less about what happened in each episode. While the action was alright, I felt sleepy all through out the drama. Which basically means the acting was definitely not good and the actors failed to make their characters come alive.

How can an action packed supernatural drama about a ghost seeing detective be so frigging boring?!?!?! How? It's just beyond me.

Also, the OST didn't help.

Oh, look! It was more than 2 sentences.

Read More