Clementine O

Scenery, songs and director’s work were exceptional!

*Storyline*
The story of Immortal Ascension is mainly about Han Li’s journey and his growth.
I especially love the first half of Immortal Ascension where he was with his best friend Zhang Tie. He also met his first master Physician Mo Ju Ren and Miss Mo (Mo Cai Huan), he was admitted to the Yellow Maple Valley and met his first mentor, Wu Mian. I found the relationship of Han Li and those characters very well developed and touching. To me, the first half of the series had a great balance of happy and sad moments. It was filled with great memories but also, loss and separations. We also got to discover Han Li’s personality, his qualities and flaws.

*Acting*
Of course, Yang Yang did a wonderful job as Han Li. In the series, maybe 90% of the scenes were with Yang Yang. However, I didn’t get tired of seeing him. He was funny at times, he also could express his emotions very well. In many scenes, he didn’t talk much, but he could express gratitude, respect, love, happiness and sadness to perfection.
The other actors also gave a great performance. I especially like the veterans’ acting, such as Li Nai Wen (as grandmaster Li Hua Yuan), Ada Liu (as Hong Fu) and Wang Tong Hui (as sect leader Zhong). This trio from the Yellow Maple Valley was a pleasure to watch. Also, Chin Shih Chieh who portrayed Physician Mo Jun Ren was excellent as always.

*Favorite moments*
I love all the scenes with Han Li and his best friend Zhang Tie (portrayed by Hu Yu Xuan). I also love the scenes with Han Li and his first mentor at Yellow Maple Valley, Wu Mian (portrayed by Wang Guan). To me, these relationships were pure and sincere. His best friend Zhang Tie liked him unconditionally and only wished his best. The actor Hu Yu Xuan, who portrayed his best friend, was excellent and adorable! It was dramatic when he was killed and made as a robot without any emotion because the character was initially lively and was always talking and smiling.
Han Li’s first mentor at Yellow Maple Valley was the first adult character that truly cared for him and accepted him for who he was and welcomed him warmly. It was touching when Han Li had flashbacks of their best moments after his first mentor’s death.
Also, Han Li and his master Li Hua Yuan, portrayed by Li Nai Wen, had many great scenes together. His master was an important character in Han Li’s growth. He gave Han Li all the elements (all the techniques books), the advice and the support he needed. Before his master died, he even came to save Han Li’s life and, to say farewell to him.
There were also good scenes between Han Li and other female characters. However, to me, Han Li’s romance wasn’t the focus of “Immortal Ascension”.

*Bonus: scenery, songs and the director’s work*
Personally, the scenery, the songs and the director’s work made this “Immortal Ascension” exceptional!
The scenery was truly breathtaking! The scenes in the Yellow Maple Valley were beautiful.
The songs were all excellent. They were well chosen. The song by Tang Wei Wei was my favorite. This singer has very strong and beautiful voice!
The director’s work was outstanding! The director (Mrs. Yang Yang) was perfect! I discovered her and loved her in the series “Ever Night”! She again impressed me here in “Immortal Ascension” with her choice of actors, songs and scenery! The story was interestingly told and fast paced. I had the same feeling as when I watched “Ever Night” (Part 1). She could make the scenes very solemn. She is particularly excellent at the farewell scenes. These scenes leave me a lot of sadness and are hard to forget. I still remember the farewell scene in “Ever Night” with Ning Que (portrayed by Arthur Chen) and Mo Shan Shan (portrayed by Yuan Bing Yan). Mrs Yang Yang did bring me the same sadness here in all Han Li’s farewell scenes. “Immortal Ascension” reflected her style in which everything was made to the perfection!

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Soundtrack # 1 was a delight!

***This review may contain spoilers***

It is a miniseries which tells a gentle, soft and pure love story. I love how we slowly discover that Eun Soo and Sun Woo have loved each other since a long time ago. I enjoyed all the “Bonus Track” at the end of each episode. These details showed how they truly love each other. I also like the theme of loving and respecting each other. They didn’t want to confess because they don’t want to break their friendship, but they also don’t want to restrain each other to achieve their dream in their career. The ending was very satisfying to finally see them happy together!

Han Soo Hee as Eun Soo was perfect. I haven’t seen her for a long time, and I forgot that she was very charming! She portrayed Eun Soo very well. Eun Soo is lively but also sensitive. I also like how stylish she was in this series. Her hair, her makeup, her clothes and her bags fit her very well!
Park Hyung Sik as Sun Woo was also great. He portrayed the gentle, nice, caring Sun Woo very well. I especially love all the scenes he saw Eun Soo with Woo Il. He was very jealous, and it made Sun Woo livelier and funny! I did love the scene in which Eun Soo met Woo Il for work and Sun Woo insisted on drinking the orange juice that Woo Il offered to Eun Soo because he knew she didn’t like it. His acting was great, and he showed a childish side of Sun Woo, which I really love!
The other actors also did a great job and added fun scenes to the series.

Finally, I really enjoyed this series. It was short, soft and gentle. There were no villains. Everybody has great intentions. It was only about love. It was like a breath of fresh air!

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Marry My Husband is a real pleasure for the eyes!

