Bali

If you are looking for a lighthearted drama with some fairly good action, youthful school antics, quite funny comedic moments, great camaraderie among the five friends, and a cute romance, you might enjoy this drama. It is basically an uptake of the Korean period drama Sungkyungkwan Scandal (2010), that, although not of the same production quality, it is entertaining. The drama has a quintet of students that find themselves in the same elite academy Shangyi Guan, become friends, and get involved in solving crimes and political upheavals among the palace. The cast did a good job even if it was not the best of their acting. The drama is nice and enjoyable.

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This review is for Season 1 and 2. This drama is about palace politics and betrayals. The main characters are trapped by the delusions of the emperor and the princes all fall under the schemes of the bad guys. This is not a love story, although there is a main romantic plot and some other side stories, the plot is more about the fight for the throne. The story is poorly written and the characters went from almost comedic to dark and depressing on the second season. The best acting comes from the antagonist; the rest of the cast did not perform so well and the end, and the good guys end tragically. The leading lady went from very smart on the first season to someone lacking good judgment. Overall, the drama is not that good!

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This drama is a nice and latest wuxia adaptation of Si Da Ming Bu by Woon Swee Oan also known as Wen Rui'an.The drama is full of action scenes, good CGI’s, intrigue, revenge, mystery, and a little bit of romance. The story follows four constables with superior martial arts skills and strong sense of justice as they fight different sorts of enemies to maintain peace. The drama is about the four constables and their antics to solve crimes. The chemistry among the constables is great and, although each one has a love interest and storyline, the leading couple is Hans Zhang as Leng Xie, Prince of the Wolf tribe and Janine Chang as Chu Limo / Chu Ying Xue, who has her mother’s gift of reading people's minds. The evil antagonist is An Shi Geng (Mickey He) who does a great job creating havoc all over to keep the constables busy. All actors did a great job bringing their characters to life; with an honorable mention to Wang Hai Xiang as Yu Chun Tong, An Shi Geng’s “sheeple”. Although there are some unresolved issues, unknown fates, and the fact that the drama is not a romantic story, if the drama is taken as an action and adventure story, it is quiet entertaining. Enjoy it!

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“When Love Walked In (2012)” is convoluted corporate drama that started with a lot of potential and ended with great disappointment. The writer(s) made little effort to give the characters common sense and rationality. The leading couple was so flippant with their relationship that they would rather give the love of their lives to someone else in the name of friendship and familiar relationship. The cast’s acting seemed forced at all times and the plot put the main characters in ridiculous situations. The drama centers on a group of friends who were determined to maintain integrity in business and loyalty in friendship that went to absurd lengths to sacrifice one for another. Although the premise of loyalty is great, the leading lady was tossed like a tennis ball for the sake of friendship and she was so indulgent of others that she would even get together with someone that she didn’t love. Even the end felt insignificant and rushed. To quote azndrama from his/her review: “the protagonists who started out dynamic and proactive became apathetic, compliant and indecisive to the point of aggravation.” Don’t waste your time; it’s a total waste of talent!

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This is a nice drama but it cannot compare with its parent story “Story of Yanxi Palace (2018)”. This miniseries is about Ying Luo and Emperor Qian Long’s daughter Imperial Princess Zhaohua. The story is only interesting in the last two episodes but, the storyline needed a whole series to provide the viewer with a more coherent and solid plot. The acting is not so good since the storyline doesn’t allow good character development and only Princess Zhaohua seems to be multidimensional. The only relationships and interactions that were meaningful on this drama are that of Princess Zhaohua and her parents. The cinematography and costumes are beautiful, and the music is the same one from “Story of Yanxi Palace (2018)”. It seems like the drama was done with teenage audience in mind; it has major plot holes and the two leading males were not convincing as leading actors in love with the princess. The story seems to be more about proving that Imperial Princess Zhaohua was very much like her mother Ying Luo. If you are looking for a short nice drama that happens within a historical period, you will find Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures entertaining. Enjoy it!

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This is a good drama. The plot was intriguing but the flashbacks were overused while trying to excrete the mysterious events little by little. The leading couple’s romantic storyline was realistic since they were dealing with memory loss and misunderstandings but it took away from a great romantic story and the clichéd year separation at the end was not necessary since all misunderstandings were cleared already. Although the drama is quite entertaining, there are unrealistic elements of human behavior which can only be taken as the writer’s effort to keep unnecessary tension caused by stupidity (female lead). The actors portrayed their characters well and the story is more about finding the person(s) responsible for the death of “Jang Yoon’s” brother. The leading’s couple’s romantic chemistry was not strong but their inner struggles were very well portrayed. Still, the drama is entertaining.

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This is a nice romantic coming of age comedy that could’ve been better if the leading couple’s romantic moments would have been allowed to flow naturally, instead of cutting them short, since there was good chemistry among them. The story starts with the typical high school first love and progresses consistently into college. The leading couple doesn’t deviate from their goal of been together but it is a slow burned romance. There are some plot inconsistencies regarding the leading couple’s past traumas but, overall, the drama delivers a cute romantic story. The antagonists are tolerable and the leading lady, although she is supposed to be naive, could really stand her ground. Still, this drama is entertaining and good to watch while waiting for a great one. Enjoy it!

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“No Secrets” is a Chinese adaption from the Korean Drama “I Hear Your Voice” with similar storyline but also a plot of its own. This is a court procedural drama that has action, mystery, and romance throughout the show. The drama seems more focused on the romance and the leading couple have rapport but not great chemistry which makes most of their romantic scenes a little awkward, especially from the female lead. Since the drama is a remake, it is difficult not to compare and the Korean version comes out stronger on the revenge and court cases themes. Although the drama is not perfect, it’s still quite entertaining. Enjoy it!

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This is a really nice light drama focused on character development and office romance. There is good chemistry among the cast and the leading couple. SPOILER ALERT: The romance takes 13 episodes to get it together but the leading couple has good chemistry. Although the leading lady is smart and pretty (except for the awful choice of her wig), the writers overused her insecurity and lack of romance experience up until the last episode creating a quite bothersome flip-flop attitude from the female lead. There were two noteworthy romantic moments and, somehow, the writers might have thought that was good enough since the rest are just nice romantic moments and they lost some luster by the end. Still, the drama is a really nice office relationship series.

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Princess Hours is the Thai remake of the Korean parent story “Goong”. The story line has some changes that are really good and interesting and the plot flows nicely. The leading actors, Pattie Ungsumalynn Sirapatsakmetha as Kaning [Crown Princess] and Tao Sattaphong Phiangphor as In [Crown Prince], have some cute moments but their romantic scenes were weak and lack chemistry. Most of the elder supporting cast did very well delivering their characters but the second male lead and his mother in the drama were awful. Also, the leading female’s voice was too screechy! This drama is one to watch while waiting for a great one!

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This is a very good action romance lakorn. The leading couple has great chemistry and did very well bringing their characters to life. Although some supporting actors were not up to par in acting skills, the drama excels in showing great feelings and camaraderie among Naboon’s and Rattawan’s friends and family. The soundtrack is very nice and fitting with the story. Although there are a few frustrating moments with the antagonists winning at every turn of events, the resolutions are satisfactory and the leading couple get to show their interaction as a couple throughout the last episode. The drama is really entertaining, enjoy it!

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