MeeloSoul

Hiya!!!! 👋🏻

I usually keep a low profile, limiting myself to the role of a silent observer. I rarely venture to interact, as written communication is likely to be misinterpreted. So, basically, I step in normally when there’s a comment I simply cannot ignore. Or, I really need to thank someone from the bottom of my heart. I truly believe this is the smallest thing I can do to show my gratitude for your meaningful contributions. After all, it's always really nice to know first-hand that there are some people out there who appreciate what you have to say – it’s definitely more touching than just a ‘like’.
In essence, that which I find most precious in a review is the thoughtfulness with that it has been formulated, obviously without any disrespect or rudeness attached. As well as these crucial aspects, I often find some additional details that are, quite honestly, refreshing. They include the author’s skill with words or their ingeniousness in expressing themselves. That makes reading them a delightfully enjoyable experience. On the other hand, I have no problems with partiality in reviews, 'cause at the day's end, who can forget who they are as an individual (personality, interests, life experience…) when expressing their opinion? Furthermore, it’s one of the best ways to see beyond your own horizons. But what I definitely can't tolerate is the fact that they feel more like calculated smear campaigns (to push viewers away) or shameless promotion (to catch viewers’ attention).

Regarding what you mentioned about the present situation on MDL – and on similar platforms in general – I only have can add this: ‘it couldn’t have been said any louder, but it couldn’t have been said any more clearly either’. The fact is, I regularly visited the comments section while watching the show. But since a few years ago, this section has gradually become quite noisy. So, I opted to quit this practice for once and for all on MDL. Even though I don’t have enough strength of will to do without the ‘on-air’ chats, I’ve switched to the ‘DRAMABEANS’ website and the ‘subs’ on the ‘REDDIT’ network. Where, for the moment, it’s much easier to find a more moderate environment and healthy discussions that don’t get out of hand.
Anyway, MDL is still my main source for reviews. But I particularly focus my interest on a few select users, whom I follow closely. Luckily for me, some of them maintain interesting, regularly updated feeds too. Truth be told, tracking down these reliable members has been a bit of a challenge, as they’re definitely the kind of users as usually few and far between.

Thanks for your suggestions, I’ll get round to looking at them. If I’m honest, the last year has been a poor one for me. The only highlight so far this year is the Kdrama "We Are All Trying Here". Aside from that, I’ve had a casual look at many shows just to kill time, but nothing really clicked with me. So, I’ve ended up spent more time reading reviews and following online discussions than actually watch programs. The point is, I can confidently say that I’ve enjoyed reading about the shows more than just watching them.

Checked out my watchlists?! Gosh, how embarrassing!!! 😅
You must have noticed that my ratings are a complete nightmare. I'm unable to be consistent with the scoring system that MDL uses. This is a bit of a problem for me. I just can’t seem to get to grips with the rating scale. My failure to score it on a one to ten with criteria such as story, acting/cast, music and rewatch value, is sadly obvious. Indeed, sometime later, when I revise my rankings, they strike me as rather arbitrary.
Without ignoring the fact that there are shows that fall into my hands at just the right moment to appreciate them, and others, meanwhile, at the wrong moment to despise them. So, it’s really hard for me to be logical and objectively consistent, mainly because the stuff I'm trying to evaluate has direct emotional impact and depends so heavily on my mood. This means that, from a technical point of view, I’m not often very precise when giving grades from 1 to 10. So, please just don't take it too seriously. 🙈
At this instance, I’m reminded of the scene in which Dong-Man (the lead character in ‘We Are All Trying Here’) told his students at the academy (I’ll quote directly from ep04-timeline [00:50:19]):
>>>“- If I get excited while writing, the audience will get excited too.
- If I laugh while writing, the audience will laugh too.
- If I feel sad while writing, the audience will feel sad too.
…
- Putting words together isn’t writing.
- You must evoke feelings in people.
- When we were little, we always walked like that (light-hearted and happy with life).
- Do you do that now? Do any adults do that? Do you see them looking that happy?
- No, there are no happy adults.
- That’s why they watch movies. They go to feel something. They want to be touched, to cry and to laugh their heads off. They want to feel alive again.
- Don’t force a storyline by linking words together.
- Step it up a notch.
- Bring out the emotions!
…
- Open a thousand doors and walk through them.
- And the background music should be electronics’ guitar.”<<<

Personally, I prefer the star rating system, but not the standard 5-star one, rather the basic 3-star system. With the possibility of adding an extra star, if required.
What can I say? I just can't resist being perfectly imperfect. Perhaps that's the reason I'm reluctant to give high grades and, in concrete terms, my refusal to award a 10. Not without forgetting, of course, my remarkable propensity for giving ridiculously low grades.
That’s precisely how I worked best at scoring:
⭐ “I look at you, but I don’t see you”; ⭐⭐ Popcorn fare; ⭐⭐⭐ Worth watching; ⭐⭐⭐'⭐’ Summa cum laude.
So, I’m utterly amazed—and at the same time feel a certain skepticism—about those people whose watchlists are an impeccable 10/10, and who decline to give lower than a 7 (my personal specialty).
Sometimes, just after watching the first two episodes of a show, they’re ready to award it perfect scores and turn their enthusiastic initial impressions into glowing reviews.
Which inevitably causes me to question my capacity for critical judgement. And what can I say about the hype surrounding certain shows whose DNA screams ‘commercial production’ – something I can’t relate to in the slightest. But honestly, the hardest thing is when I appreciate a show that the great majority are wild about hating. And it is deeply disturbing to see how individuals who post opinions on social media highlighting the weaknesses of one and the positive qualities of the other — metaphorically speaking — 'expose themselves to accusations of heresy by the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition'. 😱

