Storytelling at its finest
This drama has everything. A villain that is truly heinous, that even reaches from beyond the grave to stir up trouble. A couple that defies convention, making us sigh and cry with them as they overcome obstacles and prove how deep their love is for each other…no matter the cost. A supporting cast that only adds to the story and is not a distraction. A production team that brings this story to life in the best possible way. The actors are flawless in bringing these characters to life and making this an experience that sticks with you. All the intrigues and machinations of life in the palace are succinctly shown and there are no wasted moments. This is the first drama I’ve watched where everything truly has a purpose for being there. It is an exquisite story of love and love of country.Was this review helpful to you?
Learning how to love a musical genius
This starts and ends with a concert. I loved every bit of the music. This alone makes it worth the watch. Naoki is a musical genius. He lives for the sounds that his brain soaks like a sponge to spin songs that takes you to a happy place. He is hard to know because he deliberately cuts himself off from the world to let the sounds around inspire him. He meets three others that changes his musical view. Sho has a gift with guitar and made him form a group. Akane opens his heart to the beat of her drums. Kazushi opened the door to challenge him on keyboards. Together they form bonds of friendship and music that turns them into family. It explores the darker side of the industry and how naive talent can be exploited. How jealousy between brothers can be settled with musical competition and grudges forgiven with better understanding. That healing can come through selfless giving and combining of talents so that all are represented. There are definite flaws but still a good watch and if you like the music, a definite rewatch of the last episode for the concert is highly recommended.Was this review helpful to you?
The journey of the last Di disciple
This is an eerie, adventurous, strange and heartwarming journey of Lu LingFeng. I ended up really liking him, but have to admit that he was absolutely my least favorite character for a good bit of the story. There was no denying his capabilities, but he was the most arrogant, rule stickler, arse of a man that could only see black and white and not see the people at all. He really annoyed me. He meets Su WuMing, and they are immediately at odds because Lu wanted his job. They spend a good part of the drama trying to prove who is the best Di disciple. Due to capricious royals, the two find themselves in the same vicinity, working on the same cases. Even when they are moved to different locations they find themselves tossed together. They are fated.😂 They add two beautiful talented women, a lush of a doctor, and a young martial artist to their repertoire and become an investigating marvel. Their combined abilities make this a fun romp, even as many of the circumstances completely creep you out. The music gives the right amount of eerie vibes and the production staff did an excellent job choreographing the fight scenes and presenting the magical. Beginning at odds, they all become a family of sorts, developing lifelong bonds as they investigate and close cases. This is fun to watch if you like the weird and darker notes of the supernatural. There are hints of romance and the gals are written smart and capable. They successfully close all their cases with promise of a season 2. This drama is guaranteed to entertain if you like this genre.Was this review helpful to you?
Love it or hate it - this drama gets people talking
Firstly, I cannot praise this cast enough for their acting skills. There are no weak links and they successfully draw you into the story. Secondly, the disguise transitions are smooth because there was a lot of work by the actors and production staff to make it happen. There were multiple filming of scenes so that support cast could see Li Landi in action and mimic her well. These multiples also gave Tan Jian Ci opportunity to adjust to the different actors and see them as her. It created a perfect fusion of people and objects that brought the bracelet tech to life before our eyes. Thirdly, the writer was quite determined to make us intensely dislike both male and female leads. This was lightened up some by the wonderful best friends making up the second couple, but the only way to decide if you are really up to this drama is to actually view to the end of episode eight. It is here that we begin to understand the magic of the writer and proceed with trepidation to see what comes next. The magic begins and everything seems to go on course til we hit episodes 20 and 21. Here again you have to decide if you are willing to see this through to the end. This is where lots of conversations take place and people are all over the spectrum in opinions of what they think. I can truthfully say I have not seen such animated discussion over a drama before on so many platforms. Lastly, If you choose to persevere to the end of this, you will learn what delighted and deviled us. Why many of us find this unique, fresh and thoughtful with a splash of true comedy thrown in. Why we are engaged in telling each other what we love or hate about it and sharing with family and friends whether they want to hear about it or not. You might even just find yourself joining the conversation.Was this review helpful to you?
