ColourMePurple

Surprisingly good

When I read the title, it had immediately caught my attention and curiosity but watching some promo clips made it feel very cheesy. I thought it isn't something I could possibly enjoy. But because I've liked the Male lead (Dylan Wang)'s work in the past, I decided to give it a go and binged the entire show in 3 days.

The story isn't very complex which is a good thing for first timers like me being introduced to a new fantasy world. A devil (Dong Fang Qing Cang) is held prisoner by fairies for 30,000 years. An ordinary orchid fairy unintentionally gets locked in with him. The fated meeting results in both escaping but unable to part ways. Thus beginning the journey of their love.

The opening theme has stunning illustrations with hauntingly beautiful music. The wardrobe, sets, CGI, all add to the beauty of this show. The work gone into producing this shows. The cast have performed brilliantly especially while varying their emotions and depicting different personalities. The male lead did do the superior job in this regard. The second Male lead is also astounding. The plot moves fairly quickly and the episodes are edited to cut off at a critical point in the conversation or story which makes you want to jump from episode to episode.

The OST is wonderful. The only issue being that it's hard to read the lyrics and the dialogues at the same time. There are a few points where the story slows down considerably for effect and I had to forcefully move it along due to my impatience.

I don't have experience with this genre in cdramas but I definitely want to give more a chance thanks to Love Between Fairy and Devil.

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Epic journey

Someday or One Day was a surprise watch as I went in with little expectations or idea about the show other than it being really good. It exceeded my expectations.

Time travel is more complicated than one might think because of the unpredictability of the travel and return as well as the outcome of interference. This makes it easy to mess up a good plot. Fortunately this Taiwanese drama manages to neatly take us on this journey and add a new dimension to the story telling through the concept of "body swap" or perhaps body inhabitation would be more accurate. Everything is connected and intricate.

I loved the complexity of the show but also the simplicity and unpredictability.

Though some might consider the show to have a slow start, I was hooked from the start and didn't feel that. Most of the questions that I had were answered or I figured them out as I watched. The sequence of events are fairly easy to follow despite time jumps because you are prepared for them.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the characters and each contributed to their own perception of the world which I loved. Getting a glimpse into each person's lived experience and being allowed to understand the characters is what attaches you to them and feel what they are feeling.

If you love time travel shows with mystery and romance and don't mind tearing up a bit then this show is ideal for you.

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Special in every way

Extraordinary Attorney Woo is one of the most unique shows I've seen in recent times. It is certainly not your ordinary law drama.

Depicting the imaginative world through the eyes of this bright rookie attorney obsessed with whales was insightful and brilliant. She is more than her diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Along with sharing the perspectives of caregivers and other relations she develops, the show dares to challenge the ableist views society has towards such individuals in an innocent and honest manner. The animation of EAW adds an element of fun to what could have been a very serious topic.

"Though my life is unusual and peculiar, it is valuable and beautiful."

If you are looking for a heartwarming drama which also presents how attorneys deal with moral dilemmas in cases of social justice then this is certainly a drama for you.

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Second chances, revenge and intrigue!

If you were given a second chance at life, what would you do differently?

Kim Hee Woo is a talented lawyer with an immense sense of justice working at the prosecution office. His desire to bring criminals to justice lands him in peril when he decides to take on a politician, Cho Tae Sab, who sends his personal hitman to end his life. As fate would have it, Hee Woo is brought back to life by a grim reaper for one purpose - take down Cho Tae Sab and make his life hell on Earth. This is where the real story begins.

A lot of people have given a lot of different takes on this show which can be confusing so let me share elements that might help you decide wherher to watch or skip.

What you can expect from the show:
- A methodical and driven main lead working his way to bringing down his target. The story is following him most of the time and his target as the contrast. These two are the main leads.
- Lots of plotting and how these play out.
- Fast pace. Even though the episodes are over an hour long, there is a lot happening and time flies.
- Endearing characters and positive moments.
- Time-jump. You'll also see some back and forth berween the old timeline and the new one. I like how it was done to make the story easier to follow along with.
- Action. The male lead was a boxer in his past life but still no match for his killer. You'll see a lot of martial arts training and fights throughout the show.
- Mild humour. As its mostly a revenge drama, there are not a lot of funny moments but you might still find yourself smiling.
- Lots of famous faces. And a lot of names to remember! From the good to the bad. It was a bit hard to follow since I was watching weekly but might be better if one watches at a stretch. Even when the names were hard to keep track of, enough evidence was given to help you recall or the person was shown in the next instance so one can keep following along.
- A certain amount of realism towards the end. I personally enjoyed it.

