PHope

Not Good Enough

Japanese Drama '' Living No Matsunaga-san '' is a romantic comedy drama.

The start of the series is smooth and enjoyable, as we get to know the characters and their situation. The dynamics are there and the mood is light and fluff.

But, as the drama progresses, things get a bit on the odd side. The main couple was somehow off, and not just because of their age difference, but due to the fact that he was acting as a father figure and she was way too young to be making important life decisions, hence, that twist in the end was a bit off. Also, the most frustrating part was the ex subplot, that was way too weird, as she was the girl's teacher and the guy's ex, thus, it was bizarre for her to be hyping up the relationship as she did.

Finally, the second couple was cute, but they hardly had any moments together.

As for the performances, they were okay.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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Good Enough

Japanese Drama '' Eye Love You '' is a fantasy-office romance with a cute couple, but a messy fantasy story.

First of all, the love story was enjoyable. The couple had chemistry, which aided the drama a lot, and the comical misunderstandings were cute. The second couple was entertaining as well.

The office drama was also nice and the relationship between father and daughter was so sweet!

However, the fantasy element was all over the place. The drama seemed to forget about it for most of the series' length, and then, they tried to add some melodrama to it towards the ending, but they only ended up mishandling the whole affair.

Finally, the performances were great by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, six out of ten.

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Not Good Enough

Korean Drama " Revenge of Others " is an action school drama.

The series starts out quite intense, with the mystery's plot getting thicker and thicker. However, the drama kept additing substories, thus, losing focus from the main one who was forgotten in most of the episodes of the middle.

But the series biggest problem was the fact that they couldn't complete all those storylines or make them come together and make sense. As a result, the ending was rushed and a big let down, as many of the answers they gave were illogical and idiotic.

At least, the performances were all great by everyone in the cast.

So, overall, two out of ten.

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Good Enough

Japan seems to like the game theme, and " Alice in Borderland " nailed every aspect of it. From the suspense to the gore, the drama had it all. Fortunately, that all didn't include romance, at least not yet.

Having not read the manga, and watching the drama with no prior experience of the Alice in Borderland universe, it wasn't hard to get introduced to the story and smoothly enter the gaming mode. The drama does a great job introducing each character and their background stories, blending them well with the main mystery about who's behind everything and the individual games the players were asks to play. The extra plotline with the 'Beach' and the strategies that the characters were ploting was another suspenseful factor that added a lot to the main entertainment of the drama.

As for the performances, everyone did a great job with their characters and were enjoyable to watch. Some of the actors were acutally unrecognizable!

Finally, the CGI were spot on and didn't ruin the whole experience.

So, overall, 9 out of 10.

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The only reason why I'm not rating this one with nine is the ending. It was left wide open and thus, it didn't help conclude the story nicely. Now, for the movie, it presents the course of a friendship, how it is developed and how the human relationships progress when they are under the pressure of the society. I also liked how the main character didn't change her personality, even though her friend clearly did. That said, both young ladies were really good and their performances supported the drama perfectly. Also, the clean camera work suited the movie's tone really well.

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An epic movie about an epic story. First of all I have to say that the cinematography is amazing. Maybe one of the best I've seen yet. And the battles were fierce. The atmosphere, the lighting, the clothes, the mood, the colours, everything worked so good with the vibes of the story, so credits to the director and his team. However, story wise, the movie was a mess. Following the steps of those sword battle movies that focus more on the battle, and less on the story, even though the tragedy premisses are set early on, the plot of the movie was not something unordinary, it followed a messed up pace, the conclusion was weak and the information provided about the characters little and just enough to keep you watching. So, 8.5 out of 10.

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Had this drama dropped, but opted to watch it after all. After competing it I've got to say that it didn't really changed my mind about the story or the romance. The good thing, probably one of the few good things, about this drama are the performances that are good. I like both Siwon and Gong Myung from their previous dramas and since this one was Siwon's come back from the military hiatus, I had to try it. The story however was weak and lucked originality. The rich son who fell for the hard working poor girl isn't something you rarely watch in dramas and Revolutionary Love didn't help to break that stereotype. At least the love triangle was nice and I enjoyed the relationship between Joon and Je Hoon. The main romance, though, was boring and kind of lucked chemistry. So, because of the boring plot, 4 out of 10.

