Cykodramaqueen

A little slow and dull

Choi siwon and Lee Da Hee have visuals! So they look good together. Their chemistry was not sooo steamy.. they were good friends for a long time, were involved in other relationships and were always there for each other. How they transitioned from good friends to lovers was a bit blurry, not so clear cut. But he fell for her first.

I liked the concept of the reality show- Kingdom of Love. In fact I liked the couple chef John and Park Ji Wan more than any other couple- they had good chemistry and a good storyline. I did FF a bit here and there. A little dull and slow, but cute and an interesting watch. :)

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Get your tissues ready!!

A great movie for a rainy night snuggled under your blanket!! Haha… yes.. good one to binge watch (well it’s only two hours)

Loved the main two leads- the attraction was real and both had good visuals together. The storyline is simple enough- best friend asks to find out stuff about Guy A, so girl starts “stalking” him, unknowingly Guy A’s best friend Guy B starts liking her. But he thinks she likes Guy A so gets jealous. Then FL starts falling for Guy B but her best friend who thought liked Guy A , actually turns out likes Guy B!! Ok- it may sound confusing, but when you watch it it’s not :)

There is one very light kiss scene. Other than that it was pure face to face attraction/ standing close to each other, giving each other glances etc ;) Very sweet and tear jerking- cos it’s not a happy ending. It’s a teen movie but I thoroughly enjoyed watching it! Definitely recommended :)

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AMAZINGLY GOOD!!!

As all good stories go, it all started long ago when a woman, a court maid was jilted and scorned by her lover- the king, who chose another woman instead of her. The king was treacherous- he killed anyone who got in his way. He is also quite a dumb and temperamental king who lashes out in anger when he doesn’t get what he wants. He’s dumb because when something goes wrong, he doesn’t even know how to investigate properly. Lol..

Then you have the Crown Prince, who I suppose is still young and naive; what wants to do good and help the people. But he does not yet have the power and authority, therefore he is trapped in his own prison having to succumb to the will of the palace.

The road to the throne develops quite interestingly with a good steady pace. It wasn’t as evil- deceitful-betraying as Scarlet Heart Ryeo, and our crown Prince turns out to be a very good King. But as Lady Court Seo points out to the ever-lovable Royal Head Guard- “A good king does not necessarily make a good husband”.

First one third of the series had its funny moments, we learn that the FL Sung Deok-Im is a free-spirited, bright, intelligent woman who knows how to earn her keep. She and the ML crown Prince Yi San cross paths when they’re young, and then meet again 10 years later. Initially he is taken aback by her arrogance and boldness (because she didn’t know he was the crown Prince) but soon he starts to fall in love with her. Towards the middle, the story focuses more on the evil plots to prevent the crown Prince from advancing to the throne. And there’s one great fight scene(only one!) in episode 7. Then the last 3 episodes are all about the love and relationship between FL and ML.

How do I start to describe their relationship? It was doomed from the beginning? Either one party would not be truly happy because both had different destinies and both wanted different lives. HE loved her so desperately.. wanted to keep her by his side. SHE rejected him many times because she wanted her freedom, she didn’t want to be confined to the palace and not having him all to herself. It was truly truly very sad... The chemistry between both leads were very very good though, some sweet and gentle PDA scenes.

I did wish we could see more of their happiness towards the end. The last episode was just tragedy after tragedy.. my gosh. My heart couldn’t take it sob sob. [SPOILER: It was unclear though how both of them succumbed to illness and died?? I’m still trying to figure that out. And to lose their son as well... heartbreaking. END SPOILER]

Definitely a highly recommended watch. A tad too melodramatic for me... too much crying. Maybe a few more fight scenes and conspiracies would have been better lol. Well done to all the actors- they did such a good job! The OST was not as memorable for me... it didn’t have that one or two particular songs that moved my emotions.

I will end my review with a quote from the Queen Dowager- “The palace is a dazzling..... prison”.

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Very unique, quirky and a definite MUST WATCH!

From the first episode, I completely adored Jin Moo Hak (ML). He’s not your typical dramaland CEO - he comes off unrefined and undignified; he speaks his mind too abruptly, he likes to shout lol and his dressing was a tad too loud for me haha.. BUT everything that comes out from his mouth rings so true! He has such wisdom and a heart of gold- although his general knowledge of the world is quite atrociously bad!! Loolllll.. Hats off to Kim Min Jae who acted the role so well!!!

