meaghen

This film trilogy takes pieces of the first few volumes in the original manga for the first film, and for the last two films it's the Kyoto arc in the manga series.Even with this ambivalent but hopeful ending.. it's technically not the end, but a continuation. The manga alone has 28 volumes, with over 300 chapters. This is a fragment of how magnificent and masterful this series is. It captured the tone/atmosphere well in the first film, but this is just a piece of the countless volumes of the original work. It'd be nice if they did a drama length series, or delved into the backstories of Shishio's band of followers (they barely graze the complexity of those characters). I understand that they might need a large budget for it, and the blockbluster film trilogy idea does generate a larger audience and more profit; however, as a fan of the anime and manga (I've seen and read both), I would have liked them to do more than just three films. But that itself is a ton of work. Who knows, maybe there will be more adaptations in the future? I am incredibly impressed though, and I know it'd be a ton of work considering there is a lot of action, but I'm just a hopeless romantic when it comes to my favourite manga's. Overall, it was superbly casted.

The hippo subplot bothered me for various reasons. Even if they didn't have their head veternarian on the Zoo grounds, there should be at least one medical staff member (aka, another vet) present to be able to perform any emergency care. That's just ridiculous. They didn't even explain why that doctor was on the island? If there was no immediate medical care needing to be done, any respectable Zoo Keeper would know their animal well enough to diagnose them with some form of illness, even if it's only making a good guess. I thought it was a serious infection, but it turned out to be disorientation... couldn't the Zoo Keeper's have called that doctor, or any ANIMAL VETERINARIAN, at that point to talk about the symptoms to get a diagnosis and fix the problem there and immediately (again, why are there no other vet's on site? If it's because its a small island, and that's the excuse, that's awful --leave the damn hippos in the wild in the first place, or if their entire species is threatened, keep them protected in conservations, and not in freaking pools behind a fence, especially near lions who will bite their tails). Ughhh, I get that this is a light-hearted fantasy, but that seriously was incredibly unprofessional. Having hippos caged in a zoo for human entertainment in the first place doesn't sit well with me, but after all that heightened trouble (the climax of the movie), it needed a dang ribbon with a pocket watch clock at the end to create a balance both psychologically and emotionally for the hippo? Kiki flew through that dangerous storm for that? Really? Really, writers? And we didn't even hear Jiji's voice for the last 30 minutes or more of the film... *face palms*

I probably won't watch this one. I totally share the same thoughts as you! The first few episodes are deciding factors for me, so I agree there, especially this one which sounds so predictable. I haven't watched that one because of the age gap. I know there was no kissing, but 16-17 years of age for a 4-5 year age gap in a drama is my limit. That's just... why couldn't they cast more properly than that? Probably rolling on the coat-tails of the growing popularity of the actress. Haha I bet it was a good drama though. I heard it was pretty good. In Prime Minister and I, there was a 20 year age gap. Some age gaps don't sit well with me, but sometimes the story makes up for it. Thanks for replying ☺

35 is old when the female protagonist is 22. That's a 13 year age difference. It doesn't bother me to great extents, but considering there IS a noticeable age gap, 35 is old in this case. I think Ryu Soo Young is a great actor, so I might watch this one. Not the first or last drama to feature a large age gap though, that's for sure.

I know who ends up with who (I spoil plot lines for myself sometimes when I'm really into a completed drama), and I know I would have given this series a 10 if Yoon Hee ended up with Kang Hyuk. Right now it's consistenty between an 8 to 9. I just won't be able to rate it higher. As much as I like Lee Hong Ki, my bias has been Park Min Woo since Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. Plus, I kind of wish writers wouldn't go with predictable story lines so often. It would have been a perfect drama for me if Yoon Hee and Kang Hyuk were together at the end. Come on writer-nim's, lets get more creative with love lines, and let the second lead get a chance at love with the main female protagonist. It's just not seen so often, and it hurts watching in certain series, and I feel it with this one.

Can't. Stop. Laughing. The humor is sooooo amazing lol!! I definitely shouldn't have put this one on hold!!

