PHope

A light romance drama, which was based, however, on a silly idea. The girl believes in luck and she goes through rituals or consults her shaman before her every action. That's okay enough. But, half way through, she just changes her beliefs just like that. I know love is strong etc etc but still, I would have preferred a better representation of the girl's personality and inner thought, as her beliefs weren't unreasonable for her. Maybe the cause of the whole romance driven story was the fact that they might wanted to make a light romance drama rather than a little more dramatic. But still, if so, they shouldn't have created such a dramatic background for her. Anyway, other than that, the drama was okay, with a strong and funny start, but with a so so ending. The love story was cute and the couple had some chemistry, but the girl got a little annoying down the way. Still, it was okay, with some great performances. So, 4 out of 10.

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This drama reminds me of two others : Manhole and Go back couple. However, even though those two dramas had a solid plot and purpose of why they were made, this drama failed to deliver. I'm not concerned on it not being original. If the plot is good, why not watch it again with other characters? The main minus, however, that I've found is that the drama pretty much finished in episode 12. The rest of episodes were some unreasonable and meaningless plot twists, happy ever afters and just cute family life. It felt like the writers didn't know what to do with their story and just rushed to add something to fill the hours that were remaining.
Part from that major setback, the performances by the cast were great by all the actors and actresses and they pulled it off nicely. Also, the drama up to the 12th episode, was very good and interesting.

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Guess what?! I'm the unpopular opinion (again...). Anyway, "While you were sleeping" started so so strong, with beautiful cinematography and griping story, dreamy like. Unfortunately, the cinematography later on appeared here and there only, and I really, really wish that they had more of it, like Goblin. Another plus was the cast. Love the two leads, but Suzy wasn't at her best. Maybe it was her character that was kind of odd and annoying at some point, but it just didn't work. Not that her performance wasn't great, it just felt like the role wasn't for her... The love story and the couples chemistry, moreover, was okay and really good at first, but kind of felt weak towards the middle, picked up though towards the ending. In addition, the soundtrack was perfect! Really good indeed, Scarlet heart quality (you should check it out if you're interested in OSTs). Finally, the cases: they were interesting at first, but they got weaker and weaker, especially as the story focused on the couple rather than them. So, 5 out of 10, not too bad but not too good.

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" Vagabond " was action packed, but had some parts of it that it wasn't that good.

The drama started strongly, with two emotional episodes that shoot the interest high with the whole action and mystery plot. The action continued till the very end, but the mystery was pretty much solved or got uninteresting half way through. So, the rest of the drama was just an extremely thinly spread plot that was left open in the end, probalby suggesting a second season ( ? ? ). The romance, in addition, was just unecessary. The couple had not one moment together and the whole thing looked forced. The performances, however, were pretty good.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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" Normal but special " was short and okay, overall.

The story had potential, especially with the characters being all mysterious about their feelings. Also, school life, friendship and first love are always the main themes of webdramas where you can't really go wrong with them. The performances were good, in addition, from every actor and actress of the cast. Especially the leading lady, she was adorable and easily likable.

However, the webdrama was either too short, or the script didn't help with the presentation of the story. The characters felt flat and one dimensional. An example that comes in mind is the female lead, who said that she wanted to be special, even though she never explained what was the root of her ambition. The drama swept off many of the issues that could easily have added some depth to the story, and ended up with a half baked romance.

So, overall, four out of ten.

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Unfortunately, this drama was a disappointment. I'm only giving it 2 out of 10 stars because : Kai was a delight. I wasn't expecting much from him, but he really pulled it off and his performance as a carefree student who eventually changes was really good. He should play the cute, happy, outgoing guy more often. Secondly, his sister's love story was interesting and I liked her character as well. So, these two things kept me going. However, the rest were a disaster. I can't express enough how bad the editing was. We had Kai in school thinking of Bom, then, suddenly, Kai in his room calling her and next Kai in the hospital meeting her. I mean, how can someone skip a whole day in a few minutes, even if it's a drama, and not make it look wierd ? In addition, the story was okay, not anything too original to keep you entertained for long, but there was a major twist in the end, at least. Finally, the girl who played Bom was not really good with her expressions, expecially in the first episodes. She did got a bit better, but, overall, she was bad. But, I'm cutting her some sluck because it was her first acting attempt. All in all, 2 out of 10.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama "Jirisan" is a nice surprise. For a drama about forest rangers, one might expect a more slice of life approach, with a group of rangers walking up and down the mountain. And yet, Jirisan presents an intriguing story with lots of suspense, action scenes and a big thriller factor. There were also some sweet family moments between the community and the rangers. The background story of the main lead was likewise a nice addition.