The storyline is a good one- a very well blended mix of humour, conspiracy, romance/ love and family relationships. The funny parts are really funny... I haven’t laughed this much since ... ?? What’s wrong with Secretary Kim?? The romance and relationship development between Kim Dali and JMH was SO GOOD! They are completely opposites- in terms of personality, background, family and simply they way they project themselves. Even all her close friends and colleagues couldn’t believe that she would date him! [the scene where they tell Won Tak about their relationship- it’s the funniest ever!!]

The only thing I didn’t quite like was how the writers always tried to “trick” the audience into thinking something else. And how the scenes would flashback so very often to reveal the truths. After awhile it got predictable and a little cliche. Other cliches would be the overbearing loud stepmother and the unnecessary kdrama crying sensations ... lol.

All in all it was very quirky cute and unique! A definite definite must watch!! :):):)

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Too good to be true?

Lin Yang (FL) and Lu Zheng An (ML) grew up together as kids, both families were very close. She was 7 years older than him. But one moved away after 6 years. Somehow when LZA was 15, they met again and started liking her. He never had a girlfriend because he was set on her, but she on the other hand had many bfs. He went to study abroad and at 24 yrs old, the moment he came back, he went to look for her to live and work near her.

Their love story was good, and also not good. Good because he was very focused on her and her alone (borderline obsessive). I thought in most instances he was quite mature in his thinking, a little impulsive but sweet and earnest. She only treated him like a little brother at first, cos she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of dating him. But eventually she realised she had fallen in love with him, but still refused and rejected him. Only with the help of friends then she finally admitted and agreed. There were many sweet moments and PDA so that was nice.

Not good- he directed his whole life based on what she liked- what food she liked, which music star she liked, his whole world revolved around her. She, the lawyer cousin and many others treated him like a kid (cos they were all older than him) which I felt was kinda unfair.

Supporting characters and side stories were not that interesting to me. Unfortunately I skipped quite a lot, and focused mainly on the lead couple and whatever involved them. I also skipped the beginnings of each episode where the scene would flashback to when they were kids with their parents. Found that dull. Sometimes the story was too good to be true, everything worked out perfectly- both parents were so supportive, whatever scandals were dealt with easily and smoothly.

It was a nice easy drama to watch, but don’t expect too much. :)

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It’s raining sugar!! :)

Starts off with Ding Xian moving to a new school at 16 years old, and her desk mate is none other than Zhou Si Yue. Initially they don’t get along (of course!) but soon you can see he starts to like her and gives her special treatment - like helping her with her homework, giving her his notes, protecting her from embarrassment etc... they don’t actually confess their feelings yet, and just say they are desk mates/ classmates.

Soon he enters university first, while she struggles with the entrance exam. She has to work extra hard to get into the same uni as him (he’s somewhat of a genius ) so she’s quite stressed and exhausted. When she finally succeeds, they haven’t kept in touch for almost a year and he was going through some struggles. He decides he doesn’t want to start any relationship (because he feels he’s not good enough- typical) but ding dong ding dong, he finally realises he really likes her and starts to pursue her. After that it’s all raining sugar :)

The concept is nothing new, you have the usual love rivals/ third parties; the best friends starting their relationships; the competition trying to backstab them etc... Ding Xian’s mother is rather overbearing (instead of the overbearing CEO theme); very controlling and quite ridiculous in my opinion.

I think the writers spent a bit too much time on the high school segment- Episodes 1-15? It would have been better to spend more during the uni days and maybe when they start work.

Anyhow, the love story development is very sweet, very understanding and supportive. Not much kissing or PDA if you’re looking for that ;) It is a youth drama so gotta keep it PG13?? Lol...
Chen Zhe Yuan as Zhou Siyue was pretty good, he played the character well. As for Xu Mengjie aka Rainbow Xu who played Ding Xian... umm I didn’t really like how she carried herself. I felt she mumbled a lot, and her acting was rather sluggish. I’ve seen videos of her dancing and doing tik toks, which is very different from her character as she was a member of Rocket Girls 101.

All in all, it’s a beautiful drama and a definite recommended watch. Check out my Instagram profile for video clips. Enjoy :)

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Finding and loving yourself

This drama is about 3 characters at university with their own history and troubles/ problems with family, financial struggles, and abuse. They all have a rocky and less desirable start to their friendship but eventually grew to be great friends.