*Storyline
Marry My Husband has a great theme of the second chance. At first, I hesitated to watch this series because I was worried about the fact that it could be dark and too dramatic. The first episode showed the life of Kang Ji Won (played by Park Min Young). She had such a pitiful life. Also, her husband and best friend were despicable. To my biggest surprise, the series had many feel-good moments and it was very addictive! There are also touching moments, like when Kang Ji Won discovered that the taxi driver in the first episode was actually…her father. I was pleased to see that the story didn’t revolve only around the villains. The ending for each villain was well-written to me and they all pay for their bad actions.

*Acting & characters
First, of course, I love Kang Ji Won portrayed by Park Min Young. It was the first time that I watched a series with Park Min Young, and I understand why she is famous. She could be funny and serious, and she is also pretty! She is very cute when she smiles! I love her smile! I also love the character Kang Ji Won itself. She was nice but she wasn’t naïve. She was rather smart towards people who wanted to hurt her.
I especially love Yoo Hui Yeon (male leader’s half-sister) portrayed by Choi Gyu Ri. She was such a carefree person, and she was like sunshine for Kang Ji Won. I love the fact that she is nice and carefree but not naïve. She could see and understand the bad intentions of Jung Soo Won towards Kang Ji Won right from the beginning.
I also like Lee Suk Joon (often called Mr. Lee in the series) portrayed by Ha Do. In the beginning of the series, he seemed to be the assistant of Yoo Ji Hyuk’s grandfather. He was more present near the end of the series. I was delighted to see the development of this character. In the beginning, he always looked calm and cold. However, he turned out to be quite interesting when it comes to Ji Huyk and his love interest Yang Joo Ran. He understood Ji Hyuk very well and he always wished the best for him. I was thankful to him because he was able to see the change in Ji Huyk and convinced the grandfather to approve Ji Won and Ji Huyk’s relationship. Ha Do Kwon did a nice job here as Mr. Lee Suk Joon. His character here reminds me of his character in “Bloody Heart” as the loyal bodyguard of the crown prince (which I also enjoyed).

*Favorite Moments
I love every time Kang Ji Won succeeded against the villains! Those moments were very satisfying and feel good! It became even better when Kang Ji Won was with Ji Huyk to fight against those evil people!
I love all the scenes of Ji Huyk and his half-sister Hui Yeon. Their interactions are very fun to watch!

*The Big Bonus in this series
I also think that the art department and the wardrobe, makeup and hair department’s crew did a wonderful job and made this series even more enjoyable. To me, it was a real pleasure for the eyes! These people made a huge difference for me. Everything was beautiful to me!
I enjoyed watching all the outfits of Kang Ji Won. I found her very cute in the beginning with long hair, glasses and conservative outfits. Later, she was very elegant with short hair and her new wardrobe. Her suits and her handbags fit her very well! Besides her, I also like how Ji Huyk was dressed. He looked handsome in all his three-piece suits.
The settings like Ji Huyk’s apartment or their office always looked neat and clean. Even if Ji Huyk’s family was very rich, nothing was too much or overboard. Everything looked just elegant.

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Jirisan was superb!

*Storyline*
Jirisan is interesting, filled with mystery, drama and a little bit of romance. It revolved around the lives of people coming to Mount Jirisan and those who worked as rangers in the national park of Jirisan.
It is well written and fast paced. All the characters were important and had their own stories. Many of them were touching. I especially love the story of Seo Yi Gang (portrayed by Jun Ji Hyun) with her parents and of course, with her grandmother. Another of my favorites is the love story between the two rangers Jung Goo Young (portrayed by Oh Jung Se) and Yang Sun (portrayed by Joo Min Kyung). They were lovely together and shared many cute moments together but had a tragic ending.
I also was surprised by the real story behind all those murders. Initially, those people who were killed on the Mount Jirisan looked like innocent people. However, as the mystery unfolded, it turned out that many villagers related to the Black Bridge Valley weren’t that innocent. Many did despicable things selfishly.

*Acting*
Jun Ji Hyun did give a wonderful performance as Seo Yi Gang. She is a great actress, and I could feel her remorse when she realized that her parents had always loved her and then, her sadness when she lost her grandmother. I was delighted to see her after so many years. I last saw her in “My Sassy Girl” and I still find her very pretty!
Ju Ji Hoon as Kang Hyun Jo was quite good. I find his character very likeable and at the end, I was relieved that he didn’t die. He was convincing as the devoted, selfless ranger.
Also, a special mention to actors Oh Jung Se as Jung Goo Young, and Sung Dong Il as Jo Dae Jin. The actor Jo Dae Jin portrayed well the Commander. He was credible as the rangers’ leader. He portrayed this character so well that I wondered, who could portray the commander other than him?
Last, but not least, I love the performance of Oh Jung Se as Jung Go Young. In the beginning, he always joked around. However, the actor did demonstrate the other layers of this character. The scene that he found out Yang Sun is dead was very dramatic. He cried so hard, and his emotions were well expressed. Then, when he showed his sadness through his eyes, without saying a word was excellent! Then, at the end, we never see him laugh again, never. His last scene in the series when he reminisced his happy moments with Yang Sun reminded us once again how excellent he was.

**Bonus point: the outdoor scenes*
The storyline and the acting made this series excellent, but the outdoor scenes made this series exceptional to me. The scenery in “Jirisan” was breathtaking! It was impressive how the cast and crew worked hard to film all those scenes on the top of the mountain, the snow, etc. Everything was beautiful!

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