Jairen

failure is not an option

The idea of being stuck in a time loop is not really a new concept, but how it's used is always fun to explore. In this series, two strangers gets trapped in a traumatizing loop and must work together to uncover information pertaining to their situation in order to escape. Time loop stories are usually characterized by repetitiveness, which has the potential to get annoying or boring after a while. However, I think the series does a great job with keeping me engaged. I was always kept intrigued and wanting more from start to finish. The characters are all interesting. It was also fun trying to figure things out along with the characters as information is dripped to us.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Very engaging. As new discoveries/information are revealed, we get get to slowly construct the solution to the puzzle along with the main characters to progress the plot.

✔ Lots of interesting supporting characters with depth to them.

✔ Lu "Castle Apostle" "Asthma Conquerer" "A person chosen by the light" Di was very cute. I just loved that he just accepted what our leads told him. Very open-minded. I wished he was utilized more.

✔ Plot was easy to follow along with. Sometimes with time-travel stories, there are a lot of layers that makes the story overly complex, confusing, convoluted, and hard to digest. This one, however, felt pretty straight-forward narratively.

✔ Seeing the same scenario over and over again, there is potential for things to feel quite repetitive and maybe it will for some, but it didn't for me. With each loop, behavior and interactions are changing. We see and learn new things, which keeps the story fresh and interesting.

✔ There is a lot of depth to the storytelling. Lots of emotional and heartfelt backstories and moment. There are topics and themes related to ethics, morals, family, kindness, and other aspects of human nature. There are lessons about not judging people and the consequences of our actions and inactions. Overall, I thought the series was very thought-provoking.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ I felt that we learned a lot more about many of the supporting characters than we learned about about female lead Shiqing. While the connection she had as a student was important, being a student is the only thing I really know about her life.

✖ I think even the male lead's backstory could have benefited from a bit more development as well. They did introduce this idea of him being a game developer working on a violent game, but it never really went anywhere more than just to show some of his character development later on regarding his stance on not making the game so violent. I would have liked to learn more about that game or have it play a larger role in the story.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

The way the plot unravels is very similar to playing a video game. Every time you fail the mission or objective, you have to restart from the last save point and try again. There are two main objectives for our two main protagonists, excluding some side missions. The first is investigating the passengers on the bus to figure out the cause and motive of the explosion. The second goal is to use the knowledge they've obtained about the people on board to figure out the right course of actions to prevent a tragedy from happening.

The series reinforces the idea that every stranger has a story. A lot of characters have a life and a story of their own that we explore. While they're strangers to each other on the bus, but they are not just nameless roles or extras. The plot makes us want to know about them, and as we learn their stories, we begin to care and sympathize with them. Some passengers are explored in greater depth than others, but everyone in the bus played a role, regardless of how big or small.

The passengers aren't the only significant characters, though. The cops also play an important part in the unfolding of the story. As annoying as they may be for our main characters, the cops are also pretty competent. At least, the ones in command are. I'm talking about Captain Zhang and Chief Du. Viewers will find both to be very observant, calm, and logical thinkers as oppose to the younger Detective Jiang, who is more hotheaded and often jump to conclusions. Apart from investigating the passengers, our two leads often use the cops as a source of information. They also try to help lead the cops in the right direction as they all ultimately have the same end goal.

Everything that our leads and the viewer learn about all these other supporting character is important. It gives us insight into their psychology and behavior, which is instrumental in finding the right sequence of interactions needed in order to stop the bus explosion, while also insuring everyone's safety. It's a study of each character's human nature. Not everything can be predicted, but that's why there are multiple loops. I felt invested in their success and was always wanting to see the next episode.


[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

I think the cast did a great job with micro expressions and just the general emoting of emotions. It's not just our leads that were great, but all the supporting roles as well. I think a great example is Leon Li who plays Detective Jiang. Boy oh boy was his character annoying at first, but that's a testament to how well Leon portrayed him. I think the scenes that happen towards the end of the series after witnessing and learning of his mentor's death is where the acting of Jiang's character stood out the most to me. Other places where the acting stood out to me was Mengmeng's parents and how their grief descended them into a place of irrationality. And then there was also a lot of scenes of characters seeming sus outwardly but are really wholesome characters once we learn about them. There are lots of great emotional acting skills. Everyone was amazing.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

The series has three OSTs. "If Only", "Rebound", and "Wake Up". Honestly though, they were all just okay and not really that memorable for me. They weren't bad. Did they fit the story? Yes. However, they didn't really stand out to me enough during any of the scenes as something I needed on any playlist.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

I think I could easily rewatch this. The cool thing about time-travel based series is that there are often more details that can be caught when revisited. Plus all the characters and the development of those characters were very interesting to watch. While I can see the repetitive nature of the story getting less interesting on rewatch, I think it'd be cool to analyze some of the scenes more closely and/or see if I missed anything. I also binged through the series in a weekend on my first watch so I'd be nice to take more time with it later and process everything.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

Every action has a reaction, and every inaction has a consequence. The series present a lot of topics and themes relating to human nature for viewers to think about. We also see how our experiences shape who we are and how we grow as a person. I think the Heyun is a great example of that. We explored the emotional and psychological weight on him after a traumatizing experience in one of the loops and how that affected him. There were many lessons that we can draw from "Reset" about working together, determination, not judging others, etc. It was very thoughtful. It was also very engaging. It was just a very fun and interesting series with great development for both the characters and the overall story.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

let's go, the power of friendship!

I haven't read the web comic, so I admit I was a bit overwhelmed by all the characters and their skills at first, but fortunately they kept reiterating everything for someone like me who is unfamiliar with comic. Very superhero vibes. It reminds me a little bit of Guardians (2018), which was also a Chinese series. It was a sci-fi fantasy that also had an agency that deals with people with superhuman abilities. "I Am Nobody", however, is more about the martial world. All the characters are interesting and most have their own backstories, which I liked. This series have very anime style comedy which I find very fun. Overall, very cool, very funny, and thoughtful. I loved the journey.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW (TLDR)
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Seeing the jianghu adapted into the modern world is cool to see. Typically, I've only seen it in a Wuxia ancient China type setting. Also, really cool seeing the different skills and abilities of the different families and sects.

✔ The characters are all very fun and interesting with their own stories. They all feel like could be main characters of their own spinoff stories.

✔ A lot of little lessons in their about youth, identity, and growing as a person.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ We get introduced to so many characters at once in some episodes and hard to keep track of their abilities. It can be a bit overwhelming for someone new to the world.

✖ After the tournament, there are a lot of characters we don't see again until maybe the very end. There was a lot of friendships being built and I wish we got to see that expanded on more.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

The story is very lore deep and ever-growing with a huge array of characters. And all of those characters are just as complex with their own stories, which we touch upon but don't really deep dive into aside from the main characters. At the core, this is a story about finding family and friends. Chulan's quest to find answers about his grandfather. Baobao's looking for her family and who she is. Lyu Liang looking for his sister. Along the way, comraderies are being formed as they try to seek the truth.

While our story focuses on Chulan and Baobao's adventures, so many of the characters introduced could have been the main characters as well, which I love. They are not just side characters, but the main characters of their own story. This is both a good and bad thing. It's good as it means the characters are interesting and complex. However, it's also a bad thing because it can introduces plot points that we may never see closure to in the series. Not sure about the webcomics. For example, The Feng family and the All Encompassing Guild. During the tournament, we get introduce to those characters and got some development for them but there still so many things I felt left to be explored with that family. Especially when it comes to their skill being copied and used by another family. Both Feng Shayan and Xingtong could have own things going on that could be explored it more. This is just an example of how great and interesting the characters are. They are interesting enough to make me curious and want to see more. Also Feng Shayan and Jia Zhengliang dynamic was very cute. Both have their own parental issues. Loved seeing their little fling or love story. Wang Ye and Zhuge Qing also have their blossoming bromance going on and would love to see more of as they try to figure out their role in the world.