I especially loved the brotherly relationship between Yeo Jun and Soo Hyun. I also loved their character development and how they learned more about themselves and helped each other to change and evolve. However I didn’t particularly like the last episode where they re-enacted the part where Jun spilled coffee on Soo hyun in the first episode. I thought it was unbecoming of Soo Hyun’s character to behave like that, as if the roles were reversed and now he is the clingy one.

I didn’t particularly like So- bin... her character seemed non- essential and didn’t really evolve much, although she did overcome some of her fears. The side characters were the typical school bullies/ bitches- bad mouthing, take advantage, physical fights, cyber bullying and assault. The side characters I did like were Young-Ran and Chan Ki :) Even though the importance of their roles were somewhat less, the essence of their characters were more interesting. I did wish to see a romance development between Soo Hyun and Young Ran, so I was sorely disappointed when it did not happen booo.

The romance between Jun and So-Bin was mediocre. This genre is not so much romance but more towards friendship and overcoming your past and present struggles. There were some dark sides to the story, some of which was quite disturbing to watch (mainly abuse and assault). Also lots of melodrama, crying (violin playing in the background) moments.

Music and OST seem great too, quite modern but none really made an impression. A definite recommended watch- I love Bae In-Hyuk who plays Soo Hyun. He’s a new actor to keep your eye on (also in My Roommate is a Gumiho)

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2nd Male Lead syndrome :)

First half was super hilarious - slapstick, corny, lol kinda funny. 2nd half the humour became tiresome and repeated.

Can I just say-I LOVE Jang Ki Yong, but this is the first time I was rooting for the other guy Seon-Woo to get the girl!! His character development was more interesting. At the start he was sneaky and a jerk, but after getting to know and falling in love with Lee Dam he changed, and stood up for her. He even confessed 3x times, but was bitterly rejected. I truly felt his pain and cried during those scenes :(:(:(

The love story between main leads was kind of dull. It was cute and funny before they started dating, after that it got boring and lacked chemistry. Mr Gumiho was rather clueless for a fox who has lived 999 years. And his best friend Hye Sun was equally as dull, all she did was give advice. I think the scriptwriters could have done more with their characters- some action and more magic would have been nice.

The Marble story was rather confusing. It seemed repetitive, going around in circles, like they had to drag the story for 16 episodes. I did like the supporting casts- some ppl preferred the love story of Hye Sun / Jae Jin more than the leads. Towards the end, I started skipping quite a bit. I found the last episode dull, and his comeback a bit of an anti-climax.

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Perfect blend of comedy, romance and fiction

Wow! Another gem for this year(2021) although I believed it was filmed in 2019. Please more Chinese dramas like this (another good one is Moonlight- read my review on that!)

What I loved most was it’s only 26 episodes. Just right- thus the story wasn’t draggy and the focus was mainly on the lead couple. The funny parts were super hilarious, because of the body swap both leads had to experience each other’s lives- [SPOILER: imagine a guy in a girl’s body and she gets her period!! LMAO] Both actors also pulled it off well, although Jiang Yi’s character as male and female was a tad more interesting than Yu Sheng Sheng. I thought Steven Zhang did a great job, I also liked him in Skate Into Love. What really added to the comedy and to me was what made the whole drama fantastic- was the background music and sound effects! There was the “Jealousy” theme song, the Idol entrance theme music, the out-of-tune orchestral music plus many many more!! Trust me, you will love it!

As for the relationship development, it was very well done. Both parties were open, matured and honest with each other. [SPOILER: yes there was a break up scene, but it was justified and not like other dramas where I break up for your own good and hide the truth. END SPOILER] Chemistry and kissing scenes between leads also was great ;))) Another plus point for this drama- the supporting casts were a pleasure to watch as well. Most of the time, the leads are great but the supporting casts were given such annoying storylines and characters, it made it torturous to watch (e.g My Little Happiness and Love Scenery- both dramas I really liked but it was ruined because of SC)

When you watch the ending (last 8mins) then you will make sense of the first scene in Episode 1. Ummm other reviewers were not too happy with it, for me it was an “Ohhh... I see!” moment. Hmm if they didn’t have that epilogue, I would have been happier because it was a bit of a let down. Let fiction be fiction. Production and cinematography was great. Voices are not dubbed and the OST was good too. All in all, a very very good watch and a definite recommendation. :)

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Soooo STOOOPID

The script writing, flow and editing is very poor. Basic storyline is not bad, but the development of all the plots is just a vicious cycle, became repetitive and annoying. The only reason I watched till the end is that the ML is good looking & hot! :))) If you can just look past all those, then you should be fine.

