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Surprisingly interesting drama
I didn't expect much when I started watching this drama but ended up finishing it within two days without skipping between scenes etc because show is presented such way if it's skipped we will end up missing something as things are connected explanation to a scene before will be given in another scene later like what happened after that scene etc.There is romance, but it's not the main part of the story, there are Lesbian/Gay supporting characters but don't expect romance like other dramas, I thought reporter friend of FL character would be wasted but as the story progressed she played her part, I liked the friendship shared between ML character & Maggie, also liked her character better than reporter girl, there is a kiss scene between the reporter girl & Maggie which is better than the one shared by the leads because it's hard to say they even kissed. Romance between the girls take an unexpected turn as story progress, but it's not bad it went that way though, as they have their reasons for choosing what they did.
As for story, it centres around Female lead's character who is a lawyer, the cases she handles are interesting but unlike other law dramas don't expect courtroom scenes presented in a glamorous way but rather it's normal courtroom scenes we see FL defending her client and judges hearing the case and later giving their verdict, this drama intention is to give good message to its viewers regarding various issues dealt in the cases like girl forced to get married, pregnant lady getting fired, After death of lover his gay partner getting sued by his family for the wealth, case about a factory worker, case in which male teacher molests a male student, it's hard for me to explain everything so just mentioned this cases to show that the drama is trying to take this cases and show issues faced by various parties in these cases, and how law is used in all this to help the victims etc.
ML character is a minister, and he ends up meeting FL in different situations during his work and later how both of them handle the issues faced by many characters in the story etc.
Also liked the relationship between FL & her daughter, there was a funny scene where FL dreams her daughter asking her who is her father, and we see her in wedding dress among her ex, ML, co-worker and the masked online friend, there was another scene where ML was with an older lady while he is working two female colleagues comes laughing and tells them about them catching the guys watching porn then suddenly that talks leads to talk regarding sex education and how to make law regarding porn etc, I liked how the scene was handled it was a just random scene, but they made that scene a meaningful one for the viewers regarding that topic.
I liked the scenes with the leads, how the interactions between them leads to romance and FL chat with her online friend and the revelation as to who that friend is. The show is different from most Thai dramas that just go the slap/kiss route, even when it's a different genre.
This drama is unlike other Thai dramas no slaps, cursing, beating in the extreme manner or dragging story with pointless things etc, it contains a story that deals with social issues etc and tried to present that in an entertaining manner.
For me, the story was interesting, the cast did well, I liked FL performance in the show first time watching her drama as for ML have seen Kularb Tud Petch enjoyed it, being the reason for selecting this one but ended up liking FL performance as well, liked presentation of Maggie character as well as the daughter character, there was even talks about esports in the drama as one of the character is interested in esports. Most parents don't consider gaming as something good, so even adding that into drama might throw a positive light on selecting gaming as a career for some.
I am not good at writing reviews but decided to write, so anyone interested in the drama know what to expect from the drama.
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One of the best K dramas I have watched
I enjoyed watching this show from start to end, it's rare to see a drama getting better and better with each episode, characters in the show are used well they are not in it for the sake of it, cast did well especially Lee Joon gi was at his best in this drama.Relationship between ML & his family, his sister and fake mother in the sense some scene we feel she is actually the mother she even had a good interaction with Ml's daughter, it was hard to say one character is pure evil except the real baddies in the show. Even that cop character ie friend of FL he was interesting his character was not in the show for the sake of it, each character in the show that is important to the story were used well.
I enjoyed it so much watched it 3 times and still planning to watch whenever get time and feel to watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
I was biased, when I first saw the name of the drama Joy of life I thought it was some boring drama, I like Chinese costume dramas some of them were good and interesting to watch, so I decided to give it a try last year and started, and I was really shocked to find the show turned out far better than expected never watched something like this, male lead is shown weak when the story starts, but he is very smart, and he is living a protected life, and he decides to leave there.I am writing this review from my memory, so after a rewatch will update it more.
Things I liked about this show, story is very interesting it never gets boring have lots of twist and turns, great cast and better acting good background music, interesting characters, my favourite scene was when male lead meets the emperor, and he talks about poetry and that he know about things from another world when he is challenged by a master there he starts reciting the poetry that scene is excellent and well performed by male lead, this show was the place he could show his acting talent, don't if any other actor could have done this better.