A big theme of the series is identity. The series has some life lessons about how we react and adapt to the world, the adversities that shapes us, the complexities of youth and figuring out where you fit into the world. In an ideal world, it's only our own choices that shape who we will become. Sadly, the reality is that the choices of others have an impact on us. Lyu Liang is one example. Despite being a member of Sinister Pleasure, he never really felt like a villain to me. Like Chulan, he was also just trying to find answers about a family member. He became a member of Sinister Pleasure out of necessity and as a result of the actions of his family and Duanmu Ying. People are much more than meet the eyes, which is another theme I saw throughout. We only see what people choose to show us. Just because someone show us their weakness and flaws, it doesn't mean they lack strength. This is seen with Zhang Chulan. Shamelessness does not mean incompetence. And just because someone strive to show us perfection, it doesn't mean they have no flaws. This is seen with Zhang Lingyu and his love for Xia He of the Pleasure Sinister.

While the series is filled with lots of comedic and action-pack scenes with the occasional emotion heart-tugging moments, what I like about it is that it also makes you think. There are a lot of philosophical topic it touches upon and also questions that it poses. There is a lot to think about. How much of our memories affect about personality and behavior? At what point do we stop being us? How much can we really impact the world around us? How much of the world around us impact us? Does the pursuit of the truth and enlightenment outweigh the greater good and the consequences?

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

The only actor that I recognized was the one who played Zhuge Qing as I've seen him as the lead in "Love Script". Other than that, I'm not sure if I have seen the others. Really big cast and I enjoyed all of them. There really isn't much to say here as I think everyone did a great job portraying their characters. I have seen the movie version or read the webcomics I don't really have reference points on how well they played the characters. There wasn't really anything that stood out to me as bad.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

I absolutely love the OST for this series. There were many tracks that caught my attention, which means they are impactful or really enhanced the scenes they were played in. Unfortunately, they're not on Spotify. At least, for my region. That makes me a little sad because I really do love a lot of the music. They are songs I would expect in like a Wuxia genre, which is very much my vibe.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

I can definitely see myself rewatching this. Like I've said, very funny and fun to watch. And there are lots of characters with an ever evolving story. With so much going on, it's hard to take everything in on the first watch, so I will probably eventually go back and see if I missed anything. At the very least, it will give me a chance to let this world sink in and get more familiar with it.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

This series kept killing/hurting our old men. At least, the good ones. Glad the Chief Celestial Taoist made it, he was very badass. Other than that, I don't really have much else to say other than I really really like this series. I will definitely be reading the webcomics at some point. I also see they will have a second season, so I am excited for that. Hopefully we revisit more of the tournament contestants and strengthen those friendships some more. In the end, maybe the Qi Apotheosis is just the friends we made along the way :P

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

chaotic cuteness

Just a light, short, and fluffy watch. I really like both of the female leads and hope to see more of their work in the future. I also can't wait for the second season of this to see how their characters develop and how the relationship grows. This series was very cute. Idk what else to say, so this will be a short review.

-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Fun, silly vibes with lots of cuteness.

✔ I really like Ayaka. She takes initiative. She's brave, she's adamant, she's hardworking, and she also very understanding.

✔ I also like Hiroko when she's not burying her true feelings. She's also hardworking, kind, chill, and takes care of the people around her.

✔ Risu is also very likable even though she also like Ayaka. Though her love was unrequited, she continued to support her friend.

✔ A light-hearted series that also slightly touches upon some societal concerns.

✔ Supportive colleagues.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ One thing I don't like is when characters inflict suffering upon themselves and indirectly makes a certain choice for another character under the misguided notion that they are doing what's best for the other person. Let people make their own choices. While I can understand the reasoning and the logic, I find often times, it just makes both parties sad. Then it makes me sad and frustrated.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

I don't actually don't have much to say about the actual plot other than it's a very fun and chaotic office romance. I love the dynamic of our two leading ladies. We have Ayaka who is just trying to be noticed by her senpai Hiroko. She is pulling out as many tricks as she can in her art of seduction. Meanwhile, we have Hiroko, who is doing her best to resist all these advances, believing it's just all in her head as she believes Ayaka likes Yuya. It's just a funny situation.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

Sometimes the Japanese brand of humor can be a hit or miss for me. There are times when it can to be too over the top and exaggerated and feel cringe. I think it has to do with how how the actor/actress deliver it and the expressions. I'm not entirely sure, but with this series, it never felt cringe. I very much enjoyed the chaotic vibe and humor. I think both the female leads acted well and I enjoyed the supporting cast as well.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

Both the opening ('パレット(Palette)' from はしメロ(Hashimero)) and ending ('Vital' from Young Kee) theme songs are cute. Playlisted both.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

It was cute, funny, and a fun watch. It's also short. I think the chances of me rewatching this again at some point is pretty good. I can't really think of any reason why I wouldn't watch it again. It's just a matter of having time and being in the mood.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

So far, at the time of writing this, this GL is probably my favorite that I've seen. But be wary as I actually haven't seen that many yet, and I'm still kind of in the shallow end of the pool. With the few ones I've seen so far, the story tends to be more tone down, gentle, sophisticated, or mature as they are more romance drama rather than romance comedy, so it's not really fair to compare. However, I will say, this has appealed to me better than just the pure romances I've seen before this. I've also seen one or two GL romcoms but they were Thai and I don't think the comedy element of those hit it off with me as much. The characters have a fun dynamic and I liked the chemistry. Idk how this will hold up as I explore more in the genre, but as of right now, this one is at the top of my list.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

They saved each other

I really enjoy time-travel dramas and have seen quite a bit of them. Lovely Runner doesn't really do anything new that comes to mind or stand out, but I don't think it has to. Very few things are truly unique these days. As long as it's enjoyable to watch, it doesn't really matter. I fall into the group of people who really enjoyed this series.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Characters were very likable to me. The main leads were both sincere and selfless in their goals. I'm able to relate to them both.

✔ Story had layers and complexities .

✔ Lots of emotional moments but also lots of cute moments.

✔ While a lot of topics and themes weren't explored very deeply, there is still some depth. Themes/topics include mental health, pressure, the impact we have on the lives of others, goals and ambitions, grief/loss, fate/destiny, and selflessness.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ Vague time travel rules and hardly any explanation for magic watch

✖ Drunk kiss and forgotten confession

✖ We know very little about the villain. His motive and character were under-developed.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

So the first comparison that came to mind when I was watching this series was "Someday or One Day", another time travel series that I really love for its depth, layers and complexities. "Lovely Runner" is similar in that it's also has layers to it. The time travel aspect is also not as straightforward as just going back in time, completing a mission, and then going back to the present where everything is fixed. It's trial and error, and that's part of why love these complex time-travel stories. I like the characters attempting to fix things but never truly knowing if the thing they tried work until they return to present time. In this case, with every timeline, Im Sol tries to avoid Seon Jae more and more because it is his involvement with her that gets him killed later. Is it her fault though? No. It's not her fault that she got targeted by a serial killer who becomes obsessed with them both when they are the reason he is caught.

In a lot of the series I watch, there is usually some object that is the trigger for the time travel. In this one, it's our ML's watch. But why can it do that? What sorcery is dictating how much information Im Sol can tell the other characters in the past? Why does this time deity want her to save Seon Jae? Is he the chosen one? Do other magical watches exists in this universe? If not, why? We will never know. But I guess, plot-wise, none of that is important. In every timeline, Seon Jae always ends up trying to save Im Sol and getting targeted by the serial killer. In order to save our male lead, she has to prevent him from saving her. It's a bit of a circle and ultimately, she finds that the only way is to keep him out of her life. But the universe seems to always favor Seon Jae and he ends up in her life anyway and falling for her once again. He must have accumulated a lot of merits in his past life or something. Obviously, the great time god really wants Seon Jae to live cause why else would Im Sol be given so many chances to save him. And it's obvious that it is inevitable that they meet, and Seon Jae will fall in love all over again. So I feel like this digital watch deity could've just skipped all the trouble of Im Sol time traveling and just remove the killer from history to skip all the unnecessary steps. Surely a time god can do that, right? Right? No? Oh. xD

With time-travel, there is also an element of fate. You can change the events that happen, but ultimately, some things are fated to happen. And some people will forever be connected by the red thread of fate. Regardless of how much she tries to avoid it, they always meet again and Seon Jae always end up falling for Im Sol. Like, Fate is always rooting for them. There is a moment in this series where our male lead gets back his memories (kind of reminds me of "The Legend of the Blue Sea") from the alternate timelines that were changed. Again, what magical force is at work and why do they love Seon Jae so much? xD Jest aside, the reason they give is that memories are never truly erased, they just get buried deep in our soul... or something like that. I can't remember the exact phrasing Grandma gave but that was the vibe of it. Now I can't help but wonder if all my feelings of deja vu in my life was because someone was messing with time.

