Watch Lighter and Princess first!
Listen to me. Have you seen Lighter and Princess? No? Watch that first. You’ve seen L&P already? Then be prepared for a downgrade when watching this. These two shows are quite comparable. The setups are the same (a college romance in the beginning) and the basic structures are similar. Both include a breakup at the midpoint with a timeskip (not a spoiler), with a significant business focus sprinkled in between while ML desperately attempts to salvage whatever love they have for each other. It’s difficult not to compare them.The first 14 episodes or so are fairly standard. Nothing to write home about. A college romance. He’s a sneaker designer starting his own business, while she’s a struggling college student entering the world of business finance to support her mother. Slowly but surely, a romance develops, only for the show to break them up in the latter half of the story. Sound familiar? I told you it’s similar to Lighter and Princess. This is where the writing truly begins to test your patience.
I wouldn’t call it toxic per se but the “will they, won’t they” shtick was really annoying. The pushing each other away in order to protect the other person had my eyes rolling numerous times. ML is particularly guilty of this, and his decisions led to significant consequences.
There is a second couple, but many would find a professor-student relationship pairing weird, but I didn't think much of it. Their storyline was not particularly interesting by the end anyway.
For me the best thing about this show was the opening duet performed by Arthur Chen and Sabrina Zhuang. Really good.
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Frustratingly Beautiful
This show is frustrating to watch. Your ability to finish it depends on how well you can tolerate Eun Jung being repeatedly manipulated by her toxic childhood friend, Sang Yeon, throughout various periods of her life. Some cosmic force seems to keep bringing these two back together for the worse. The obvious solution would be to cut all ties, but then it would only be a three-episode series—and we can’t have that, can we?It’s easy to hate Sang Yeon, but to me, she was equally pitiful because of the struggles she endured. I was deeply invested in whether she would ever find her moment of happiness. I really like shows that portray a character’s entire life, and it’s done here with Sang Yeon.
The show addresses some heavy topics related to Sang Yeon's family situation that I did not expect.
The big C is in this show (not a spoiler), and although it is not original, the acting involving it was a masterclass that brought me to tears.
Lastly, the soundtrack stood out to me. The three vocal tracks by Seori are so good.
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Very forgettable.
Car salesman Chang-soo unwittingly becomes the test subject of a mysterious perfume that magically (complete with low-budget special effects) causes women to fall in love with him.I'm here for Seol In-ah (Twinkling Watermelon, Business Proposal). She plays as Jo Ah-ra, the so called "Bus Goddess" by Chang-soo. Unfortunately, Seol In-ah could not save this movie, neither could the male lead.
Just zero chemistry sums of this show. Very superficial. Just not enough meaningful time dedicated to the romance, whether it's built on lies or not. Not very romantic or comedic when it's trying so hard to be. Watch something else.
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This young actress killed it.
This young actress killed it. She carried the entire show on her back along with her way-in-over-his-head kidnapper. Their pseudo father-daughter relationship on screen is awkward, funny, and endearing, despite the unfortunate circumstances that brought them to their current situation. Since the new-family dynamic was the focus of the earlier episodes, I found the beginning more enjoyable than the latter half, as the big mystery of the show naturally started taking over.The show's central mystery of who did what to whom, which landed our fugitive duo in their predicament, is intriguing but ultimately unoriginal. The gradual revelation of a single crime scene and the events that transpired can become somewhat repetitive; however, it still managed to hold my attention. Fortunately, this series consists of only 12 episodes.
The bad guy is comically... a rich villain stereotype, something you've seen countless times before. In contrast, the other villain who works under him and handles all the dirty work is surprisingly decent. I found myself liking him because, deep down, he is actually a softie.
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This show is truly cursed.
Let me highlight the most significant flaw of this show: the recaps and repetition of scenes. I kid you not, each episode is literally 20% recap and reused scenes of death or someone getting injured. This is clearly an attempt to pad the run time to meet their obligatory episode lengths. The same death scenes are shown repeatedly, often death scenes just from the previous episode. It's infuriating.Second, they needed to give Park Mi-jeong (female lead) more lines! In retrospect, the female lead likely has fewer lines than some of the side characters. She is so underutilized that it feels almost criminal. While this makes sense given the circumstances of the deaths surrounding her, incorporating more inner dialogue or any additional lines would have significantly improved her character. Most of the time, she is merely present to be pretty and gloomy.
Next up, Lee Dong-jin (male lead) character is ... something else. Not to even sugarcoat it, if you're interested in watching a man openly stalk a woman over several episodes-like following her through dark, creepy alleys-then this is your guy. At least the show has the decency to address his stalker behavior and not pretend this is all okay.