Life through a trauma cleaner’s eyes
This drama takes us into the job of trauma cleaning. We are introduced to a father and son team whose job is to handle the final move of the deceased. The care and respect they give the dead is worth mentioning. In some cases, they were the only ones to extend such a courtesy. In spite of the somberness of the job, the father and son have a beautiful loving relationship. The son has Asperger’s so he has special abilities with memory and prefers to avoid physical contact and noise. Tang Jun Sang did an excellent job portraying this young man. Sang-Gu (the uncle) enters the scene when Jeong-u passes and there is a very different dynamic for Geu-ru. While some thought too much time was spent on the heart boxes, I think we had to walk with Sang-Gu through these histories of the deceased to have our hearts opened along with his to understand the stories left for us from departed ones if we have eyes to see what they are saying. It takes time for this to register and I think the writer and actors did an excellent job of presenting that. There are many powerful and emotional scenes that have you experiencing the stories with them. I would have liked a different ending for the evil manager and preferred a bit calmer version of Na-Mu and without her mom almost entirely. Their loudness was too big an opposite to Geu-ru’s quiet nature. But I can only praise this cast for helping us reflect on matters we overlook or opt to wait til later to address. It lets us see life through the dead and that is a very interesting perspective.Was this review helpful to you?
Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty II To the West
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A posse of sheriffs sizzling in the west
Season two jumps right in with the weird, macabre and fantastical. Our detectives are using their differences to complement rather than annoy each other as they travel the west. They find other sheriffs and likeminded officials to solve cases and actually help the people. All the sheriffs introduced this season have valuable skills to help our crew and are easy on the eyes. This season Lu loses his spear and I found myself missing Chicken Fei throwing him the pieces. Their cases still lean to the strange and unique that always lead to a web of conspiracies before finding the actual culprit. XiJun and YingTao provide lots of assists to keep their men out of trouble. Fei continues to make drinking his life, but still manages to be the hero that provides life changing cures wherever they go. XueHuan gets to join them as they make their way back to the capital. He has been commissioned by the Princess to keep Lu safe. The royals are still vying for power and their underlings the most determined to kill off Lu and Su before they make it back. Season 3 can’t get here soon enough. This season is every bit as good as season 1 if not better. So those that are already fans, make popcorn and grab a seat. Those that haven’t watched will also enjoy if they like tales on the dark side. I would recommend watching first season as some of the cases and people are continuations of their stories.Was this review helpful to you?
Realizing limitations don’t define you
This was a wonderfully portrayed journey of a master chef. He wanted to surpass his mentor and he finds the staff he hopes will let him achieve that goal. The story covers how decisions made can lead to completely different choices. Friendships and work relationships are tested. It shows that the goals we set ourselves may turn out to just be the beginning. While the focus is obviously on food, it covers family ties, passion for job..and the lengths we are willing to go to to preserve them both. This is definitely worth the watch and makes viewer appreciate relationships and how we are impacted by them. It also shows sometimes the simplest things are what truly makes us happy.Was this review helpful to you?
I Am Nobody: The Showdown Between Yin & Yang
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Second chapter not sequel
This season continues to introduce us to the super powers setting up for endgame battle. It is not a sequel and that has disappointed many. I enjoyed meeting the new characters and seeing their abilities. The favorites from last season made important appearances and continued the story. I did not mind that this did not center on their stories but rather about the super powers and how they impact outsiders. The yin yang conflict here was represented in each character as well as the given good vs evil. Grey areas were handled better this time and the battles reflected how inner conflicts and loyalties affect the choices made. The production staff did a good job with the battles and world building. I also really enjoyed the music. It was especially moving in the episode of Chen Duo shopping. This was a very nice buildup to a third season where I hope we will get the battle we really want to see and the explanation of Feng BaoBao.Was this review helpful to you?