Anyway, let me share my thoughts on each character below.

[ --Thoughts on Characters-- ]

Im Sol - At first, I thought she was just going to be just another clumsy, ditzy girl that did nothing but get in the male lead's way but I found her very likable and relatable. Was she perfect? Of course not. There were definitely moments where I felt she could come up with better excuses/lies to explain herself or made slightly different choices. However, overall, for the major decisions, her choices were fine/reasonable. I watched this on Viki and a lot of the timed comments I saw was about her being annoying. Most of that annoyance came from her causing our handsome male lead Seon Jae some heartaches. Personally, I think her choices regarding him were rational given the circumstances, what she knew, and that her goal was to make sure he doesn't die. Her goal wasn't to date him. I get it, he's a sweet puppy and it sucks for him sometimes, but that doesn't mean Im Sol did anything wrong. Another thing I read a lot was people saying she is spending a lot of effort chasing a celebrity crush. To that, I say sure... but he's also a guy that saved her life in a dark moment of her life. Words can hold a lot of power and Seon Jae's words of encourage gave her the strength to keep living. And I'm sure that is relatable to a significant number of idol stans out there. Im Sol is trying to save the person who saved her. Let's not minimalize that to a mere crush. If I had the chance to save a life that greatly impacted me, I would take it. In all, I think she's pretty selfless and cute.

Seon Jae - So when I first started watching this series, my expectation was that he would slowly fall for Im Sol over time. However, it is established pretty quickly that he was already crushing on her way before she even took notice of him. I find it somewhat endearing how he tries to act so cool in front of her but is really just a lovesick puppy. I think the scenes that stand out in my mind is when Im Sol is making the stupid puns and he has to turn to hide his smiles because she knows his humor so well. I also like that Seon Jae was shown to be adaptable. He is a swimmer who was forced to give up that dream due to a shoulder injury. Instead of dwelling on it, he moved on and helped those around him move on. Even when he was given the chance to do rehab, he chose not to after realizing his enthusiasm for the sport is no longer there. And that's just how life can be sometimes. It's a really down to earth and relatable story for an athlete. Or anyone really. He, like Im Sol, also pretty selfless and cute.

Tae Sung - What I really loved about Tae Sung is that he never truly forced anything and never became an annoying third wheel. He always seems pretty honest and respected her feelings. There was small moments of animosity between him and our male lead, but it was never truly anything serious. I'm glad they were able to remain friends in the newest timeline. I'm also glad he mended his relationship with is father and ended up also being a cop.

Everyone Else - I don't have much to say about everyone else and this is already super long, so I will just condense them altogether. One of the emotional moments for me was when Seon Jae and his dad were talking after his dad found about his son's shoulder injury. Both were emotional and I could feel it. It was a heartfelt moment that stood out to me. Similarly, Im Sol learning her mom had been sick but never told her. It's hard to find out when a family member is hiding a illness so you don't worry, especially when you misunderstood before.

I wasn't super invested in Im Sol's brother and her best friend love story. A lot of it was comedic moments and I just didn't feel like there was enough time or dept invested in their story for me to feel any kind of way. I'm glad they are happy, they are cute together, and they have cute kids, but I wish their story was fleshed out some more or taken more seriously. Same with Grandma. I want to know more about her and her time-traveling adventures. In all, it would've been nice to see more family moments. But I also get that this isn't like "Twinkling Watermelon" where family is the focus of the story. The serial killer was also another character that we did not know much about despite being an important factor in the story. He was merely a plot device and nothing more. All I learned of his obsessive stalking of our lead was that he was a vengeful person and wanted to kill the witness that put him in jail.

And then there was Eclipse. Love the band. Liked their music. 10/10 would stan. I don't really have much to say about the band members other than In Hyuk. In Hyuk seems like he kind of resented our female lead in some parts and I get it. She caused our male lead a lot of trouble, so it makes sense that as the best friend of Seon Jae, he would kind of be annoyed his friend keeps going after her. I always like it in series when best friends also become friends with the love interest even if it's just a bickering relationship. In Hyuk also did get his only little story when he temporarily quit the band that resulted in some fun times at the ocean, but overall he wasn't super involved in the overall plot either and I wish we got to see more band interactions in general.

[ --Closing Thoughts-- ]

Again, I thought this was a cute series with some layers and depths to it. It's definitely not as shallow as it seems. And basically, this is a story of two people trying to save each other. He's her hero and she is his heroine. I don't really have much to say about the casts other than that I enjoyed their performances. I smiled at the cute/funny moments and I got teary eyes during the emotional ones so I think they did good. I also don't think it's overrated or underrated. It is the hype level that it is. I don't like to say something is over or under hyped because there is always a reason for the level of hype something gets. Whether we agree or understand it doesn't mean it's not deserved or is unworthy. To me, that is reminiscent of a sore loser's mentality. Criticism is fine, but let's not insult others' standards/taste. We are better than that. I've seen a lot of series where the rating doesn't reflect my own feeling about it, but my thought wasn't "Wow, everyone else is wrong, shallow, or high." We are just looking for different things.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews are not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

very somber, but also very swoon-worthy

I initially became interested in watching this drama because I watched "Hidden Love". While initially saddened that this drama would have a different set of cast, I was not disappointed in the choices, especially Bai Jingting as Sang Yan. I have seen him in "Destined", and I absolutely loved him there. I think my favorite thing was just trying to imagine Jingting replacing Victor in "Hidden Love" scenes and vice versa with picturing Victor in "The First Frost". I also recognized Edward Chen from "Your Name Engraved Herein" and Zhang Miaoyi from "When I Fly Towards You", so I was pretty familiar most of the central roles aside from the female lead. After watching this, I will say Zhang Ruonan will be another name and face I will recognize and look out for in the future.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Amazing OSTs

✔ Beautiful cinematography

✔ Strong female lead capable of standing up for herself. Despite her introverted and soft nature, she is far from weak. On multiple occasions and scenario, she has been shown to stand up and defend herself, not needing someone to come save her. She is her own heroine.

✔ Male lead is likable. Although he tries to act cool and nonchalant, he is very caring and sincere.

✔ Yifan's friend Siqiao is smart, capable, and cares a lot for her friends.

✔ Loved when Yifan's current superior Mr. Gan made sure no one was causing her problems at work and also helps defends her when her job is questioned due to gossip.

✔ Enough cute and romantic moments to balance out the bleakness of Yifan's story

✔ Love the consistent format of the series with a flashback at the beginning and a bonus scene at the end


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ I admit the beginning of this series was slow for me. The sadness of the female lead's situation made it a lot harder to watch, especially compared to the lighter vibe of Hidden Love. Being set in winter also adds to the somber vibes. However, it gets better as the story progresses and we also get some cuter, lighter moments.

✖ Not sure how I feel about Mu Chengyun as a character. I felt like his character was there just for the sake of being there, but he never felt like anyone with an effect on the lead's relationship other than being a slight annoyance. He did a couple of annoying things like self inviting himself into Yifan's apartment and also lying about things Sang Yan said, but neither of those scenario were shown to really impact the leads' actions in the grand scheme of things. Our male lead was confident and the female lead never wavered or sided with Chengyun. I feel like we could've removed his character and it wouldn't change the story much, if any. I felt maybe having Xiang Lang (the guy best friend) was sufficient enough.

✖ I love Siqiao and Haoan's story, but I wish we spent a little less time on the grandparents' story. Would have loved more of Siqiao and Haoan's story outside the context of the Haoan's family stuff.

✖ Probably because I watched Hidden Love and adored the siblings interaction there, I kinda hoped there would be more scenes with the Sang siblings. I loved their bickering in HL, and I also understand First Frost has a more serious tone but I peronally would have loved a few more scenes/interactions with the sister, even if it's more serious and heartfelt rather than light and comedic.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

I'll begin by saying that even though "The First Frost" shares the same universe as "Hidden Love" and involves some of the same characters, you don't really need to have seen HL. With that said, I do recommend checking out HL though if you haven't, especially if you want to learn more about Sang Yan's sister Zhi and his best friend Jiaxu. It's kind of fun to see how the timeline/events line up between the two. The vibe is also a lot more lighter.