However, the first few episodes were a bit slow, as the story took its time to get into the action part and set in. The finale was unexpectedly out of tune with the rest of the drama as well and kind of disappointing for some reason, even though they did wrap up everything in the end.

Still, the eery atmosphere, the setting and the OST were all great and the performances even greater.


So, overall, 7 out of 10.

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Good Enough

" Oh My Baby " had a really strong start, though the love square was a bit boring.

The drama has a lot of angst when it came to the leading lady's dream of becoming a mother. And, a lot of babies!! The romance was also nice, although the love square was boring. The one guy was quickly eliminated and the second lead was too annoying in the end. The whole drama, in those ending episodes, was about the male lead going back and worth about what he wanted, what he felt, and what he ought to do. Which is a bit off, as they had options (if they've got married they could apply for adoption, for example. He is a rich photographer, she seems to love babies and kids, and, for what I've seen in other Korean dramas, adoption isn't really a big no-no in Korean society, unless I'm wrong.) So, yes, that whole drama could have been lessened.

But, overall, Oh My Baby was quite enjoyable. The leading lady did an amazing job with her character and she was both tragic and entertaining. The whole romance was nicely paced as well, and the vibes of the drama were just perfect.

So, seven and a half out of ten.

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" Stove League " is the Chief Kim of sports.

Honestly, stove league was not for me. I didn't get entertained, and a few of the stories kept me interested. However, taken in consideration that maybe it wasn't my cup of tea, I'll review it without taking that factor in mind.

So, the story was interesting, as they presented the way the team was trying to get the Dreams, aka their baseball team. The stories were mostly humane, and the fact that they didn't add any unnecessary romance to it was a delight. The performances were really good too from all actors and actresses of the cast. The pace, presentation of the sports and training process, as well as the poster, were nailed to perfection.

So, seven out of ten.

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This drama isn't a remembable one. It won't stick you for a long time and you won't be able to recall it easily. But, you will enjoy it. It has some great elements that concist the plot, like comedy, which was solid, romance, which was okay, but the love triangle was better, and country life, with a beautiful island. Other than that, the story is pretty full of cliche. Even the love story was built on them, with the two characters falling in love too suddenly, when they just hated each other in the previous scene. Also, some of the islands residents were portrayed like caricatures. But, at least, this drama wasn't afraid to show some solid passion between the couple and the performances were nice, so 5 out of 10.

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Memories of the Alhambra is an ambitious drama. It creates interest right from the start, with the mysterious disappearance of the creator of a live action game in Spain. Actually, the first two episodes were really good. As the viewer is trying to figure out what is going on and to understand the new technology and new drama genre that this drama introduces, the tension builts up and the action scenes become more and more. So, the good parts about this drama were : A) the game plot, B) the ending, C) the performances, D) SGI and action scenes. However, there were major wrongs about this one. First of all, the romance was weak and just wrong. They got together out of the blue and it is hard to believe that they developed feelings so strong to the point that they would worry so much for each other that it made them desperate. Also, the leading lady was really annoying. Not that the actress didn't play her role well. However, the script just killed the character. She ended up being this weak character who the only thing that did was worry about everyone and cry. And then there were the plot holes. Like, they just left their brother to another country, moved to Korea and a year later they remembered that he was missing (?!!). Finally, the plot was so slow paced that it felt like I was watching still the first episodes when the drama was halfway finished.
So, 5.5 out of 10, because this one had so much potential but the romance and the weak leading lady ruined it.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama '' Lovely Runner '' is a fantasy romantic melodrama.

The story has a light mood throughout its length, though there is a lot of drama and tragedy in the story. However, the comedy parts were plenty and just enough to keep things entertaining, and the main character was fun and energetic which aided a lot.

Also, the romance was cute and it worked well with the nostalgia that the school and youthful past storyline had to offer.

In addition, the drama did a good job handling the fantasy element and blending it well with the criminal case.

Finally, the performances were all great by every actor and actress in the cast.

So, overall, nine out of ten.

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