kdramakitty

It’s hard for me to put into words how great this show is. It’s likely because I love how the show makes me ~feel~. I felt warm fuzzies every time I watched an episode, a feeling that followed me even after the episode had ended. Later on I would randomly remember scenes from an episode and it would make me smile. All the small things add up in this show, and it sneaks up on you how much you love it.

I think Hospital Playlist portrays the world as it is and also as we wish it could be. Pretty much the entire cast are “good” people, though they can be good in different ways. Even the people we might expect to be antagonists (parents, the hospital director, etc.) genuinely care about other people and generally have good intentions. Is that entirely realistic? Probably not. But I also felt this show was rejecting cynicism; rather than leaning into our pessimistic expectations of who people are and how they act, the show consistently showed us that most people are kind hearted. So I really appreciate the world that the show portrayed. Instead of trying to be as “realistic” as possible, it decided to show humanity at its best.

The show’s relative simplicity is one of its biggest strengths. The setup is simple: 5 friends who met in medical school are now all doctors at the same hospital. The plot revolves around ordinary days in their lives. Simple, right? Yes and no. The “complexity” lies in the various relationships between the characters both as a group and individually. There is a sprawling cast of all the other hospital staff and family members, so there are a lot of characters to learn about initially. But I wouldn’t describe any of the relationships as complicated; it’s more that there are a variety of them. The relationships between the main 5 are the most fun and interesting, and they really are the heart and soul of the show. The times when they played together as a band (which happens every episode) were consistently one of the times when the warm fuzzies would sneak up on me and I’d feel so happy just watching them play music together. The show does a great job of making the relationships feel real. It shows you how much the characters care about each other, often in very small and subtle ways. It happens in moments when they’re just eating together or hanging out in each other’s offices. I love how the show portrays platonic relationships between so many male and female characters, it’s genuinely great to see a guy and girl care about each other and it not being framed as romantic. The entire cast is awesome and contribute their own little heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. No one really served as (the only) comic relief in this show; everyone had times where they made me laugh out loud. I love all of them so much, and there’s the magic of this show: it manages to make you care about every single one of them, while seemingly not trying.

I don’t know how else to describe how great this show is because it just is. Please do yourself a favor and watch this show as soon as possible.

I made a little silly powerpoint review on Tumblr if you'd like to read it: https://kdramakitty.tumblr.com/post/621054541113294849

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Pretty solid drama

It was full of dramatic twists and turns, a well-acted and compelling set of characters, and it was just a bunch of fun. It's not a show where you turn your brain on to think about how "logical" things are; it's a drama, intended to have dramatic moments, regardless of how much sense they make. While some plot elements were repeated (plenty of hurt/comfort for those who are fans), they made them slightly different each time which made it not feel repetitive. I think the two main leads really made the show. Both actors did a great job, and I think they had good chemistry. Some of my favorite scenes were when Hong Hee-joo was speaking on the phone to Paik Sa-eon, as they had great banter during those scenes. I think the length of the show was appropriate, as it didn't drag on and overstay its welcome. Nor did it feel like they cut the show short or rushed the ending. Overall, it's a pretty solid show.

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Wow. Um. This show is a lot to handle. Both visually and emotionally. It starts off strong and I think it even gets better as it goes along, though there were parts that got a bit muddled towards the end. This show is very stressful to watch, but is certainly worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of zombie/survivor type shows. It is super violent and hits about every trigger warning (suicide, self harm, bullying, etc.), so be warned. The biggest strength of the show is its well written and compelling characters and their relationships. The show does an excellent job of developing these characters amidst all of the action. Though I actually did appreciated that this show didn’t go too in depth with the psychological aspect. There was nuance to the characters, but it didn’t feel like the show was trying to impart any deep messages. I think that works well for a show like this that has so much plot to cover. But it still managed to sneak in quite a lot of character development without you even noticing. It’s really well written, and the characters are a diverse group. Their situations in life, their baggage, their attitude towards the monsters and each other are all different. It’s also great to see how people’s opinions about the monsters change over time. I enjoyed the monsters too. They’re quite creative, and finding out about them is interesting since you have no frame of reference. A complaint I have is that there are still quite a few things that are unclear, which is certainly intentional in some places, but I think the rules may have applied a bit inconsistently so I wasn’t 100% certain about how to kill them, etc. I think the show could have used a few more episodes to explain a few things, and a few of the character/relationship development felt like it skipped forward a bit, but that was likely due to lack of time. Oh, and the music occasionally didn’t feel like it fit the scene, so I had to dock some points there.