"The First Frost" adopts a more sad and serious tone and deals with much heavier topics. Yifan's life has been full of hardship. She deals with loss, assault, workplace harassment and gossip, and lacks love, care, and protection from the people who are suppose to be her family, especially her mother. However, when there was no one there to save and protect her, Yifan defended and stood up for herself. She does this on multiple occasions and I love that about her. While she appears to have a quiet and gentle nature, she is far from weak. She is capable of fighting for herself when it matters. Yifan is the hero of her own story. As a result, she is independent. This is both a good and bad thing. It's good that she is capable and solves problems on her own. However, since she's so use to handling things herself, she keeps her problems to herself and suffers alone instead of asking for help. It's understandable though given her own mother ignored her in the past. Despite it, she does her best to take of herself and even tries to protect Sang Yan from the traumas that haunt her.

As a contrast to Yifan, we have Sang Yan, who comes from a loving family. In the somber vibe that is Yifan's story, Yan brings light and warmth to it. He gives Yifan the deserved love, care, and comfort she lacks in her life. He is someone who makes her feel comfortable and helps her (and the viewers) smile. It's funny watching the male lead keep up a cool and calm demeanor but is actually really caring, cute, and sometimes even silly. I think that was much needed when the series feels very melancholic. The first time I actually grinned during this series was during a flashback of Yan getting his sister Zhi to pretend to be lost so he could meet up with Yifan. For me, that was my first impression of a lighter moment in such a heavy series. He does a lot of things like that to get her to notice him and it's somewhat endearing. Yan's involvement in Yifan's life gives us quite a few swoon-worthy moments with some nice cinematography. An example that stood out for me was after their Ferris wheel kiss, when Yifan was thinking about it. I loved the artistic way they showed her thinking about the kiss while lying in her room.

Yifan is not the only capable female in this series. Her best friend Zhong Siqiao is also very capable, hard-working, and smart. Siqiao is also selfless and cares a lot about the people around her. This is shown through her interaction with Su Haoan and helping him deal with his family problems. She is very likeable and I appreciated that. Sometimes, with Chinese series, the support female best friend role can have an annoying personality or traits, but the main females are both strong characters and I love that. Siqiao and Haoan's story is much lighter but still have a lot of heartfelt moments that should not be overlooked. Their story also deals with similar themes of love, family, trauma, and healing.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

As briefly mentioned before, I was already acquainted with some of the cast going in. I was already a fan of Bai Jingting from watching "Destined", Edward Chen from "Your Name Engraved Herein", and Zhang Miaoyi from "When I Fly Towards You". All of which are series and a movie that I've rated highly, so I already suspected I would like this series a lot. I didn't know Zhang Ruonan, but after watching this series, her name is one I will look more into. I think everyone, main and supporting case alike, did a great job. Che Xingde, the aunt, and mom invoked anger in me so I commend the actors for their portrayal. Both our male and female leads conveyed the emotional and heartfelt scene very well and very naturally. Whether it was Sang Yan's sincere, tender, and persistent care and love or Wen Yifan's anxieties and sadness, I felt it all.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

Much like Hidden Love, this series introduced to me so many great OSTs that gave me the feels. They were all memorable. Each added values and greatly enhanced the scenes they played in. I added most of them to my playlist, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be '像晴天像雨天' (Like A Sunny Day, Like A Rainy Day) sang by Silence Wang.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

As far as romance series go, this one is up at the top as one of the contenders for my favorite.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

Overall, this series has a lot of memorable scenes enhanced by great cinematography and/or great music, supported by great acting, and features likable main characters. The story is somber but balances it out with some very sweet moment. I loved the Sang Yan in "Hidden Love", but I like the character even more here in "The First Frost". Wen Yifan is a survivor, and I absolutely love her. I also really enjoyed the second couple, and they also had a lot of cute moments. The first couple of episodes will be kind of rough to get past, but much like Wen Yifan's life, it will get better with persistent like Sang Yan's love.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

Would you make a deal with the devil?

If you knew you were about to die, and a demon showed up to grant a wish, what would your wish be? Would it be to save yourself or would you use it on someone else?

I'm going to admit right now that writing an unbiased review for this will be a little hard as god dang, the leads are fine as hell. Are you sure the male lead is not an angel because the bright halo from his handsomeness blinded me, making it hard to stare at the screen and watch. Jokes aside, this series was cute, funny, and very interesting to watch. I've always been a fan of supernatural fantasy series. While this series is full of cute/funny moments, it also touches on the subject of human nature and people in their most desperate moments. Overall, this was a very fun watch. Not much layer to it, but still a good watch nevertheless.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ I enjoyed the chemistry of the leads.

✔ Lots of cute/funny moments.

✔ Enjoyed the backstory of their past lives.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ I did feel the story of the villains dragged on too long, especially once Gu Won got his powers back


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

Behind the romcom and the story of a demon doing cute, silly, and romantic things, this is also a story about human nature and what people will do in their most desperate moments. Many people will act selfishly as self-preservation is a basic instinct. However, there are some who are willing to selflessly sacrifice themselves in the face of death. In their past lives, our female lead was thrown under the bus by people who all wanted to protect themselves from execution. She became their scapegoat, but instead of naming names, she accepted her fate selflessly. Her modern day reincarnation is no less selfless. When it came to the choice of protecting her demon lover, she always made the choice to save him. And likewise, he was willing to sacrifice everything to protect her. Meanwhile, as a contrast, the big villain of the story was willing to kill his own family members out of greed and self-preservation.

This series also shows that people don't have to completely change themselves to be loved. People aren't perfect. But we can still love them anyway with their imperfections. In the end, Do Do Hee was still human with all her human traits, but Gu Won loves her anyway. Gu Won, in the end, remained a demon. He will continue to make deals with humans (though probably with more compassion) and Do Do Hee will still accept him for what he is. They developed as characters but at the core, they are still who they were, a human and a demon. They didn't have to become something else to stay together and I love that.


[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

I've seen a few of Kang's work, but I don't know if I've seen anything else with You Jung yet. It'll be something I look forward to in the future as this series definitely made me aware of her. I love the lead's chemistry. During both the thrilling moments and the soft romantic moments, I can definitely got the feels whenever they look at each other. It also helps that visually they are both beautiful people and work well with one another. I also very much enjoyed the performances of all the all cast members as well, especially the villains. The big villain's characterization kind of felt off towards the end of the series, but more of a character thing and less of an acting thing.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

I don't really have much to say about the music in this series because there wasn't anything that stood out to me that I didn't like. I think throughout the series, whenever a new song played, some would sound familiar. And I was happy to see quite a few names I recognized when I looked up the OST. I'm not huge on ballads but when I am able to associate them to a series, it helps in their appeal to me. I think "True" from Yoari and "Say You Love Me" from Sam Kim are probably my favorites.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

Honestly, this series was pretty straightforward for me. Not much layer and the story, while interesting on a first watch, I'm not sure it is not something I would rewatch in its entirety. At the same time, it might be worth just for seeing a demon act cute, silly, and hopelessly in love. So maybe just some episodes and some scenes.


[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

Overall, this series is worth the watch for me. Very fluffy. Very cute. Very thrilling. Very demure. :P I like the series for the most part. It fell off a little for me towards the end due to the villain story feeling a bit draggy to me. Some of the suspense aspects of the series weren't all that suspenseful either as one would have to believe the writer was willing to kill off a lead character way before the end. So I feel like the threat of death is not a good suspense moment unless it's towards the end. However, I still enjoyed all the characters and watching the romcom moments.


-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews are not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

The Sign is a chimera of genres

Sometimes, when you try to be too many things, you end up not being great at any of the things, or things may start falling off. Was this series too ambitious? I don't know. I can say I stayed interested every episode until the very end. I cannot say the story was a masterpiece for me, but I think the series ended up balancing everything it had going pretty well for the most part. Were there some things I wished we spent less time on or more time on? Yes, but I don't think it took away much from the series, personally. I grew up on mythologies and folklores so this was an eventual watch for me. Took me a while to get to it, but I'm glad I did.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ The world is very complex, and this series touches on that subject very well, especially in a case which shows the clash between the idealistic and the realist viewpoints on the justice system.

✔ I loved cute teasing/flirty moments and the chemistry between our main leads.