I liked his relationship with his sister and scenes with them together, the female lead sadly at least in season 1 has nothing big to do other than being love interest of the male lead.
Best part is that unlike most c dramas, this one doesn't waste time dragging the story adding unnecessary scenes etc even if viewer might feel the story world is dark and danger is hiding in every corner and death can happen any time the show don't turn depressing they don't waste time focusing more on bad guys winning or making male lead weak, male lead faces challenges and viewers might feel he might lose, but he uses his wits to overcome crisis.
Interesting part is male lead has better chemistry with Saintess Duo Duo than female lead, also liked the interactions with Si Li Li.
This show is one of the best costume dramas I have watched, along with Sword Snow Stride, both of them are must watch for fans of wuxia/fantasy/martial arts genre.
I heard it's a Trilogy and season 2 is not here yet, I might just read the novel.
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So coming back to this drama story is based on first game, it has very popular cast, story takes time to progress like any 50-60 plus c dramas, Visual effects are not that great but for me, I don't mind if the story is interesting, some parts looked interesting some didn't, music was not bad, some of the supporting cast was good, but didn't like the character Fang Lan Sheng he was irritating but the actor who did that role is a good actor, but his character really tests viewers patience, the show quality would have increased more if they reduced the episodes, Romance is there, but it's light no kiss scenes, story focus on male lead and his friends and their adventure what they see, learn and how they grow and overcome difficulties etc.
Supporting characters are also given importance, they are not just there for names sake, but they also contribute to the story world, some of the story arcs were good, but main part of the story sometimes pauses and takes few episodes to continue and most of the major revelations are made after 40 episodes, show faces issues faced by any popular Chinese dramas that is 50-70 episodes long ie clichés, story getting dragged etc.
It's one time watch, maybe playing the game is better than watching the drama some issues might have happened when it was made into a drama and lost the best parts.
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One of the better Vampire genre K drama for me
Vampire genre in K dramas is less compared to zombie genre which gets better with each drama and even rivals western zombie films & dramas lately, but sadly for vampire genre k dramas there are only few & I dropped the Blood k drama, including this drama I only liked three other vampire k dramas that I watched.The story of this drama revolves mainly around protag also called Night Scholar/Vampire Hunter & the Antagonist called GWI sort of elder Vampire I think if compare to western Vampire stories etc.
So this is the last Vampire K drama that I enjoyed watching, Protag becomes a Vampire as the main antagonist mortally injures the Vampire hunter who turns the protag into a Vampire to kill GWI, In this story vampire hunter is not humans but rather vampires that tries to keep their humanity, story revolves mainly around protag & the antagonist they are the main pillars of the story, if the actors who portrayed these roles didn't do a great job this would have turned into a bad & very boring drama.
Don't expect modern level Vampire action, this follows the old vampire genre style, slow paced but don't drag the story atrociously like older k dramas that increase frustration levels to max & also test viewers common sense & patience.
I liked the Vampire actions in this drama they may look old now but when this aired this was one of the best Vampire K drama I watched till that time, don't think there is any new Vampire genre K drama after this drama.
Like I mentioned above drama is slow paced and takes it's time to introduce the characters, story world etc, there is a lot of talking between characters and skipping can cause losing some important information regarding story, you will see GWI talking a lot he will reveal some info regarding his past and the people he met his lover etc, I have watched this drama more than 2–3 times and currently rewatching again this time gave more attention to GWI conversation and his interactions with other characters including Night Scholar aka main protag, in some scene we feel GWI might have some kindness next scene he does some brutal killing despite being hated he doesn't want to turn second female lead who works for ML, even tells her becoming a vampire with a heart is not easy one can die or turn into a bloodthirsty vampire etc, SFL aka the queen she looks like Night scholars old lover she has her plans in one scene we might think she is planning something next scene we see her human side, I think almost every cast in the show did well, compared to older k dramas or even some new ones this story is interesting till end, there is a start and end, most k dramas gets a great start then start getting bad and by the end viewer might start hating the show.
This is one of the better Korean Vampire genre drama. The drama has some good music, but sadly they have not used the music well to make some scenes even better like the scene where Night scholar loses his black cloth, and he has to save FL in the morning, I think the production tried to reduce the budget or go with low budget, so everything in this drama depends on the performance of the actors, the best part of the show is performance of the cast.
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Show is interesting, But?