Don’t expect everyone to survive, do expect to be emotionally devastated when they die, and good luck surviving the end of episode 8.

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I thought this was a really solid youth/slice-of-life drama. Often youth dramas are set in high school, so having it set in college made it a bit more relatable for someone who is no longer a teenager. The cast all do a fantastic job with their characters, with Ko Shibasaki deserving a particular shoutout. She conveyed so much emotion with her face and sign language. She had such a distinct personality and was such a complex character. She was proud but insecure, loved by many yet fearful that she was a burden on them. I loved that all the friends of the Orange Group ultimately learned sign language for her because they really wanted to be friends with her. The group felt so natural together, and they had a lot of sweet and fun moments together. The fact that they kept a group notebook was really cute! The romances were also compelling. Both couples had good reasons as to why they might not end up together, and it wasn't simply due to external circumstances, but individual internal struggles. None of the drama felt contrived (... mostly), and it all worked out due to good communication.
Overall, this is a breezy, fun watch with a compelling plot and characters. I'd highly recommend it!

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I really liked Chuno, but began to tire of it around episodes 16-18. I think the plot started to repeat itself, as it was essentially one long chase sequence and fight scenes between the same characters. I ended up skipping a couple of episodes and didn't feel like I really missed anything important, so that's not really a good sign that the writing is super strong.
Chuno's action scenes are extremely good. They look very real, and I think the actors must've spent a long time learning the choreography, because it looked like they were actually in the fight scenes. The scenes were varied as well, and never lasted too long. Those scenes alone make it hard to rate this show any lower than an 8/10, because they were just so darn good.
The characters were fun and dynamic... with a couple of exceptions. The main slave hunter trio had great chemistry and were compelling. I found it a little hard to root for them, due to their profession, but they were fun to have on screen. Dae Gil is obviously the star of the show, and he was the most interesting character in the show. He's got such an off-kilter vibe, and really excelled in the fight scenes. In comparison, Tae Ha was pretty flat and boring, but I still liked him. Un Nyeon/Hye Won was a very flat character and I really wish she got more of a personality; that's not an acting problem, but rather a writing one. The other main female character also wasn't great, which once again was a writing problem and not an acting one.
My favorite plotline ended up being the slave rebellion. I loved Eop Bok and Cho Bok, and the head of the slave rebellion did a great job as well. The ending of it was perfect. This was around the time I was just really waiting for the show to be over, but the ending of the slave rebellion plotline left me with a much more favorable impression of the show.
Overall I think the characters and action scenes really made this show great. The writing wasn't super strong, and I began to tire of the show, but I can't deny that it still kept me hooked up until the end.

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It’s beautiful. It’s moving. It’s bittersweet. It’s somehow heartwarming despite the cold setting. There is some indescribable feeling in my chest after watching it. I really don’t know what to say about it. I feel like I can’t analyze this movie or break it into parts. All I can say is that it’s really, really good, and I really, really like it.

MDL wants me to make this at least 500 characters though, so I have to write this little paragraph in an attempt to reach that count. My deepest apologies for this frivolous little paragraph down here that is wasting your precious time.

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I want to like it more than I do :/

It took me about two episodes to get into this show. It was initially a little too cookie-cutter for me; I've seen bullying and rich people ostracizing less-rich people in a dozen kdramas, and at this point I don't find it too compelling. But the murder mystery kept me on the hook, and I'm glad I watched the rest. The twists and turns of the mystery were really well executed, both in terms of them being interesting as well as their pacing. There was so much drama that was compelling to watch, particularly within the Endo family. The struggles and fights that they had actually echoed some that I've experienced, so while it may have felt overly dramatic to some people it felt realistic to me. I felt so tensed and stressed at various points throughout this show. The writing is clearly excellent, from the dialogues between characters to the unfolding of the murder mystery. It didn't stick the landing for me though. The final big reveal in the last episode really negated a lot of the story for me; it made me question why various things had happened because they didn't make sense with the final reveal. Previous explanations for events turned out to not be true, but those explanations almost made more sense than the real one. The final twist does make sense, in that the motivations and what unfolded seem realistic given the known facts, but in light of the truth the actions of certain characters didn't make sense. It's hard to explain without spoilers. I do think the character and relationship development that happened were well-done, so that part of the finale worked well for me. It's frustrating, because everything right up until the last episode was really good, but... darn, I wish they hadn't done that final twist.