✔ It was very engaging to watch between the crime cases, the supernatural aspects, and the love story.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ We didn't really get to explore the love story of Tharn and Phaya in their past life. It was skipped over to focus more on the aftermath and conflict rather than the process of falling in love.

✖ In the end also didn't get to see Chalothon finally letting Tharn go. It happened offscreen and we only got the backstory told to us through Tharn via dialogue.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

I think combining a mythological aspect into a mystery/thriller crime drama is a cool idea. The myth/supernatural aspect and crime solving are the two main components of this series. Tharn and Phaya's romance is intertwined in both of the components and tie the stories together. From a narrative standpoint, I think they could have removed the police work and it would not really have much, if any, impact on the overarching story of the fate between Phaya, Tharn, and Chalothon. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about that. On one hand, the crime part of the series made it a lot more interesting to watch for me. However, I feel that some of it could have been cut to give us a little more on the backstory The Garuda King and Wansarat's love story. We get a flashback to their past incarnation but the flashback focused more the conflict between the two tribe. It skips over the process of Wansarat and Phaya falling in love. The ending also could've use more time. Tharn gets taken away by Chalothon and he reappears later. Instead of seeing the process of Tharn convincing Chalothon to let him go, we just get some dialogue. While the criminal cases add some action and intrigue, they weren't all memorable or significant to me. I feel like some of the detective work or story there could've been shortened or cut and we would still be fine.

On the topic of criminal case and a little bit of tangent, I very much liked that the series touched on the subject of a corrupt and flawed justice system in their first official case. It's a very good topic to be aware of and discuss as that's how change begins. Sometimes, the justice system fails the people and that's sad. But vigilantes taking justice into their own hands is also a very dangerous idea. If not for the fact that the vigilantes also forced innocent traumatized victims to kill/murder, I can see being a very blurry line of who's side to be on. In the last case (special episode excluded), the topic is also briefly touched upon again in the interrogation room as a reminder that the system is corrupt.

Other the what I've already listed before in the short review, I also adore the friendship of the unit. The friend group had each other's back and that will always be something I love seeing in these series. I especially love Yai. He was shown to be caring, protective, and encouraging. A total shipper of Tharn and Phaya, but also protected his friend when he needed to. He always had Tharn's back and was a great example of a true friend. I also thought Chart's character was interesting, and I wish we got to explore more of him. We were introduced to him in the beginning and then don't see him again until towards the end. I would love to see his character growth, especially during and after becoming a spy for the captain.


[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

Overall, I very much enjoyed the casts. They are all very good looking and very talented. The supporting female characters were also very great and very pretty. This series put the actress for Sand (Yai's girlfriend) on my radar, and I will try to see if there anything else she is in that I'd be interested in watching later. Very shallow of me, but I thought she was pretty. When it comes to the chemistry between the main actors or any of the emotional scenes, I think they did very well. I felt the feels whether it was butterflies during their romance scene or the sadness during emotional sad scenes.

None of the fight choreography or gun action scenes really wowed me, but I didn't think it was bad either. I think my least favorite part, acting-wise, in the series was during the flashback to their past lives. I don't know, I was not feeling any of the chemistry there and I'm not sure why, because I can definitely see/feel it with their modern day counterparts. Even the angst from Chalothon didn't feel convincing to me. Also, in regards to Chalothon, I never really felt he loved Tharn. He just felt angry and resentful to me, but this is probably more of a character thing and not an acting thing.


[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

I like the soundtracks. Nothing I feel super strongly about, but all very nice to listen to. I don't know much about Billy or Babe so it was a pleasant surprise to find their names on a lot of tracks. Very sweet songs. The opening song The Sign was also very epic and fitting. May look up more songs from Billy and Babe in the future to expand my Thai playlist.


[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

I might watch this one more time. Since there is a lot going on between the crime cases and the love story, I'd be interested in going back just to see if I missed anything. Plus it might motivate me to workout as I get jealous of some of these bodies...


[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

This series was a fun watch, a nice break from the usual fluffy romcoms streak I've been on lately. Steamy love scenes, cute flirty moments, emotional drama, but also funny, action-packed, mysterious, thrilling, fantastical...this series is so many things. There was no struggle in finding things to talk about. The real struggle was deciding where to start. I will be looking into some of the other works of these actors/actresses because I think they did an amazing job. I would recommend giving this series a try.


-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

"Even the most beautiful flower has been rained on"

I watched the Thai remake (High School Frenemy) before finally getting to the original version, so a lot of my commentary will apply to and be similar to the remake since the themes are pretty much the same. I'm a big fan of coming of age stories and stories that focuses on friendship, family, and the struggles of life. School 2013 has been on my list of things to watch for a long time, but I never got around to it, and I regret not seeing it sooner. It term of this genre, I would consider this a nostalgic classic.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ A lot of the characters had great character developments. Aside from our main leads, I really enjoyed seeing the former bullies' development as well.

✔ Many great lessons about friendship and many sweet moments.

✔ Amazing bromances/friendships. Not only between Heung Soo and Nam Soon, but also between Jung Ho, Ji Hoon, and Yi Kyung. Also Teacher Kang's relationship with the guys. Ha Gyeong/Kyung (not sure which way to spell it since it's spelled differently in the subtitles on Viki vs here in the cast list) and her friend Kang Joo also had some nice moments. Also Na Ri and her friend.

✔ I think my favorite parts are after Jung Ho begins to redeem himself. Heung Soo and Nam Soon are already awkward enough sitting together at lunch, it's funny when Jung Ho inserts himself in. It's somewhat endearing.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ A lot of school politics between the teachers, principal, and parents. I know this is important to develop the relationship between the teachers and students and to have them face different trials, but I wasn't as interested in the politics between the adults.

✖ Wished we got more backstory for some of the characters and students


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

Society is cold and harsh. We are taught to live in it, cope with it, and become a part of it. It's the way society is, and we conform to it or be scrutinized. It's a world that value academics, intelligence, and achievements. Because of this, students are under a lot of pressure from their parents and teachers. If they don't do/perform well, they think they've failed. If they don't come from a good background, they are at a disadvantage in a world where money and connections open doors. It's already hard enough without society judging you based on your family status, your smarts, and even how you look. Some kids just give up because they think they're not in a position to dream in such a competitive and judgmental world. It can feel like the world is against them. It becomes even more cold when teacher emphasize the importance of exams and based their teaching method around that. In such a world where both society and the school system may fail the student, teachers like Teacher Jung are important.

This series shows us that having a teacher like Teacher Jung who care about a student more on a personal level than a professional/academic level will have a greater impact on a student and their future than one who just teaches by the book. A good teacher will just teach us the material we need to pass our exams and get into a decent school. However, a great teacher is one who motivates us and inspires us to be better and do better. It's someone who teaches us how to live life. They are someone who change the way things are in a positive direction instead of accepting things as they are. Teacher Jung was willing to go out of her way to make sure her students are given a fair opportunity to attend school and learn whereas others may have given up on them.

The strive to be better is one of the big common theme in this drama. Heung Soo wanted to chase his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. To do so, he had to strive to be better and leave the gang he was in. His friend Nam Soon, feeling betrayed and like he was being abandoned, in a heated moment, accidentally went too far and broke Heung Soo's leg. This lead the duo to fall apart and become estranged. Heung lost both his dream and his best friend in the same night resulting in his anger and resentment towards Nam Soon years later. Nam Soon feels a lot of guilt and Heung Soo feels a lot of hurt. Nam Soon does his best to make it up to his former best friend and strives to be a better friend after abandoning Heung Soo years ago.

Ji Hoon was the first amongst the trio of bullies to try and be better and one of my favorite developments. Tired of aimlessly following Jung Ho and getting into trouble, Ji Hoon aims to live life more normally. He attends and focuses on school. Even when told that it was too late (for vocational school), he still tries as he wants to do better. He doesn't leave his friends behind though, which I loved. He tries to convince them to join him in school and even seeks the teacher's help to do so. He is shown to care about his friends, to actually care about his studies, and even show remorse for past actions. There was a scene where he asked Min Ki to borrow notes. There was also one where he apologized to Young Woo for past actions, showing his sincere growth.

Amongst all the characters, Jung Ho also had the most substantial development. In the beginning, he was just a bully. But as the series progress, we can see more and more that beneath the tough exterior, there was a decent guy. With the encouragement of his friends and teacher, he slowly begin to try and be better. It's especially hard when society have some bias towards you, and you need time to prove your redemption because you were a troublemaker. Despite that, Jung Ho still tried and that is commendable. Even though, ultimately, life got in the way of him pursing school, he matured a lot and promised to live well.