What the show lacks:
- Other than the way in which Hee Woo is brought back to life, there is no other fantasy element to the show.
- Romance. If this is important to you, you may not enjoy the show as it is mostly serious.
- Bromance. Though friendships are explored, this is not the focus of the show.
- For a law drama, you won't find moments in courts. It jumps from evidence finding to final result.
- Some prefer a picture perfect ending but that is never how real life works and neither will you find it in this show.

The reason I rated Again My Life a 9 is because every episode was enjoyable. I wanted to keep watching which is what every director aims for. It was interesting to see how the characters were working together as a team towards the same goal. Hee Woo had the advantage of his past life to know whom to bring on board to help him and the lives he can change. Not just his own. Thus making some powerful allies along the way.

There is not a lot that bothers me about the show. The things that do are major spoilers so I will skip them because they are fine within the realm of a show. It also shows that people can be unpredictable. There is some product placement which is a bit funny and awkward at times.

The ending was not disappointing, in my opinion. It was different. And I can appreciate it for what it is.

I hope people give it a shot.

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Underrated

I trusted those that said this movie is not scary but a scaredy-cat like me got scared numerous times and I had to pause it. The movie doesn't have many jump scares. The slow build-up of horror is what got to me each time. It was quite fun though. I loved the comedy especially. It made me laugh numerous times and that is why I enjoyed it this much.

The story isn't exceptional. It is quite a situational horror comedy and the straight faced comedy is truly my style. I genuinely loved the characters, especially the 3 students. The movie also makes you burst out laughing at awkward moments. Again, totally my type of movie.

At the end of the day (I literally watched this in the wee hours of the night), if a horror comedy delivers, it doesn't have to be perfect. And I was thoroughly entertainment and will be recommeding it to others.

For true horror lovers, this movie might feel very mild though and may not impress you.

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No Horror No Comedy

The movie is completely overrated. I do dislike zombie genre but I enjoyed Train To Busan, #Alive, All Of Us Are Dead and few others in this genre. I also scare easily so this movie completely fails as a zombie horror flick. It relies completely on it being a comedy and it was terrible at that as well. It feels childish and silly and even dumb.

The plot was unique so I will give them points for that and that only. The acting was so-so. To be honest, I disliked the family from the start since they were scammers risking the lives of others for their business.

The movie really has no redeeming qualities from start to finish. A waste of time in my opinion.

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Strong Start, Lost The Way Midway

The first half was quite good. I laughed a lot in the first 4 episodes. It got boring in the second half. I didn't really care for the second female lead's presence. I would have liked more of the friend and sister's stories but they barely got development or screentime later.

The show was stolen by Ji Hoon (male version). Whenever Ji Eun appeared, it was just very normal. They gave all the personality to Ji Hoon. Commendable job by the actor, Yoo Jung Hoo. I could see him as a woman. The FL has less of an impact when she is a woman than most of the cast which makes me feel bad for Arin. They didn't build much of a chemistry between the leads. I also think she could have toned down the girlyness a bit more later to show her getting used to behaving more manly like the part when she drives away the stalker. That was her best scene.

The male lead's character was also good as a supportive and understanding boyfriend.

The show lost it's footing when they tried to force in the second female lead. It got more annoying to watch and I started speeding up the show a lot. The ending was okay. Nothing really special which is unfortunate as it had a strong start.

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Main Lead is an Abuser

The story starts with a ML who has amnesia for the last 3 years. He is married to the FL (not explained how this happened) who he was in love with but forgot all memories of her. He thinks her father tried to kill him and another girl who is obsessed with him saved him and is his true love.