I genuinely wanted this show to be better than it is. It suffers from a painfully slow pace (not in a good way mind you), exacerbated by the constant rehashing of the same death scenes. Despite these shortcomings, I found myself eagerly anticipating each week's episode. I was invested in how the protagonist would unravel the mystery, and the last two episodes were quite enjoyable, ultimately saving the show from complete disaster.
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A judge is sent back in time.
A man is given a chance at a second life. In his previous life, he became entangled with shady and corrupt individuals and organizations, which led him to enforce crooked rulings even his mother could not defend him on. He’s plopped back in time to his very first case as a judge 10 years ago. Now, armed with years of court case knowledge, he sets out to seek justice against those who wronged him and to correct the mistakes of his past.The story is fairly straightforward. He is sent back 10 years, and episode by episode, he gradually works his way up from a low-level judge to the position he needs to be in to get revenge on those who hurt him.
The earlier episodes were the best part. He had the upper hand over everyone as he set out to resolve the terrible rulings from his previous life. What was also great was his renewed connections with friends and colleagues who had previously been adversaries, namely, his wife from his prior life, who treated him coldly as a pawn to benefit her law firm. This time around, both were given the chance to become better people.
Anyway, the second half was so-so in my opinion, as his prior knowledge no longer played such an important role. Chasing after the main antagonist was fine, but old men talking around a table and being corrupt can only be so entertaining after a while. His unraveling of a vast web of corruption of old dudes wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. Hidden slush funds and layers of bribes, not exactly new narrative territory. Luckily, all his colleagues and friends along the way made it tolerable to the end.
Overall, a good show with solid acting by the main lead.
Don’t ask how he was sent back. It’s just a quick narrative tool the show will never explain after the first episode.
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Not bad but not good
I would have enjoyed it more if I had no idea what the movie was about. The softcore scenes in the first half would have had a greater impact if I hadn’t known the general twist.I thought the "solution" to the entire predicament was a bit too simplistic and in your face. Other than that the ending fit well enough for these crazy people.
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Surprisingly Solid.
An episodic court procedure K-Drama. Not exactly something that jumps out at you to drop everything you’re doing to watch it. However, I’m glad I gave it a chance. What’s here is some clean, smart, and well-paced writing. Each episode centers around a case, which I found both interesting and relevant to current times. The cases never feel dragged out as they are resolved within a single episode.Since this is primarily a courtroom drama, don’t expect a full-blown romance between the male lead (ML) and female lead (FL); it’s only subtly hinted at. However, I really appreciate when a show addresses the issue of their age gap that makes sense to their characters.
The only negative thing I can think of regarding the show is FL’s ex-boyfriend. He is a lawyer working at a competing top law firm and consistently appears as the opposing lawyer in each case. I wish his character was smarter. He’s kinda dumb, to the point where you wonder, “How did this guy get hired at the most prestigious law firm in Korea?” I wish he didn’t resort to petty and underhanded tactics to try to win; he just gets steamrolled by ML and FL every time.
Other than that, fantastic stuff. The ML and FL family dramas are also woven quite well into the ongoing story despite the short 12-episode count. Why are the good shows so short!? I can’t even knock the nonexistent ending. I just need a second season ASAP.
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Interesting...
Under normal circumstances, I would never have given this movie a chance based on the description alone. However, I randomly saw a short TikTok edit about the film and wanted to see the ending. This movie is… interesting, to say the least. A young girl is “kidnapped” and lives with a pedophile for two months. Eventually, she is found, and he is arrested. Cue start of movie when she’s a young adult.To think that her time as a young girl with this man for two months is the LEAST of her problems is actually insane and just goes to show that the movie had quite a bit going for it in terms of story. I think that’s why I enjoyed it. It subverted expectations. I went into it not liking the topic but was pleased with the story it was telling.
The acting was good, it’s shot well, and the original soundtrack is nice. It never crosses the line in terms of visuals if you know what I mean. The other stuff she goes through is far worse if you can believe that.
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Glad I gave it a chance.
The thing that stuck out most to me about this movie is its cinematography. I don’t want to be cheesy but many of the landscape shots felt timeless. Despite not being in 4k and no HDR, I felt like I was brought back in time.As for the love story itself. Wholesome, sincere, and very simple. The main FL and ML don't even speak that much to each other. Not much drama or tension, and the ending felt satisfying despite the circumstances.
I’m glad I gave this a shot despite the most unassuming poster I’ve ever seen in my life. I didn’t even know the young female lead was Zhang Zi Yi.
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If My Wife Becomes an Elementary School Student
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I believe this title did itself a disservice.