Even Teacher Kang, due to Teacher Jung's influence, became a more compassionate and caring teacher to his students and took interest in their personal problems. A tragedy in his past made him not want to be too involved but Jung's devotion opens him up again. Personal issues can affect academic and school life, so I think it's important to have a teacher who cares enough to take interest. Striving to be a defender for the students you teach is an admirable trait I wish more teachers had.

In episode 10, during a lesson, Teacher Jung read a poem about flowers needing to be shaken to blossom. Amongst the lines, there was a quote that resonated with me. "Even the most beautiful flower has been rained on," was a translated line in the poem that Teacher Jung read. It's a metaphor how adversity and hardship helps us grows and become more beautiful/better. The flower has to endure the wind and rain in order to blossom. But I think, in reality and some cases, if shaken too much, the flower can also wither as they can't handle the trauma of being vigorously shaken. A similar comparable quote is "The boiling water that softens the potato, hardens the egg." Adversity shapes us differently depending on who we are. Similarly, not everyone can handle the hardship. However, if they can endure it, they may come out better because of it. I think this is a great general lesson about life and relationships. Some will make it, some may not, but we should try. Strive to be better. Strive to make amends. Strive for more understanding and empathy. Strive for change instead of conforming to and accepting the unfairness of how things are.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

I enjoyed the cast a lot. Many great actors and actresses I've seen before and they didn't disappoint. I enjoyed the chemistry between the characters and they all did a great job portraying depth and emotions. There were many times where my eyes were teary. Whether they played an angsty student, an overbearing parent/principal, a nonchalant teacher or a caring one, they all plays a great job in their roles. It's somewhat of a big cast with lots of supporting/background students, so it's hard to give a story and memorable screen time to everyone, but big shoutout to all the students who made the class feel alive and like an actual rowdy classroom.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

I'll be honest, the music wasn't that memorable to me, other than towards the end of an episode, when suddenly the music would switch up. It wouldn't quite fit the tone of what just happened in the last scene of the episode and was a bit jarring. Other than that, there really isn't anything that comes to mind or anything I had to look up to add to a playlist. Just lots of ok background instrumentals.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

Again, I'll be honest. I am more likely to watch the Thai remake on my own rather than this version. However, I would re-watch this if I had someone to re-watch this with. If I someday do feel like watching it again on my own, I'd probably start in the middle and skip the first half. The actors are great and the story is good, but I feel like the remake had more action whereas this one was more dialogue-heavy.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

So this is where I compare and contrast a bit between this series and High School Frenemy. For the most part, they both do a good job at hitting the emotions and angst. I think the Thai version was more violent only because they changed the story a bit where two rival schools was being unified, and that caused confrontations. It also featured the outside of school gang a lot more significantly. The remake had more actual fight scenes and that made it more compelling for me to watch. They both also had cute moments but I also enjoyed the cute moments in High School Frenemy more. I think because I enjoy Sky/Nani chemistry a bit more than Jongsuk/Woobin. Both great, I just prefer one over the other. With that said, School 2013, I think, had better character developments. At least, I could see the transitional change-of-heart stage better and how the teachers actually impacted them in a clearer way. I think Ji Hoon and his Thai counterpart Knot (I think. Forgot if it was Knot or Nate) is a good example of this. Also while Ken did have a more memorable scene for me when everyone was trying to get him back to school, I enjoyed Jung Ho's development more than his Thai counterpart Ken's. The growth was more evident to me, although in this version, his ending leaves a bit of sadness. The method that Teacher Kang used to help the lead boys reconcile also made more sense in this version with them playing basketball together.

Overall, School 2013 was a great watch and I recommend at least seeing it once if you don't care about romance. The lack of romance is not the lack of chemistry as there is plenty of chemistry happening. It's a great bromance/friendship series with great insights on the struggles of being a student and contains many life lessons. It's a thought provoking drama that covers many topics relating to school and society. I'll probably go and check out the synopsis for the other prequels/sequels in the School series to see if there are any others I'd want to see. School 2017 was the only other one I saw before this.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

lots of action but lots of heart as well

I think there are too many installment in this series for me to write a review for every one of them, but I will write a quick short review for this one since it's the first in the series. Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it more than I was expecting to.

Many of the world's conflict exist because we have different values and different things we are fighting for. In between the fight scenes, there are some emotional and heartfelt stories of friendship/brotherhood and protecting the the people, things, and ideas that are important to each individual and faction. The core and heart of the story is centered around the Hoodlum Squad (Sanooh). Its founding members and childhood friends are Cobra, Yamato, and Noboru. Due to an incident in the past, Noboru was sent to prison. However, upon release, Noboru joins the Iemura Group instead to recruit SWORD or take them down if they refuse to join. That is the setup for the conflict of this first season as Cobra and Yamato work to resolve some troubles but also to convince their friend Noboru to come back to them.

-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ The tracks accompanying the fight scenes are very nice and fitting of the vibe. Love the music.

✔ Many sweet/sentimental and emotional heartfelt moments. This is not a story about violence but one about brotherhood/friendship and fighting for a place to belong and go home to.

✔ There's a guy for everyone depending on what your personal taste are. Half-jokes aside, there many handsome men and some pretty ladies.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ It's a huge cast and there is a lot of names being introduced in the first episode all at once. It felt really overwhelming in the beginning.

✖ Lots of guys fighting, I kind of wish we also got to see some of the ladies being badass fighters as well. I haven't watched the sequels, spin-offs, or side stories yet, but it'd be cool to see to that girls can fight too. Kind of my own desire so not really taking off any points for this.

✖ Sometimes, the characters' acting are exaggerated. I know this is common in Japan though, but I still cannot help but cringe.


-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

Some kilig moments. Some sexy moments. Some emotional moments.

I have not seen the other series in this shared universe nor have I read the Wattpad story this has been adapted from so I went in without knowing any of the characters or the plot other than what I read from the synopsis. It did not disappoint. Was it anything special or original? I can't say it was. However, I enjoyed the characters the development of the leads' relationship. Nothing felt draggy and both mains are very nice to look at.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Luna and Kalix are both good, likable characters with their own goals/dream. Luna's friend group and Kalix's guy friends were also very good friends to the leads.

✔ I liked how the series set the expectation at the beginning with how they tell the narrative. From the first episode, we already know something was going to happen to their relationship as it tells us the love story via flashback because we see they are not together in the present day. So the major breakup that happens is no surprise.

✔ I enjoyed watching the buildup of their romance as well the emotional breakdown of their relationship.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ Kalix's mom change of heart and attitude towards the end felt rushed just so our couple could have a perfect ending. I know 10 years is a long time and she probably could've grew in that time, but the problem was that even when we meet her again initially after all that time, she was still being rude when they were visiting the house. So while it's plausible she decided to chill and stop giving Luna a hard time, I wished the series did a better job at portraying it.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

I want to say both Luna and Kalix are very likable character. Luna is bubbly, bold, funny, and more outgoing. Kalix is quieter and calmer, but very respectful, responsible, and sincere. They both good and talented people with their own goals and dream. However, they are not perfect characters. If they were, we wouldn't have drama or conflict. However, their flaws are understandable, at least, to me. They each played a role in the downfall of their relationship.

Luna is very quick to judge and jump to conclusions, assuming the worst about Kalix before letting him to explain. However, as frustrating as that is, I wasn't annoyed by Luna because I get it. Trauma and fear can be so irrational that even talking and listening takes courage. She has been cheated on and hurt before. She was already feeling insecure with what Kalix's mother had said to her before, so now, with everything going on with Kierra and school, emotions piled up. When we are overwhelmed, sometimes our emotions become our worst enemy. Kalix also didn't fight hard enough to tell her the truth before Luna found out about the kiss. He was not completely honest as he did not tell the truth about Amy kissing him as soon as it happened. Instead, he let it drag out far too long until it was too late and it eventually blew up in his face when there was already a lot of other things happening.