It is one thing that he cannot remember the person he was in love with but he actively physically and even sexually abuses his wife who is mute btw. He introduces her as his secretary in front of clients and allows them to disrespect her. Even their staff bad mouth her at home.

When the show depicts their flashbacks, he is supposed to be this kind caring man. But now suddenly he is an abuser and nearly rapes his helpless wife. It is only after 3 years of torturing her and using her as a blood donor he realises he's being too harsh when his client drugs and nearly rapes his already weak wife.

They should have given him brain damage if they wanted us to believe in such a personality change. After what he put his wife through, there is no reason to root for this couple. Plus there was a decent SML who cared for the FL and never tried to pressure her or act inappropriately. That would have made for a better ending. Not create a story where a woman forgives her assaulter.

The story is terribly misogynistic but the developments held my interest. I was just sorely disappointed with the romanticising of a toxic person.

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It's okay

The first episode wasn't great but I enjoyed the 2nd episode which even made me laugh. That is when the FL starts exercising and it is quite relatable. However, somewhere down the line, I stopped enjoying the show as much. Might have been around episode 5 or 6.

There isn't much of a story here. Just the FL turning to exercise because of low self-esteem when it comes to love. I do appreciate them showing that the path to fitness isn't easy and your mood can also hinder your progress. To be honest, the characters are nice. But the show isn't that enjoyable. The male lead is also over the top so people find find that to be a big turn off. For me, it was just bearable because I was focusing on the female lead.

I enjoyed the character of the influencer. She added a nice touch to the story.

I like one of the main OSTsof this show - I Can't Stop This Feeling. It's quite nice.

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Second Chances and Chasing Your Dreams - conditions apply

After the slow start, the drama picked up quite well and had quite a few twists which may or may not be to everyone's liking. For that reason alone, it made it easy to binge as curiosity got the best of me. I kind of saw the ending coming for the most part but it is certainly not entirely predictable.

Pros:
I enjoyed the message about chasing your dreams and women not being persecuted for a chance to live on their own terms. There are in fact 3 generations of women who are shown and how they make their decisions and eventually follow through with what their hearts truly desire.
Another pro is that the men are green flags. Life for women is hard already so it helps to have a supportive partner or friend by your side.
Acting wise, everyone does a really great job even those with their limited parts.

Cons:
It has mainly to do with the ending. Introducing a certain love angle and then not exactly following through with it and making the ending a bit vague is a choice. I mean if you're going to introduce an idea, at least give it a proper conclusion. Why do things have to be left to the viewers' imagination?

Overall I enjoyed it as well despite the negatives as the two songs that were repeated - Man in the Yellow Shirt and The Way I Love. But it certainly could have been better.

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Spicy but Silly

If you want to watch something with a lot of steamy kisses then this is a great show. But it depicts a toxic relationship and there isn't any romancing. Just brute force which amounts to sexual harassment. There are so many things that I found aggravating and non-sensical about the plot in general as well. I found myself rolling my eyes and thinking, "this is dumb" quite often.

So why have I given this a 7.5? Well there are 2 reasons:
- Despite the show having so many cliches, the mystery kept me intrigued and I did like the main couple but I kept hoping they acted more normal. Especially the male lead. He was a bit more gentlemanly in the beginning and later he had so many contrasting behaviours that I wasn't sure if I hate him or not. At one point the female lead does finally slap him and he deserved a lot more so I was pleased for her. All of this made me want to keep watching and see where it would lead.
- The more important reason is the second couple that you see later in the series. It's an older woman younger man trope and they have a much more normal relationship. They are nicer to each other. They look great together. And the female lead is mature. I get turned off when female and male characters that act childish. Fortunately neither act like that. I just wish they had more scenes together.

The thing that would have improved the series would be if the main leads actually communicated with each other. That among other aspects were bizarre. I also felt like the male lead treated his friend far better than he did the female lead who he is supposedly protective of.

There is one particular OST that plays at the end of the episodes as well that I quite liked.

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Great Start Then Dragged On

The first 10 episodes or so were quite promising. I like my FLs strong and she was until she wasn't. Not sure why they took that away from her. Is it because she was outshining the ML's character in action scenes? Because we got some incredible ones of her. Even General Luo Mei has some great fight scenes and was a strong character with high morals and they ruined that as well. It was just frustrating to watch.