You will definitely get a good dose of Teddy (Seungri) in this drama. He does have a story line, and although the focus is on the main characters in the series, he does appear quite often. Not in every scene, but he appears if not in all, a majority of the episodes (I'd say 16 because of the episodes they did the back story of the main leads, and maybe once o twice in the middle). He was really amazing in this drama! I was actually surprised :)

Goo Hye Sun as Soo Wan... this was perhaps one of the most tragic, yet honest and beautiful portrayals I've seen her in. The level of grief that was surmounted up to the final episodes is some of the most realistic grieving portrayals in a drama I've ever seen. Granted it kind of went makjang at moments, but I could feel the pain and anguish of Soo Wan, and I couldn't be any happier to give this series a 9. I'm usually pretty picky about my drama's, and this is because I'm not all about the redundant actions of characters (I won't spoil any details), but the story line made up for it. For folks that think the beginning was great and there was a slump towards the end, please don't let that deter you from watching this drama. I didn't give it a 10 because it wasn't the most original drama out there (some cliches here and there), but if anything, I loved the acting, and even more especially, the script writing. It was so sweet at times, yet so sad, and of course I'm not always a fan of melodrama's because they can be depressing, but this one is quite special to me now. My bias here of course!

Rainie and Wu Chun had nice chemistry in this drama. The ending was sweet, but I think that it drew out plot lines that could have been wrapped up earlier. This could have easily been a 15-16 episode drama at an hour an episode (they were about 45 minutes each). One of the few complaints I have about this drama! It's still a good show, and the leads were great.

Okay... that "staged" kidnapping was actually quite despicable. To go to that length to get someone to have the courage to speak the truth in a literal life or death situation is going too far... I don't know who is more idiotic in that scenario. The person who won't admit her feelings, or the guy who staged it all. I enjoyed it bit by bit in the beginning, and the middle it became interesting (not too cliche, which was nice), but the last handful of episodes (2-3 about) really drew out the story unnecessarily. They were like 70 minutes each anyway so they had time to wrap it up, and just finishing the drama now, I wondered where the time went (I can't believe I watched 21 episodes of this s**t)... it was okay, and I think it had it's plus points (loved Mary!!), but that climax before the ending was too tasteless for me.

The way Lan Blue kisses is kind of gross. It's like he's trying to swallow his leading woman's face. I've seen him in Easy Fortune Happy Life, and here he's a repeat offender. I mean, it's great he has passion and all, but it looks like an octopus or squid has attached itself onto the woman's face and won't let go...it's kind of awkward. A kiss can definitely be sexy without excessiveness... and I've seen plenty of "forced" kisses in drama's (and even though I hate the fact there's zero consent from the woman), they aren't suctioned-cupped onto the woman...the way he kisses is just... blegh. I couldn't just not comment on this fact.

Just playing devil's advocate here...but Lee Jun Yeong's story is quite tragic (just as most of the stories are anyway in this web of pain that these characters share). Right at his birth he was dehumanized, and his existence was treated meaninglessly. I mean, the religious bigotry which made his biological mother come to term with the pregnancy is an important issue here, and is a horrible fact, but I digress... I can imagine that festering isolation hammered the last nail in the coffin, figuratively speaking, for whatever humanity was left in him. That begs the question, are psychopathic tendencies innate, latent, or nurtured (a big theme which haunts this series, I think), and in his case, I think that it's a combination, but I am more akin to believing that because of the lack of warmth in his life, it developed. I'm not defending him in no way since I think his cruelty, and lack of empathy (and his murdering of people) is quite pathetic and wrong, but I think there's definitely a lot more to analyze. I mean, I had a suspicion that he's always desired a family. But he doesn't seem to comprehend what healthy relationships are (hence psychopathy). The way he was treated in the past, I am sure he doesn't know what valuing another's person's life means, since he was treated negatively. When he was talking to the woman that cared for him briefly in the past, he couldn't comprehend his own feelings, and when he did, he admitted that he wanted them to live together... and I thought to myself, how incredibly tragic and horrible this is, and for once I felt a bit of sympathy for that man that we're supposed to hate. And although I do disdain him (thinking about it now, I'm almost sure he'll either be killed or put in prison), it really makes me reflect about what we can consider good and bad in this world. Especially since he thinks he's doing well by helping out kids who were/are just as despaired as he was... I wonder what will happen in the last two episodes... I really wonder.