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I've enjoyed a few Japanese murder mysteries (Saiai, N no Tame ni, Confessions, Influence), and when I saw the premise for this show I was intrigued and decided to check it out. A woman who has had three fiances, all of whom have died: is it just a series of unfortunate coincidences, or is there a more nefarious plot going on? She was the beneficiary on all their life insurance policies, but each of them canceled their policies before they died so she never got any money. What then might be her motive? Is she the murderer, or are there other people who may have wanted these men dead? Matsushima Nanako does a great job playing an ice-cold woman such that you're not sure whether she's just putting up a strong front or is truly cold-blooded. Takenouchi Yutaka also plays his role well, as an insurance agent whose obsession with justice becomes an obsession with Egi Touko. The cat-and-mouse game between her and the three men interested in solving the case is interesting to watch (for the record, screw Ujou Takeshi as a character, but his actor is good). Touko and Eiki in particular have great chemistry together. The rest of the characters all work well, with other people who may have an interest in messing up Touko's life. I never felt misled by the show, and instead got to just enjoy the gradual unfolding of the plot and mystery. There was also a charm with how old it is; I felt like I was watching this show on VHS, and the graininess contributed to setting the mood and tone. I enjoyed the reveal of the villain at the end as well, there was some great acting in that scene by that particular actor. It was a really, really solid show all the way through. Especially if you liked Saiai and N no Tame ni, you will like this show.

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Boy, I just love all these characters so much and want them to be happy. That feels like an odd thing to say after watching a show centered around a murder mystery, but it’s just true. None of these characters are perfect; in fact, even the main characters have serious flaws. And yet, of our main four characters, if any of them committed murder, I’d cover for them.
It makes sense that the people who created Saiai also made N no Tame ni (Saiai is the more recent show), because there is that same sense of “even if these people committed murder, I don’t want the cops catching them.” Although even the cop in this case is a sweetheart and had understandable reasons for wanting to figure out what happened. There is the main central murder mystery, and everything in this show is about unraveling it and seeing what lead up to it and then where everyone is 10 years afterwards. One of my few gripes is that I’m a little confused why some characters would just completely lose contact with each other, but no biggie.
While this is somewhat of an ensemble piece, our main character is undeniably Nozomi. The show jumps between moments in time and the earliest it goes is into Nozomi’s time in high school. Asides from the mystery, what really hooked me was Nozomi’s struggles back then. She is so strong and trying so hard, she’s amazing. She’s a super compelling character. Her relationships with the three guys were great too. Shinji was her rock on the island, and they had some amazing scenes together. I loved how Ando and Nishizaki became her mini-family. I hardly noticed there was a love triangle until towards the end, and I don’t completely love how it resolved, but no big deal. This show made me feel things, and it was primarily because of these characters (especially Nozomi and what happened to her).
The mystery was really good too. The reveals were excellently paced, and everything made sense. Having there be so much build up to the event worked well. Additionally, that mystery of “for the sake of N” and figuring out who “N” was for different characters was a good secondary mystery. I liked how the mystery resolved, and I overall liked the ending as well.
It’s a really good show. I was super invested and the 10 episodes flew by. It’s got a good mystery and a lot of heart. It’s one of the best jdramas I’ve seen!

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I really really really want to like this show more than I do and it pains me to give it a lower score :’( The first episode of this show is amazing and completely sold me on it and our main character Umi. The premise of her figuring out how to love herself and develop self-respect hooked me. It helps that Suzuki Airi is a phenomenal actress, and frankly the best actor in this show period. The first few episodes are good. Sure, Umi is initially set up as an underdog in her workplace with her superior not liking her, and it all gets resolved within like one episode… so it doesn’t really feel deserved, but okay, whatever, it’s a short show, and there’s plenty of good stuff in there anyway. Umi is great because she really is able to connect with others and they admire her and it’s really heartwarming to see! I love her bonding with her coworkers and she’s got some good friends and a sister. There are honestly plenty of heartwarming scenes which I loved. All the friend/co-worker stuff was great. Her scenes with Kazao are pretty good, although I’d say it’s really Suzuki Airi who sells those scenes. Aaaaand this is a good time to mention a certain problem: she’s honestly such a better actor than her two love interests and it can really show in those scenes. The two guys aren’t terrible actors but they can be kinda stiff. And this leads into the next problem: the love triangle. It feels forced, and I think unfortunately takes away time from Umi’s personal growth. Kazao does have good chemistry with Umi and his acting is generally fine so I still enjoyed their scenes. Overall my two main gripes with the show are (1) despite being set up as about Umi’s personal growth, I feel like it didn’t get the time necessary to develop that, so at the end I was a little confused about how she had/hadn’t changed and what she still needed to change, and (2) the love triangle, which feels like a very 2008-era critique but it really did take up so much unnecessary space and was kinda awkward and dumb. Oh and there’s this dumb argument towards the end too and I don’t really get why Umi was mad but whatever. It’s really disappointing because there are some really great scenes and the first few episodes are genuinely very good, but the love triangle dragged it down towards the end. I almost didn’t want to finish the show and I’m glad I did because there are some great scenes in the final episode, but I’m still left feeling pretty dissatisfied.
P.S. I didn’t know where to put this but there are quite a few long takes in the show, oftentimes in Umi’s interactions with others, and they’re all really good. It really helps make the conversations seem like they’re real. Argh, I really want to like this show because it has stuff like this that is so good!! :’(