The show has love triangles and love squares that get a bit annoying. The anti-hero/villain character of ML's brother was done well however the downright disgusting tactics of him trying to get the general to fall for him were too much for me. The leads' chemistry was good in the first half. Later in the show, I got a bit bored. I liked the second ML as well and his character also got ruined. Still one can understand him even his methods were terrible.

The FL really had 9 lives. And that is a bit funny once you watch it even though it's not supposed to be.

The ending was fairly realistic but to be honest I was already bored of the plot by then so I couldn't even appreciate things I normally do like the action sequences and the romance and some of the emotional scenes. I was too detached to care unfortunately. I just wanted to get over with the series.

There were some plot holes and terribly unrealistic aspects to the show. But it could have been ignored if the show entertained in other ways.

The OST was okay. Not really to my taste. Overall the show is a bit better than average. The actors portrayed their characters well but the plot let them down.

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Good but not satisfied with the ending

Note: There is a post-credit scene after episode 7.

I did enjoy season 2 especially for the action but there were a few things I had a problem with. First, the show takes away from the monsters. The results were also very different for the same process which wasn't explained. There was something new that was mentioned but no details regarding that either. There are several plot holes and the female cop's actions don't add up. I did not see the reason for her character as she contributes nothing to the plot and the male police officer could have easily performed those scenes. His actions also don't make sense in the beginning after watching the final episode.

I enjoyed this season for entirely different reasons that I liked the first season but this also feels like a very different show. And not just because it is set in a different time period but we don't really understand what happened all those years in between that we skipped over. We only get the update from a short period. I enjoyed the mystery, intrigue, longing and the battles despite feeling confused at times and questions being left unanswered.

All the leads have performed wonderfully. I had hoped that we would see some justice for the original victims by the end of this. Alas.

I am assuming the story is not quite over but I don't think the writer will be taking it in the direction that I had hoped.

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Strong start average finish

4Minutes actually started out great but the last 2 episodes were not impressive. There are a few unanswered questions and the final episode has a few confusing moments which don't make sense unfortunately or at least they were quite ambiguous and just leave the audience to fill the gap.

I ended up starting the sultier version and it is definitely graphic. There is partial nudity especially involving a minor (at the time of shooting) so it is good that there is a censored version as well. Watch whatever you are most comfortable with.

I rarely watch BLs but the plot summary and title were what intrigued me. I enjoy mysteries and it was definitely fun trying to decipher the clues in each episode before the clarity of the situation finally hits. So that's where it started to be less enjoyable. There are a few editing issues that didn't make sense but don't affect the plot. I was still surprised these things weren't caught.

The show really was a 9/10 for me midway so I expected a strong finish but sadly they were unable to deliver. I felt disconnected from some of the characters by the end because their actions/reactions seemed strange. And some characters don't have the chemistry we were expecting so it feels unbelievable. It is sad because they really could have done well if they covered all their bases and hadn't skipped crucial moments and elaborated things further. I feel disappointed because I had higher hopes but it is worth watching for the suspense.

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Unique Story Needed Better Execution

I enjoy stories related to mental health and the fantasy genre. This kind of combination was definitely unique. What it lacked was in execution because I seem to have missed the point it was making with their ending.

Though this series got a lot of flak, it isn't so bad. I'd say it's above average as I was curious enough to want to finish it. I just feel like the writers did Ak Hee dirty in the process and that didn't make sense to me.

I enjoyed the portrayal of the two personalities of the ML. The FL was all right. A bit stiff. I haven't seen her in other roles so I'm not sure if it's because of the character she was portraying or not. The supporting cast were all quite good.

The show is best watched at 1.5 - 2x as the pacing felt slow to me.

The biggest question I have is - How can one's illusion impact others? They messed it up with this aspect. Otherwise I didn't feel like dropping it at any point. Just feel a bit disappointed but other than that the ending was good. Even the way they wrapped up those creating trouble makers was fine.

It's okay for a one time watch.

The OST is quite nice and soothing.

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