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A nice romantic comedy that has the feeling of a webtoon. The story is
okay, kind of cliché, but entertaining nevertheless. The comedy factor
was overstretched, as the events were kind of ridiculous, though they
produced laughter, so the film makers succeeded (this could have been a
lot worse if they hadn't handled it well). In addition, the creepy,
unrealistic body part changes reminded me of those manga movies that
try to follow the manga on which they are based on to the point of
being idiotic. That said, the plot had a strong feeling of being a
manga-webtoon as well, as one event finished and right away a new
character popped up out of nowhere and kind of expected the viewer to
know him. Finally, the performances were good and the chemistry between
the two actors strong enough to produce a good romance. So, 4 out of
10.

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Good Enough

Korean Drama " Work Later, Drink Now " is the continuation of the hit drama, concerning three friends who enjoy drinking.

Admitably, the second season has a weaker plot, compared to its prequel, often falling into cheesy trops and sometimes even trying too hard to produce laugher, having the three leads going through rediculous situations, which made the whole story unbelievable.

On the other hand, there were some solid moments, especially towards the end, or when the drama explored the background of the leads and their family bonds. However, some storylines were left half baked.

Finally, the performances were enjoyable by everyone in the cast. But the three main leads stole the spotlight every time.

So, overall, six and a half out of ten.

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Not Good Enough

Japanese Drama "Motokare Retry" is a drama that is short but boring.

First of all, the couple was enjoyable. They had chemistry and plenty of romantic scenes.

However, the love triangle was predictable and lacking. The drama also got boring and had few surprises to offer in the second half. In addition, it would have been nice if the drama had presented the past of the characters more in-depth.

Finally, the drama had nice performances.

So, overall, three out of ten.

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" The world of my seventeen " was, unexpectedly, really good. Hope there will be a second season though.

The drama has some romance, but it focuses on the girls' friendship and their problems. There is bullying, being insecure about yourself, family problems and some love affairs too. The overall mood is youthful and nostalgic, with a nice presentation of the school friendships and relationships. Plus, all girls did a great job with their characters and their performances were really good from everyone in the cast. However, I do have to point out that the ending needed an episode more to wrap things a bit better, but, overall, the whole drama was satisfying and a roller coaster of emotions, with some unexpected twists too.

So, eight out of ten for this web drama.

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" Girl next room : Richy Rich " was pretty entertaining.

The comedy was overflowing in this one, as the main couple were mostly enemies and slowly started liking each other. So, they really nailed the funny parts and the comedy scenes weren't over the top, which was a plus. The whole drama actually had a fluff, light feeling throughout. However, the story was predictable. But, still, it was entertaining and the actors and actresses did a great job with their characters. The couple had chemistry as well, even though the conclusion of their love story was a bit lukewarm.

So, overall, eight out of ten.

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" Nibiiro no Hako no Naka de " was not the typical rom com school manga adaption. It dealt with more mature concepts and problems than the typical coming of age dramas do.

So, the story starts a bit light, with the youngsters reaching a mile stone in their lives when they will not only have to start thinking about their future, but their friendship as well. The drama then focuses on the young love and how the leading lady has a crush on the boy next door, but is afraid to tell him. The drama takes a darker turn later on, with the addition of more characters and more issues resurfacing. The thing is, however, that the drama let things go out of hand for a while with the complex relationships and secrets. It just felt a bit messy. But, they corrected things in the final episode. Another minus for this drama was that the main couple didn't really have chemistry, though they looked good together, and their performances were great.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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" Hi, Bye Mama! " was a tearjerker through and through. The story starts with a heavy note, though the main character is trying to lighten the mood a little. Still, the premises, the main story, and the whole concept is sad and you can't help but, eventually, get emotional one way or another, as the drama keeps throwing one blow after another. However, after a while, it was tiring to watch the leading lady cry constantly in every scene. Not that she wasn't amazing and nailed every one of these scenes, but it was a bit too much to watch in a row.

Another thing that the drama did right was the ending. Towards the middle, it was a bit overwhelming to imagine the inevitable, but the writers concluded everything beautifully, and gave closure not only to the characters, but the audience as well. Unfortunately, in retrospect, the drama overexploited the main story and, in the end, it felt like nothing really happened, just the main plot and nothing else. Still, the drama was entertaining till the very end. For a side note, it would have been nice if they have shown how the main couple patched things up. Finally, the performances were great from everyone in the cast.

So, overall, seven out of ten.

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