Life gives us rocks to carry, some of which are heavy. We become focused and concerned on trying to carry our own rocks that sometimes we don't see that others are struggling with the weight of their own rocks. When we do notice, we may want to help add some of their load onto ours. Or we see that they are already carrying a lot and don't want to worry or burden them with ours. Luna was trying to take care of Kierra and school while Kalix was trying to take care of Kio and school. Luna's and Kalix's romance ultimately ended because they each were carrying a lot. The misunderstanding was really heartbreaking to see, but it's also very understandable. The buildup to the breakup was done well.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

All very attractive actresses and actors, especially Heaven and Marco. Also very talented. I very much enjoyed the leads' emotional scenes. . I also enjoyed the characterization of the characters. I think my only note would be some of the line delivery. I don't know what exactly it was, but sometimes, the delivery felt not so natural? Especially from Kalix. Or maybe it was the lines themselves that felt a little cheesy. I'm not sure. Regardless, I would be happy to see more from all the actors. I already plan to watch the other series in this universe, but I hope to see more work from them.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

My favorite part about watching a series is discovering new music. While I haven't seen a lot of Filipino series, I've always been a fan of their OSTs. It helps me find new music, discover new artists, and grow my Filipino playlist. The series had a lot of great soundtracks. I added the entire EP to my playlist because I loved all the songs. They also worked well in the series, helping to enhance the emotions and story overall. There were also songs not on the EP that I was interested in as a music enthusiasts, but I'm so glad there are others other who have created playlists with the songs so they were not hard to find.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

While I enjoyed watching this, I'm not sure if this is something I'd watch again on my own. Maybe I'll watch it with my girlfriend if she's interested in this. It has its moments, I liked the characters, and the story was good. It's also only 10 episodes, so it's definitely rewatchable but idk if there was really anything special that I would want to go back on my own to see again. It was great watching it for the first time but not something that leaves me with a great enough impression that I'd want to come back for more.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

The words people say can hurt us, but sometimes the unsaid words are also just as hurtful, either to ourselves or to others. This series illustrates the importance of communication. I don't have much other to say other than that this was a great series with some mature conversations, even if some of them happened too late. Conversations that come late are better than conversations that never come at all. Even if it was too late to fix anything, at the very least, it would bring closure and peace of mind. In this case though, we still got our happy ending. After seeing this, I am super interested in seeing Yanna's story and Sevi's story in the other related series.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

Fun, quick watch

I just needed something light and short to watch as I was working and came across this series. There really isn't much for me to say about this series, as again, it is relatively short and the story is pretty straight forward, so I won't be writing an as in-dept review like I usually do. With all that being said, I ended up really liking this series. It was fun and interesting. Also a huge fan of the Nameless Kids so I love the opening theme music.

-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ There are a couple of relationships going on and one of them is between two male friends, so that was nice to see some LGBTQ content in here. What I really liked thought was some of the dialogue surrounding it. Very progressive. There's actually a quite a few progressive and/or heartwarming conversations throughout.

✔ I enjoyed the friend group. They all looked out for one another. Even when they fight, it's out of concern and they are quick to apologize and make up.

✔ I love the vibe. I don't really know how to explain this one well, but I just enjoyed the overall coastal setting and the days of youth before going off into the bigger world. Maybe it's the inner southern Cali surfer boy in me, but it hits a certain feel/vibe. The trouble they get into, obviously, is dramatic, but the idea of getting into hijinks with your buds as kids is something relatable.

✔ With the given time, they did a good job of setting up the relationships and dynamics between the characters.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ Nothing really comes to mind that I disliked. The worst I can say is that the humor/comedy element was just ok for me.


-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

struggled through a sugar crash

The characters and their interactions were so cute. However, the story itself didn't really hold my attention until towards the latter end. While very cute and fluffy, it wasn't enough to keep me interested. It did gradually get better for me, but took over half the series to do so. If I disregard the beginning of the series, this would have been good. Unfortunately, it took me too long to get into it, so it ended up just being okay. I hope to see Mark and Ohm in another series as a pair, though.

-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Cute.

✔ Very cute.

✔ Light, cute, and fluffy.

✔ Did I say cute, already?

✔ Story got more substance and became more engaging in the later half. Still cute, sweet, and funny.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ Too cute and not enough anything else. Overloaded on the sugar and I was struggling not to crash in the first 6-ish episodes.

✖ Didn't really like that they were pressuring Sant to make up with his mom. I get it, but I don't really like the approach.

✖ Easily could've cut this down to make this series shorter.


-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

not a perfect 10 but very light-hearted and fun

The series is actually segmented into three different arcs, each focusing on one of the main couples, so it's almost like you are getting three series that share the same universe all in one. Each couple's story can be watched isolated without needing to watch the others if you don't really care about a certain couple, though a lot of cute moments would be missed. The story of each couple also didn't end even as we focus on another pair. I loved that each couple still had a presence in the overall series all the way through until the end. The general vibe of the series is very cute. I liked it, it was fun.

-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ Pretty stress-free with very minimal angst. While there is trauma and some minor conflicts, they never really felt like anything to be too concerned about, especially given the feel of the series. We don't really have any villains or antagonists other than the gang that fought Yotha and Klao, but they weren't any kind of threat. I think Klao was the closest we came to an antagonist, but I hesitate even saying that since from Klao's perspective, Yotha could be seen as the antagonist. Honestly, everyone's enemy was probably themselves.

✔ Supportive friends and loving parents.

✔ Po.

✔ Lots of light-hearted, cute, and funny interactions between the characters. This is the big selling point for me. The interactions between the characters and their dynamics was very silly and fun to watch.

✔ The series is structured in a way that it could be broken up into 3 smaller series with about 7-8 episodes each. They would just all share a universe. If you wanted, you could easily pick which of the three main couple you wanted to watch without needing to know too much context from the other parts.



[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ I think even 7-8 episodes per couple arc still felt a little long. I think I would've liked the series a little bit more if it was a tad shorter. Maybe 16 total would have been fine. So about 5 episodes per romance arc and then 1 for the finale.

✖ The romance aspects of the stories weren't really that memorable to me. It was more the cute/funny interactions and interactions with other characters apart from their romantic partners that left more of an impression on me. The stories weren't bad, but they weren't really anything that left an impact on me. It felt very standard. The chemistry was good, though. I think of the three main couples, I enjoyed Faifa and Wine the most.



-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

One of the common denominators in all three of the stories is that one person in the pair don't really take care of themselves or their own feelings. It's not until they fall in love that they realize that their behavior is not only detrimental to the person they care about, but also to themselves. They all learn this lesson, and they all learn to do better. One or both characters in each pair also have some kind of trauma they are dealing with that gets healed with the help of their partner. Basically, all three arcs follow a similar formula with slight adjustments. However, despite the romance aspects being pretty standard, they never felt boring. It just wasn't too impactful overall, either.

What I loved most about this series was the silliness and wholesomeness of the interactions between the different characters and their friends. The dynamic changes depending on who they are with and who they are interacting with. For example, I liked Yotha and Wine's awkward interaction after they got paired together as mentor and mentee. I enjoyed the playful fighting between Faifa and Gun, and Yotha just blaming his brother while being blind to Gun's actions. I also just love the stupidity of Arm and his friend group. There are lots of interactions like that in the series that were just cute or comedic. It's all very endearing and they were the most memorable part of the series for me.

[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

My interest in this series was mostly because of Santa. I saw him in 'My Only 12%' and was curious to see him in another role as I liked his acting. He is very expressive, very similar to Perth, so I already liked the idea of that pairing. The series has a pretty stacked cast with a lot of faces I recognized. However, with that said, after watching this, I wasn't' really left with any strong feeling about any of the couples or characters, but I think it was just mostly the story and not due to the acting. It wasn't that it was bad, it was just okay. The chemistry was good. I also did like some of the emotional scenes when it came to the weight of their traumas though. They also did well portraying the cute and funny scenes. I have to admit, sometimes the dialogue/acting also felt very cringe or cheesy, but I also understand that the tone of this series is not meant to be that serious.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

I like the intro song "วันนี้ Perfect". The other songs for each of the couples were okay, but they were not something I really vibe with or had any strong feelings about.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

There were lots of cute and funny interactions. In general, the vibe was very light and fluffy feeling. It's something you don't have to pay much attention to. For these two latter points, I think I could watch again while I am doing something else, or it can be something I can watch along with someone else.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

Sometimes, it's nice to just watch something that isn't too angsty or heavy. No villains or any characters that I would consider annoying. It was cute, sweet, light, and funny to watch. While the romance and chemistry in general was just between okay and good, the funny dynamics and silly interactions between characters made up for it and turned it into something a little better than just good. Very light, zero stress. I just enjoyed the vibe a lot, so my high rating is attributed to that.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

simple and straightforward but interesting

The story is pretty straightforward and so are the cases. I didn't really care about the cases too much, but I did like the overall story. It actually does a quite a few things that subverted my expectations. The characters are also pretty interesting with intriguing backgrounds. For me, this was refreshing break from the more emotional and angsty series. I don't know if this is a series that I will remember long after watching it, but in the moment, it was engaging enough for me to keep binge-watching.