The industry’s present strategy is such that some productions often prioritize the main actors’ strong fanbase or generally attractive cast, in the hope of guaranteeing commercial success to a reasonable measure. This is as opposed to selecting actors capable of expressing the characters they are required to portray effectively, independent of its visual attractiveness or its popularity between the target audience. I don’t find this 'marketing' strategies very beneficial. Now, I get the distinct impression, in particular with Korean productions, that the figures always seem to be above the common person. This is without even mentioning the overly refined and artificially constructed scenarios in which they develop, even when the character isn’t a chaebol. Recently, I’ve been going back to my beginnings in Japan, and that’s letting me compare and contrast my perceptions. And I’ve observed that the characters and their context don’t feel totally artificial or as dazzling as their counterparts in Kdramas. In addition, these Japanese productions manage to preserve their identity without losing sight of it at any point in the plot. Saving me the headache of having to deal with the mishmash of genres that has become all too common these days in Korean productions. 🤔

I did start “Heard it through the Grapevine”, but unfortunately, I put it on pause in episode 9. I’m still waiting to be in a more receptive mood to pick it up again.
As for “The Ideal City”, even though it’s on my current watchlist, I haven’t started it yet.
⁉️If you’re interested, I could facilitate a link by sharing a Google Drive folder with the files for the episodes of the show.

Oops, I guess I’ve expanded on my comment a bit too much. Please do excuse me. 🙇🏻‍♀️

It has been a pleasure to exchange feedback with you.

I look forward to reading your next posts. 🫶🏻

Warmest regards . 🤗

Viewing Asian productions is one of the most enjoyable activities for me, but if I additionally can support them by reading well-articulated, meaningful and thought-provoking reviews, reviews, it becomes a winning combination.
So I’m deeply grateful to you for sharing your insights on the shows you watch, especially knowing the time and effort it requires. Personal speaking, for some time now, I’ve actually found it quite difficult to uncover reviews that point out both the show’s strengths and weaknesses in such a well-reasoned and friendly way, without it feeling like an attempt to discredit the programme or ‘sell’ it to you. And reviews like yours are extremely helpful in finding those hidden gems amongst MDL’s subjectively-based ratings.

Thanks a million!!! 🙏🏻🫶🏻

All your written are sooo refreshing. Thanks a million!!! 🙏🏻🫶🏻

Thank you so much for your interesting review!

Grazie mille!!! per un’altra ottima e utile recensione. 🙏🏻🫰🏻

Hiya!!! 👋🏻

Thank you so much!!! for another well-written review. 🙏🏻🫰🏻

È davvero gratificante poter godersi una bella lettura. E le tue recensioni lo sono proprio.
Grazie mille per il tuo duro lavoro!!! 🙏🏻
Aspetterò con ansia le tue prossime pubblicazioni. 🫰🏻

Hiya!!! 🤗
I truly appreciate how insightful and comprehensive your evaluations are. 🫶🏻
I always find them inspiring to read. It help me to confirm some of my perceptions about the show's structure and to consider some of the aspects that the narrative explores in a more subtle way.

Thank you so much!!! 🙏🏻

Personally, I felt that this production accurately captured why we are more inclined to get caught up in certain storylines.
Ultimately, a writer not only needs to be creatively capable of constructing a story, but also requires a particular psychological insight to identify what their target audience wishes for.
In the end, Lee Gang was successful in captivating Heo Mun-O because he understood Mun-O’s vulnerabilities and deepest desires. Building on these, he developed a narrative that Mun-O would be happy to accept without question. In essence, we humans sometimes simply suspend our common sense in order to accept what we want to believe. This is because such convictions shape our identity and offer justification for our response to incidents.
I must confess that, at times, the dynamic between the protagonists reminded me of the character Scheherazade from the literary work "One Thousand and One Nights". Lee Gang would always leave Mun-O with the unresolved story until the next instalment, at the climax of his increasingly fascinating narrative, with his usual ‘to be continued…’ at the end of each assignment. And let’s be honest, as a viewer, I was no exception. 😅
It also became clear to me that audiovisual productions can be considered literature, even if in a different format. And how important it is for both to share good stories in the hope of immersing their audience.

Hiya! 🤗

I may have connected more or less with the program in question, but the skill and wit with which you express your constructive opinions are always fascinating to me.

So, once again, thank you so much for dedicating your time and effort to sharing your always interesting impressions of the programs you watch. Reading you is always a pleasure!!! 🙏🏻🫶🏻

Hello!!! 👋🏻
After seeing this actress' latest work, I became interested in checking out her filmography. I was excited to see that she had two upcoming projects listed. But after quite some time, I noticed that the profiles for both projects weren't being updated, even though one profile was created four years ago and the other two. So I assume they were created based on some rumor that ultimately didn't materialize, and they've been dormant ever since. 🤔
So, reading your comment made me excited again, thinking that maybe you knew about more projects, although then I focused and thought that perhaps you were referring to the ones listed as upcoming in the actress's profile. 😅
I saw the announcement for "First Doctor" in a social media post, so I hope it's true (Although that drama hasn't been reported or mentioned by MDL yet.). And that this is indeed a drama that will soon enter production. I sincerely hope that her next projects won't be too long in coming, and as you mentioned, that they'll be released regularly. 🤞

Warmest regards!!!🤗

Hello 👋🏻

Which two new projects are you referring to?
- The Married Couple Is Jobless.
- Hello Singles.
If they're the ones listed in her profile, although they've been around for several, the information about them hasn't been updated since they were added. I don't know if they're projects that were discussed at some point but ultimately didn't materialize.🤔

What has come out recently is that she'll soon leading in a medical drama titled "First Doctor."
🔗https://m.entertain.naver.com/home/article/477/0000591416