Frenemies and enemies
The phenomenal cast, production staff and OST brought to life a drama filled with political intrigue, corruption and the young man seeking revenge for his family. These all intertwine in a marvelous pattern of alliances and rippling effects that keeps the viewer on edge of seat with anticipation to see who really did what and when. Hints are given throughout, but there are many unexpected friendships and power grabs as revenge is sought by many sources. The lengths some will go to achieve their goals are shocking and unexpected. The amount of punishment some are willing to take to defy death to keep them from their objectives makes us shake our heads and sigh in relief when they actually survive. The fact that a happy ending might result from all this chaos keeps you wondering to last episode can they really accomplish it? It is well worth the watch and certain to leave an impression. For those that appreciate revenge and plots with a hint of romance…this is a must watch.Was this review helpful to you?
The complexities of becoming a mom
This drama brings us up close and personal to labor and delivery rooms. We are shown how unique every single birth is. The joys and sorrows when a blessed event becomes greatest tragedy. The love and hope that welcomes a new life to the world. We are introduced to the doctors and midwives that shoulder the responsibility of helping new moms bring their children into the world. We get to see the impact on the medical staff as well as the new moms. This series helps us appreciate life in all its messiness, joys and sorrows. This is a lovely thoughtful drama that engages us with the beauty and hope for the future. The music is wonderful. One of the doctors is a jazz pianist that performs under the stage name Baby. The instrumentals blended with the scenes makes this quite memorable. We are introduced to many different circumstances that come up through the course of pregnancy and how family and medicine combine to create the best possible outcome for mothers and staff. How little miracles happen to open our eyes to the wonder and beauty of life. And that even in tragedy, there is love and support in unexpected places to help provide strength to endure. This drama is beautifully done recognizing the individual cases and giving dignity and respect to the patients and the medical staff. Highly recommend.Was this review helpful to you?
A heartwarming slice of life via the experiences of a grumpy pediatrician
Matsushita Kouhei takes us on a heartwarming journey into the life of a pediatrician turned school nurse when he is banned from his hospital until he learns empathy. He has no choice but to succeed in his temporary new position at a local elementary school and greatly improve his bedside manner or he will not be employed as a pediatrician. This drama has a wonderful cast of young actors that bring you into their stories and health conditions. We all get to watch these young children open the heart of the grinch doctor as he learns to take in a lot more than just their ailments. He eventually learns to take notes of their surroundings, family situations and mindset; how the power of the spirit and mind assist in both getting to the source of the ailment and in the healing process. The children educate him in social awareness and their teachers in seeing who they really are through the doctor. This drama brings you to tears and makes your heart full as the stories and experiences are shared and finally understood. The students and professionals head towards graduation with new purpose and insight as the story is brought full circle. I hope far more people will watch this because it is such a wonderful slice of life drama.Was this review helpful to you?
Link Click lets us explore slices of life via photo travel
This is a very interesting drama. We get to see slices of life being gently tweaked to help individuals have better memories or results of specific points in time. The cases challenge our moral compass on many issues; ethics in workplace and sporting events; cyber bullying and mob mentality; dealing with predators at school and mass transit; rebellion with mentors; and family and friend relationships. This covers them all and we are swept away in a wonderful emotional ride that makes us stop and think as well as simply view. The cast does an amazing job of making you feel as well as see all the various scenarios. We are drawn into each story that is well choreographed with production to make the transitions from past to present smooth and believable. I knew Jiang Long was incredibly funny, but he plays serious roles well too. Bi Wen Jun was the stoic mentor and Bu Guan Jin the podcaster sister. They made a great trio of Time Agents and I thoroughly enjoyed their storytelling and acting skills. The support cast was excellent and every case came alive with their incredible talents combined making their stories heartwarming and sometimes heartrending. I shed many tears over some of these cases…happy and sad. I am hoping for a second season and for this very under rated drama to get much more viewing. It is that good. I also enjoyed all the music.Was this review helpful to you?