I understand what you mean, and I am akin to believing Min has murdered 9 people as an act of transference. A lot of serial killers project onto their victims in certain cases, and that does seem evident in Min's case since he told his brother that this time he decided not to "kill" the woman in episode 12 because he just didn't feel it, making me assume as well that he's responsible for at least the 9 bodies representing the black beads that were seen earlier by the one disposing the victims.Yet, I will be skeptical until Min completely admits to all those murders, especially if it is during a police interrogation/confession. I'm not expecting him to say "oh, by the way, those 9 victims you were investigating, I killed them" kind of idea, but more of an admittance for the actual act of going through with a murder or murders. Otherwise I'm going to continue to question/speculate the motives of the writer, because although there have been predictable elements in this series, I'm hoping there will be a few more twists. Perhaps that is unlikely, but I guess we'll all see in the next two weeks.

I have mixed feelings about Lawyer Jeong/Min... although based on ethical and legal principles, murdering another human being is wrong. Contemporarily speaking, I can't think of any legal system in the world that condones murder outside of self defense and involuntary "manslaughter". Even if they were horrible people, no one has the right to decide who lives and dies (Ji An put it perfectly). Otherwise we'd live in a chaotic society. Given those facts, I am a bit apprehensive about something, and that is, has Min actually killed anyone? Although superficially Min seems to be making it clear that he was broken when his hyung abandoned him (or so he thought) and that's partly what has manifested his (innate) sociopathic tendencies, but I really wonder if he has, even with Doctor Lee playing Doctor Evil at his side asking him why he didn't murder the disgusting mother in this episode. I can see how manipulation has certainly transformed (poor) Min into a victim of circumstances, but I'm unsure of how many people Min has killed, or if there's anything more to it (like Doctor Lee is actually doing all the killing?). I could be wrong. I do think clinically and pathologically speaking, criminality exists in people, but I also believe in nurturing before nature arguments. I am more convinced of the trauma that led to Min's (alleged) crimes of murder, and I know that makes him if not entirely culpable of murder, but partly. Sorry to rant here, I find these characters incredibly complex, and I'm still trying to figure out just what Min has been doing for 20 years, and if he has been murdering people, what kind of fate he has? This show gives me plenty of chills, but in an interesting way I suppose.

I can't believe I'm just finding out about this now, I'm super excited!!! :D haha his hair looks unique! Looks like it will be an interesting take!

AHHHH THEY'RE BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!!!! *cries tears of joy* PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be a unique take on Itazura Na Kiss!!!

I've noticed that in medical based Korean dramas with mental health/illness in it, the contentiousness in the series with "controversial" concepts might be revealing of cultural allegories in South Korea in terms of how persons with invisible/visible (dis)abilities are discriminated against. It actually astounds me that people would think that way, at least ignorantly about something like autism. It's so different for everyone and coping with it is also different. Something like "curing" sounds pathological. By that, I mean the overt medicalization and stigmatizations of bodies like Joo Wan's portrayal here is evident of the longggg way to go for persons with ANY form of socially constructed "inability" to be recognized as able in many ways, and not through a restrictive and belittling lens. I'm only a few episodes in, and granted there's tension in certain places, there's value in shows like these, and I hope it opens up the minds of others.

If I could have a quarter for how many amputations and re-attachments they did I'd have more than a dollar. I had to let that off my mind because it happened so much. Just felt odd. Even if it was helping someone out. Became quite predictable.

Thank youuu!!!!!!^^^ will check the link out ☺that's all good. At least until other sites catch up. Appreciate this!

Me too! And thank you for responding! Maybe someone or one of us will eventually find a site where they're subbing up to date. Lol me too! It's soooo underrated! I think it's refreshing ☺ I was surprised too! Family-centred dramas that last between 40-50 episodes seem to be so popular in SK. I guess it depends on demographics and trends. Maybe it'll be under the radar for international fans or gain popularity eventually?? But I agree! It runs until September so I hope they start subbing a few eps this week