I didn't get bored watching the show, it's slow paced but still interesting to watch, the show was good till last episode, but it was how it ended that caused a mixed feeling for me, I was watching a J drama before writing this review it was about a disappearance of a family whose daughter gets the help of the protag to solve the mystery, music in it was infinite times better than this show in the sense I feel the music was not used well, some parts were good some were silent some scenes the music felt weird, acting was the best part of the show, story was interesting, but focus went to side stories making the main part lost in the story of supporting characters, I liked the Japan arc & the golf company arc, but in this two cases viewers get to see how protag saved a business & failed to sell another in a way that appeased the chairman but did it need 4 episodes in the sense due to that main story was shortened & now need a season 2 to tie up all loose ends, like the daughter of the doctor who met Chairman around the first episodes where he laughed weirdly & after the show ends after credit scene we find that lady is pregnant & the man with her might be related to Chairman & even that guy was acting weird, Chairman expression when he met the female Doctor with her father was weird in the sense it also gave a sense that he might be interested in young girls & asking her to write her name in Chinese etc also felt weird but if he knows she had a relationship with someone in his family that scene is not weird, then saw that female doctor with chairman when he was hospitalized & he talks to her about his daughter that scene was not bad it was like a father talking to a woman who is around the age of her daughter about what he felt about his daughters situation then that ending with female doctor again.Samuel Fund arc was a joke, they were everywhere but at the end will be dealt in season 2, there was another K drama around 2019 in it ML wife was in coma that situation was resolved in that season & story ends with death of one person who was guilty there was a season 2 next year & it only had this case from season 1 dealt with in season 2 another show detective drama season 1 dealt with FL family death & MLs lover death it was resolved in season 1 FL even divorced her husband in season 1 who she married because after her family's death she lived with her husband's family & she ended up marrying him, season 1 ended as if there was no need for a sequel & still there was a sequel that continued the story.
Then came Netflix dramas etc that has 6–12 episodes that ends with cliffhangers for potential sequels due to this now some shows don't conclude the story better they waste time & drag the story with lot of things, J dramas they end the story in 8–12 episodes even those I sometimes felt needed more episodes just because loved watching it.
In this drama, everything related to side stories were resolved perfectly only the main story is left open except brother's death was resolved but by the looks of it main parties might be out there like the guy or both from Samuel Fund.
I have mixed feelings after I finished this one, it's good, bad weird (music) at the same time, was there a need to push everything unresolved to season 2, I think they could have finished the story beautifully in season 1 itself & continue another story in Season 2, if the team have a plan to tell the story in Season 2 & it's well executed then after watching that my review for this show might improve else I will stick to this. Just my opinion, it's one time watch show is good but won't say it's the best.
I would say compared to this show Fixer J drama which has 3 seasons is done better, main part is resolved in each season like first season dealt with prime minister's accident & cabinet in trouble, S2 dealt with reporter from season 1 arrested for assaulting governors wife and S3 dealt with the reporter running for Governor election, protag of this series is the Fixer he is the main player he was falsely arrested and after his return he is in the midst of things that happens in all 3 seasons.
In season 1 story ends with resolving things regarding PMs accident etc, Season 2 ends with solving the case of assault & Season 3 ends with resolving election & potential sequel, but the story ended fine even without the need for a sequel Fixer telling the Reporter I will make you the Prime minister of Japan but if that drama followed this dramas style & focused on side story S1 & S2 incidents will only be resolved in S3.
I feel this story could have been resolved in this season itself & my review being like this only because of leaving everything to S2, that part felt lazy, everything was great except music & leaving everything to be resolved in next season, usually don't go this hard on any drama, I had high hopes for this one & was left disappointed, I won't be rewatching this again also won't recommend rewatching the show unless they want to check various business terms & scenarios regarding but rather than rewatching for that purpose it's best to check YouTube videos regarding M&A etc, all effort was put into making best side stories & by side stories I mean supporting character's backstory, Construction co selling arc dealt with old woman & Bium D & I CEO, Gaming co arc dealt with lead developer who is in love & his team, Japanese arc dealt with Shimizu employees, Hotel arc dealt with Chairman daughter & Golf co arc dealt with Lawyers friend etc each arc had close interaction of side characters with one of the member from team like in the Hotel arc chairman daughter interaction with Kwak Min Jeong. So story focused mainly on supporting characters & left main story to be resolved in season 2.
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