These catchy, lengthy, and descriptive titles are not new to the anime fandom. I'm just upset the use of it here may have discouraged many viewers from watching a genuinely wholesome drama, and that bothers me. Just look at the title; if this isn't a "normie filter," I don't know what is. It never crosses the line, and I find it even more disheartening that people might form a negative impression based solely on the title.Title aside, I quite enjoyed this show. It was well-paced, with no annoying characters. The drama was solid and explained itself well enough to my liking as to the how and why the premise even started.
The little girl lead did a wonderful job.
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So so...
This show… is fine. I only watched it to check it off my watch-list of old shows featuring actors and actresses I like (IU and Kim Soo-hyun). Surprisingly, it worked out well. With lowish ratings, I approached it with no expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the direction of the primary romance. It caught me off guard. Sure, the male lead is a bit of a bonehead, socially inept, and often leaves you wondering how he even got to this point, but he does have his charming moments, and I eventually changed my opinion about his character.The drama surrounding IU is whatever. I don’t think she’s written particularly well to begin with.
The storyline involving ML's unsuccessful show is rather unremarkable.
Look, this show has low ratings for a reason. There wasn't much that compelled me to hit the play button to the next episode. For me, the romance was the only thing holding my interest, and even then you know there’s no shot between them.
Other than that, my favorite thing about this show is the side character Nam Kyung. She stands out visually with the outfits they have her wearing, and despite her limited screen time, I found her moments to be the funniest thing about this show.
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All over the place...
This show is all over the place. First of all, at no point in time throughout these 10 episodes did I even for a single second feel as though female lead (FL) and male lead (ML) were right for each other. What a weird pairing. Despite that though, FL can act. She has a wide range of emotions in a sea of stiff performances from everyone else. ML has his moments too that made me change my opinion on him for the positive, but I feel this couple pairing felt too forced.Second, the young antagonist is comically cringe worthy. What is this acting? Holy, it's bad. And this boy be a freak! He nasty! It doesn't make it better he looks dangerously young. And the story has the audacity to give him a redemption arc. Furthermore, all the scenes that revolve around his business are awful - awful concept, awful music, and awful visuals.
Third, there's a range of random characters thrown into this show. Cosplayer girl, while very cute with her different cosplays and general acting, is such a weird addition to the show. Truth be told though, since this show is kind of bad, I didn't really mind her presence. Even with her limited screen time she spices things up visually. Then there is bike boy... This part of the show was an insane miss. Did not care, this entire plot line should have been deleted from the script.
Lastly, I think the only unique thing this show has to offer is the whole realm of highly professional flower arrangements. Although it is an intriguing concept to center a show around, it's just not for me. While the show does a good job of opening up this world to me for the first time, I didn't find it all practically interesting and felt more disbelief regarding how this could be such a big thing in the first place. How should I say it, it's very Japanese.
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The fast-forward button was my friend...
Your enjoyment of this show will largely depend on your tolerance for the weaselly little rat that is the female lead's father. He is the primary reason for the show's unnecessarily lengthy 52-episode count. He is insufferable, and you'll quickly realize why. I was astonished by how he manages to insert himself into conflicts that do not concern him. The character is written in such a one-dimensional way that his actions will make you angry again and again. With 52 episodes I gave him a chance and was hopeful, this was a mistake.It reached a point where I was primarily invested in the main storyline involving the male and female lead and their daughter, and the challenges they faced together. It was truly touching. I mean, how difficult can it be to plop a sad little girl on screen and not make you root for her and her parents?
Everything else began to feel overwhelming. The intertwining drama among the three families started to become too much. There are other relationships a plenty, but I reached a point where I no longer cared. The fast-forward button became my friend to the finish line because I just had to know how everything ended without dropping the show. I was satisfied with the ending, but it wasn't easy to reach.
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A well-rounded romantic comedy with a charming small-town atmosphere.
A refreshing change of pace to actually watch a competent romantic comedy after some of the recent slop I had to endure. I'm looking at you Would You Marry Me? And Dynamite Kiss. It's well acted, somewhat funny, has a small-town romance(s), and a well-paced mature story despite the comedic backdrop.First, the romance. Good natural chemistry between ML and FL. A mature romance between two actual adults (35+ IRL) despite the goofball that is ML. No stupid love triangles or miscommunication tropes. They don't have time for poor writing because they have somewhat heavy issues to get through. There is a younger high school couple and an older couple to round out that small-town feeling. Honestly, I wasn't very interested in the older couple, but it's fine.
Romance and comedy aside, the show actually has a solid story to tell. I think that's what the show does best in regard to the story is that while there are numerous topics to cover, the show doesn't dwell on any of them for too long. The central uncle plot and FL's allegations cover the entire 12 episode run here and there, but everything else is handled promptly and with closure.
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