-------------------------------------------
● REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ The female lead is smart and mature and likable.

✔ We have three male leads but each have a different relationship dynamic with our female lead. All three are interesting in their own ways. Despite this, only one truly becomes the romantic interest of the female lead. There's not a love triangle or square or anything, so I liked that.

✔ Once the romance starts, there isn't really any heavy angst or breakups. No miscommunication, trust issues, or any of the dramatics. The most dramatic part is probably towards the end, but even then, the couple has each other's back.

✔ Speaking of the end, I loved the conversation and passionate exchange between Tumi, Wuwei, and Yaksha. We see where each of their priorities and convictions lie. It was a great showing of each of their characters.

✔ Wuwei and Zhengyuan had a nice bromance that I liked.

✔ I enjoyed the serie's pacing. The cases, especially, moved along fast and didn't feel draggy.

✔ This is a really shallow point, but I liked the color and aesthetic of the intro/opening theme.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ Many cases were pretty simple and a lot was due to the officials not doing their due diligence. While they weren't boring, they also just wasn't memorable cases for me. I was more interested in the Mowu Pavilion storyline and the backgrounds of each of our characters.

✖ The most interesting part in the series for me happened right at the very end. The conversation at the end got me excited to see how Tumi would fair going up against the royal court and king himself. Sadly, the series ends on a cliffhanger and viewers are left wondering about the fate of Yaksha. The rest will have to be filled in with our imagination.


-------------------------------------------
● IN-DEPTH REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

The question presented in the MDL synopsis about which of the male lead our female lead Chun Tumi will choose in the end is a bit misleading. In fact, I think the initial focus of the series is also misleading. Why? Because the focus of the series isn't romance. The male lead that they focus on since the beginning also isn't the main love interest. It wasn't even a situation where there were options and a choice had to be made in terms of romance.

The first half of the series focuses mostly on Tumi's beginning her journey as litigator. She is mature, she is smart, and she holds the law in high regards. While she's not the strong, independent heroine type, she's also not the ditzy, damsel in distress with an overly childish or extroverted personality that can sometimes be annoying. She does have some clumsy moments where a male lead comes to catch her or sweep her off her feet, but nothing that made feel like she's a weak character. I actually quite like Tumi. She has strong core values. Although a little naive sometimes when it comes to her trust in the people or the law, she is smart and passionate.

In the beginning, she is supported by Han Wuwei, who admires her willfulness and strong regard for the rules. Of the male leads, Wuwei has the most focus and screen time. In the beginning, he is also the one who is seen the most with our female litigator. As the story progresses, we also see the Tumi has a positive effect on his actions and character. They have two very conflicting personalities and it makes their dynamic interesting. Given all that, it's not hard to believe that he would be the main love interest for Tumi. However, that's not the case and I love that.

It is almost expected in most series that the lead pairing are characters with the most screen time. Personally, I like it better when they do something more like this where an important character is teased but don't become more important until later. This was the case with Yaksha. His character had very little focus and attention during the first half of the series. His storyline was just teased with a slight romance with Tumi building up. There's definitely some cuteness to their romance and while I feel like it could have been developed more, it was ok. However, as mentioned, the romance isn't the main focus of the series anyway. When it comes to Yaksha, his backstory and relationship with Mowu Pavilion is the more important and interesting storyline.

Then we have Lord Kang Zhengyuan. I think of the three male leads, his personality is the closest to and most compatitible with Tumi. Both are strict when it comes to the law. Like Wuwei, he seems to admire her personality and helps support her in the cases. He has a more upright personality. He showed hesitation when Wuwei wanted to arrest Yaksha due to the king's edict. Zhengyuan is just generally very likable. He is rational and fair. He is a voice of reason for his friend Wuwei and a mentor for Tumi. I think of the three male leads, I would want to see more of his character developed if there was ever to be another season.


[ --ACTING/CAST-- ]

Of the five main roles, I know three of them from other series. Sabrina, Junjie, and Zhixin. The two faces I didn't know were Zhu Linyu and Qin Tian. I think out of all of them Zhixin's character had the most personality to him and so his acting stood out the most, followed by Linyu's characters A Yili. The other three character were more mature and serious usually so it's harder to see the range of the acting. There wasn't really anything much that stood out to me in a memorable way. When they were cute, they were cute. When they were playful, they were playful. When they needed to be serious, they were. Nothing really struck me as bad or impressive. Junjie does this expression where he squints a lot, but I don't know if it's good or bad. It's just something I noticed. For some reason, it makes me thing of Flynn Ryder from "Tangled" with the smolder or like Batman narrowing his eyes in suspicion of something.

[ --MUSIC/OST-- ]

I liked the opening theme song. I liked the ending theme song. Both have a sweet sound to them and I'm always a fan of the sounds of traditional instruments. If there were any other songs during the series, I don't remember them.

[ --REWATCH VALUE-- ]

While I liked it, it is unlikely I'll re-watch it since this series ends on a cliffhanger. I don't mind open endings, but only if done right and the open ending gives us enough info to make insinuations, read between the line, or make an educated interpretation. This one left the future too open. This feels more like that there is suppose to be a second season, but that season never happened, which makes me sad.

[ --FINAL THOUGHTS-- ]

This series built up to something great in the end, but sadly, it never came to completion. All my intrigue and curiosity was left blue-balled. To satisfy the itch of knowing what happens next in the story, I will have to go find and read the novel, if an English translation exists somewhere. With that said, this was still a very good series. I enjoyed the characters, the development of the overall story, and the relationships between the characters. Not very memorable or romantic, but also not very angsty or dramatic. It felt very light and maybe that's why I enjoyed it. It was a nice break from the series I've been watching that deals with more heavy themes and emotional cases. It also had some cute and fun moments and interactions. It had a nice pacing. It was just a nice watch.

-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More

interesting mix of villains

This is my first real introduction to the Super Sentai franchise. I have seen several seasons of the American version of Power Rangers as a kid, but I've never really sat through an entire season of Super Sentai. I kind of just picked one to start with and samurais are cool, so "Samurai Sentai Shinkenger" seemed look a good starting point. It's more or less what I kind of expected. Sometimes the acting is a little cringe, but overall, it's also very heartfelt and has decent character developments. Even the antagonists have some interesting backstories and personalities, giving them depth and humanity. I definitely do feel like Super Sentai has more heart than its western counterpart.

-------------------------------------------
● SHORT REVIEW
-------------------------------------------

[ --LIKES-- ]

✔ A good blend of comedy and heartfelt moments.

✔ Interesting villains/Gedoushu with different personalities. They have some dimension to them. Several of them have a history and their own story and motive. Outside of their conflict with the Shinkengers, they also struggle with their own emotions and issues.

✔ Cool villain designs.

✔ A lot of heartfelt lessons on leadership, doing good, discipline, becoming better, teamwork, compassion, etc. There is also a focus on identity and the things that makes us who we care. Everyone has a story and there is often more than meet the eyes. Very typical of hero series like this. It's not all the cool actions and fighting bad guys, it's also about building character and instilling life lessons.

✔ Towards the end of the series, a character is introduced and I love that they were a very likable character, adding a layer of difficulty to the internal conflict and predicament of the Shinkengers.

✔ I enjoyed the development of the characters. I think Chiaki was probably my favorite in term of his relationship/dynamic with Takeru.


[ --DISLIKES-- ]

✖ I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. We spent a lot of time building bonds between characters, but once they completed their mission, the process of moving on felt quick. I know they'll keep in contact, but I was expecting a more heartfelt ending.

✖ While I do like the origami zords, I wasn't really a fan of the bulky design when all of the existing origamis combined. It felt like there was too much going on.


-------------------------------------------
● NOTE
-------------------------------------------

I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews is not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Read More