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I am surprised by how completely floored I was by this movie. I tend to not like stories centered around bullying, as a former victim of bullying myself, but something about this movie really compelled me. That “something” is likely the two leads, who give absolutely amazing performances. I’ve never seen these two actors in anything else but wow, they seem super talented. There’s a scene at one point towards the end with no dialogue, just the two of them looking at each other, and it’s one of the best scenes in the movie. The story is also very compelling, because while the world is against them, these two youths are able to find strength and comfort in each other. The movie highlights the failings of the adults and cops to successfully intervene in these bullying cases. The cinematography is stunning in this movie as well and the editing is great. I wasn’t able to take my eyes off the screen. If you’re sensitive about bullying this might be a difficult watch but I think it is a really good film.

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Beautiful, dreamlike, and full of heart

I loved every moment of this show from the very beginning to the very end. It’s beautiful, dreamlike, heartwarming and also heart wrenching at times. Gosh, this show just has so much heart.

The romance is fantastic in this show. I understand why people say this is a slow burn but holy crap I shipped them from the very first moment you see them interact on screen. I think it builds really well, all of these small moments adding up to a great romance. I personally find immortal being x human being a difficult romance to believe, but I totally did here.

The plot is not super fast paced either, it almost has this slice of life element to it. It focuses on people’s lives and relationships and struggles. I loved the story of Ai Ting and Ai Yu in particular. I also loved exploring the relationship between Tien Ti and her grandmother. I would say I’m pretty meh on Tien Ti’s coworkers but I loved how her work as a tour guide tied into the themes of taking care of nature.

The fantasy and mythology aspect of this show was so fascinating. I loved the beginning animations and how they gave background on the characters, and occasionally foreshadowed certain aspects of the plot. Alice Ko was amazing as Toem, she absolutely killed every scene she was in. Orad was great of course and I loved his story arc. I also appreciate how they made Tien Ti sympathetic to how it must be difficult to be a god and yet not able to help people.

I usually pay literally no attention to the OSTs of shows but this show was one of the only exceptions (the other is someday or one day, funnily enough). I think it’s because the songs are actually a part of the narrative. A song Tien Ti sings in the beginning becomes one of the recurring songs in the soundtrack, so it brings up all these emotions and memories with it.

You may ask why this isn’t getting a higher rating, and it’s mostly because I found the plot twists toward the end of the show a little confusing. But asides from that, I absolutely loved this show.