Romance and chemistry- err maybe 6/10? Had lots of potential but nothing great. If you’re looking for Cdramas with great chemistry, try Love Scenery, Maiden Holmes, Love Unexpected (but storyline not fantastic) and My Little Happiness.

There are many Cdramas out this year (2021) which are way better, so this one I suggest you give a pass ;)

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Crappy storyline

This could have been so much better.

Arranged marriage- both didn’t even see each other, married only on paper. After 3 years, they want to get a divorce. Somehow FL knows who ML is, but ML has NO IDEA how his wife looks like. And he didn’t know until ep23!! Ridiculous #1.

So he actually meets his wife, but under the name Penny (he knows his wife as Sheng Mian) and falls in love w her unknowingly. All this while, still hating Sheng Mian thinking she is a schemer and just wanting his money and investments. To rough out all this time, penny could have revealed her true identity to him, because she also starts falling in love with him… but she doesn’t! And still wants to divorce him!!!

She keeps lying and lying.. all the way till the final episode- lying that she lost the baby, but she’s actually still pregnant. In the final episode- it starts with her saying she wants to get a divorce. AGAIN! And it ends with him proposing, and she accepts 🤣🤣🤣 go figure.

Sigh, such poor script writing. Anyhow, it only 11mins each episode. And there’s a lot of forced kisses and shoving, if you’re ok with this kinda stuff.

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The best of the 3

If you’ve watched all 3 seasons, I think you’d appreciate this season the most.

The first one was kinda boring to me. Maybe because they had to lay the groundwork for the storyline? S2 was intense but S3 was the best. Not because of the actors, but because each episode had very interesting cases- very outrageous cases; just like Grey’s Anatomy! Things like forest fires, a tree branch stuck in the abdomen, building collapsing and on-site medical rescue etc.. so kudos to the writers for being very “American” in a sense. The pace is fast so I liked it. Minus the sleeping around with each other kind of antics.

If you’re looking for romance per se, it’s not so evident here. Just a hint here and there but it’s not the main focus. What I didn’t particularly fancy was how in every season, it’s the same ol ’ trope of higher uppers trying to disdain Master Kim and take over or close down Doldam Hospital. If there is a S4, I hope the writers come up with a different and new plot.

If you like medical dramas, this is a definite watch. Enjoy!

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Skipped A LOT!

I’m a fan of older woman/ younger man storylines, but this one did not cut it. Both leads are indeed very good looking, so the visuals are a plus point. The chemistry however was sorely disappointing. This is the first drama where I actually skip and ff some scenes where they’re hugging, kissing or talking intimately. Can you believe that??! A good kiss scene I would normally rewatch a few times!! :):)

The ex- bf, the over controlling father, the over protective brother, the b**ch in the office who wants to bring you down... all the typical tropes. Second half was getting dry and draggy, less episodes could have made it more bearable. It’s an open happy ending, no break-up & not a lot of bad vibes drama. Only Epi 20 I would say gave me the most angst!

Side characters were not very interesting. Music also not memorable in my opinion. There’s so many better dramas out there- wouldn’t recommend this one.

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Better than You Are My Glory lol

Many will probably disagree with me :P
It’s not a matured tale- it’s light & funny, typical yet engaging, sweet yet realistic... all in all I loved it!

It’s the first drama where I actually enjoyed the relationship and character development of ALL 3 couples!! Yes there are cliches (spoiler: esp the last episode with the library books proposal, didn’t particularly like that) and yes, The female characters were rather whinny at the start (I don’t know why the writers must make them so annoying) but the pace of the story was great and not draggy. I DID NOT skip at all lol and found it thoroughly engaging.

The chemistry between all 3 couples were very unique and great! Many kissing and intense moments, also a few touching and crying ones. Check out my Instagram page to see video clips ;)

Apparently I read that Bi Wen Jun’s voice was dubbed? I loved the OST for this drama- a few really nice and memorable songs. It made the drama whole.

A definite recommendation for something sweet & light. Enjoy :)

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