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Like many others I am reeling from the emotional turmoil of the last episodes. This is definitely one of the best kdramas of 2021 and a really high quality sageuk.
I actually have a few mixed thoughts and feelings about how good it was, so I thought it’d be helpful to list out the good and bad things about this show.
The good:
-the romance is top tier, seriously. AND it’s a great historical romance, because these two people act like they would (or probably, anyway) back in the 1700s. The crown prince knows Deok Im is beneath him, and there is this constant power imbalance. He even says and does some not-great things to her. Deok Im has some pretty good reasons to not be with him, and that power imbalance is central to that. It’s just such an interesting dynamic to watch. (To be honest, I think this show should be labeled as a tragedy; do you really think this is going to end well?)
-there is this emphasis on the powerlessness of the maids, and other power dynamics are explored in interesting ways. The crown prince’s relationship with his grandfather is tragic and terrible, but you can’t tear your eyes away. They have some amazing scenes together.
-acting is super good, particularly by our two main leads. Both of them are incredibly good at conveying emotions and thoughts with their eyes, and it adds so much to their scenes together. The rest of the cast is solid too. Speaking of which…
-the “second male lead” (idk he doesn’t fit into the traditional role so it feels weird to call him that) is a bad person and doesn’t like our main female lead. He sees her as a rival for the crown prince’s attention and affection. He’s also interesting because you aren’t quite sure what his agenda is.
-the writing. I am also going to complain about the writing later, but I want to give strong kudos to the writing in general. There are many amazing scenes, the dialogue is well-written, and things that get set up early on do come back around again later. You get the cliche “they met as kids” thing and it still makes me roll my eyes a bit, but it is less cliche than usual. It also doesn’t act as a catalyst for the romance so I think that made it less cringey.
The not-so-great stuff:
-this show kind of recycled one particular plot: Deok Im gets in trouble, the crown prince gets involved, the queen gets involved, Deok Im gets saved. By the second time it happened I was like, really? You’ve thought of nothing else? It happens three times. Honestly I thought the second male lead would do something to Deok Im and that would’ve been more interesting, but that kind of didn’t go anywhere. Their relationship didn’t develop much which I thought was a shame.
-the palace maid secret society subplot. Hoo boy. Okay, it’s not the worst thing in the world, but it is just so over the top. Maybe it was to make the palace maids more relevant to the central plot but… it’s not great. They could’ve been influencing politics by, I don’t know, being spies for different nobles or something.
-a bunch of people don’t want the crown prince to become king but there is literally no on-screen alternative, so the whole thing felt a little weird. Like, who do these people want to be king? Seemingly nobody, they just don’t want it to be the crown prince.
-the time skip that happens 2/3rds of the way through is three years, which is a big chunk of time, but not much seems to have changed in the king (former crown prince) and Deok Im’s relationship. Like, did they even see each other that much during that time? I don’t know, it felt weird that not much seemed to have changed between them. They almost seemed more distant which wasn’t great for the romance plot. It also made it unclear what Deok Im was thinking and feeling. It was awkward and threw me off.
-the last few episodes are a little draggy. This is due partially to Deok Im (and some filler scenes). We just don’t get much insight into her thoughts. I think this makes her indecision feel unnecessary and dragged out. It would’ve helped if she had talked to somebody or even had an inner monologue about what she was thinking and feeling. The actress is great, but there’s only so much you can convey when there aren’t any words to back them up. When she does talk about her reasons for not wanting to be a concubine it’s vague, like “freedom” or w/e, but she’s not free as a palace maid either. There is definitely a difference, but this is because it literally happens so we do get to understand it, but it was unclear before what made her less free.
I understand why people are giving this a 9 or 10 because the good parts are really good, but to me I can’t say that 90-100% of this show is good. 80% seems more accurate.

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holy sh*t I get it now

This didn’t seem like my type of show so I passed up on it for so long, but I’m so glad I checked it out. It is so cute and so sweet, but not in like a basic way where you throw some characters together and have it be fluffy.
A huge chunk of what makes this so fluffy and cute is the fact that you get to hear Kurosawa’s thoughts about Adachi, which encompass his delight about being around him, his daydreams of domestic bliss, and his wishes for Adachi’s comfort and happiness. He’s so considerate of Adachi and his feelings and doesn’t try to push him. Adachi is a bit of a flailing mess and we love him for it. Actually, that’s not fair. He’s a kind, considerate and competent person. He doesn’t realize how many people like and care about him, and a part of the show is about his character development and realizing how he’s touched people’s lives around him. It’s just really lovely to see. The side characters are fairly solid as well, especially their coworkers. I’m a big fan of Fujisaki in particular, and I believe she’s aromantic, which is so great to see! I’m not gonna lie, I did find Adachi’s best friend’s storyline less engaging and kind of skipped through it.
It’s a short and sweet show. Do yourself a favor and watch it.

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This is a well written, tightly plotted thriller. There was excellent set up and pay off, resulting in good plot twists. Occasionally they would somewhat lead you to believe something false, which I thought was… a little annoying tbh (like oh noooo this character got hurt! Oh wait, no, they’re fine). Nor did I 100% buy into the psychology in this show (it’s a little too ~magic~ for me, with hypnosis and hallucinations) but I do think that the scenarios the kids were forced into were compelling. You really get to know these characters and it’s interesting seeing them think and react to what’s happening. The show has a strong plot and focuses on that, and I feel like the psychological aspect is just the coating on top. I also appreciate that romance wasn’t really a part of the plot. The acting is good overall, I think Esom, Hong Jong Hyun and Kim Woo Bin stood out the most from the young cast. The main antagonist is good as well; idk I feel like I’m spoiled from having watched so many crime/thriller shows so I didn’t find him that scary (plus the whole psychology ~magic~ stuff). I *really* liked the ending and I thought the show did an excellent job of having the plot running up until the last minute. This is definitely a good, short watch, with a great plot that will keep you hooked until the end.

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