The Cursed use their story structure really well and everything flows together quite well, as well as having really interesting and likeable characters that you really root for. The story here is slower and more suspenseful, with a focus on the mystery of these curses and maybe not as action packed you might hope after hearing Train to Busan. But there is also a decent amount of horror there. Some gory, some more atmospheric.
Korea loves their evil spirits and ghosts in their horror I have noticed over the year, so a lot of the things that I saw in The Cursed was not necessarily new to me. But there is nothing wrong with using the genre and people’s expectations to your advantage and you do not always have to invent the wheel so to speak with every story. Sometimes you can just take a well-known path and do something interesting with it. Which The Cursed did, even if it became a bit repetitive towards the end.
I like horror so a lot of the gorier stuff doesn’t actually bother me, so The Cursed did not make me want to cover my eyes in any way. The gory bits were used for a specific purpose here and rather sparingly and maybe not only as shock value - although it's a bit shocking at first.
But what I liked the most about this drama was not the horror elements, but rather the characters and the dynamic between them. That is what really stood out to me.
The found family aspect of the story really tug at my heartstrings. I love the mother-daughter relationship that Im Jin Hee and Baek So Jin had and that was truly the heart of the show. Seeing these two ladies work together and care for each other while solving horror mystery together was the reason why I liked this show so much. It was just so sweet to see how much So Jin looked up to this older woman, which was probably the very first mother figure that she has had in her life in a long time.
I also liked that that Im Jin Hee did not have any love-lines, as that would not have worked in the drama. Well she has a love-line, but she is already married to the guy so that kind of relationship does not take the forefront of the show. Would I have liked to see more exploration of that relationship as the story progressed? Yes, I would have. But what we got was nice. It is nice to see a married couple work together in a kdrama.
Their main antagonist, the evil CEO, was not the most original or compelling character ever. But he still served his purpose. In a sea of complex and interesting characters, many of which get to be more than black and white, it is alright to have one that is just kind of evil for evils sake sort of.
The Cursed is a bit of a procedural drama, which is not really my cup of tea and those bits of the story were probably my least favorite. But they did tie into the story quite well and overall, the story became a bit repetitive towards the end. But it had a heart and some good character and enough horror to keep me happy.
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I was watching King 2 Hearts and Rooftop Prince at the same time and I wad debating on which show I should do a review for and I ended up choosing Rooftop Prince since I just felt more things while watching it, though story wise and all of that King 2 Hearts is a bit better.
King 2 Hearts wasn't originally on my watch-list, because I thought it would be way too political for me but the cast won me over and I actually found the story intriguing. This drama on the other hand was on my to-watch-list ever since I saw the trailer and the poster for it, because it looked like it was going to be a hoot and it was.
I just knew this show would make me laugh and the trailer just gave of this really nice feeling and I just sort of knew that I would end up liking it. One of the best things about this drama is the humour of the show and the setting of it, since you can make so many jokes and funny scenes with people who come into the 21st century from the past. That really is the charm of the show, as well as the cute characters.
There were a lot of things that you just knew Rooftop Prince would make a joke out of, like the toilet and the spotlights and all of that, but they also just used so many other jokes that you sort of only notice if you have watched some period dramas (I think) or know even just a bit about it, like how the talked, and so on,and I just found that so well done. It had be rolling on the floor with laughter.
Rooftop Prince really made my weeks a bit brighter and I just want to thank it for that, in a way. The main couple was also very cute and shippable. The main story could have been a bit better though. The Joseon mystery was such an interesting set-up but I feel like it sort of fell flat and it got a bit dragged out or something.
The story about the family and the company and Tae Moo and Se Na and their whole revenge thing or whatever that was about was so badly done and some of it was such a filler and it got a bit annoying from time to time. I didn’t really care and it was quite dull and not that original imho so that makes me lower my praises for this drama a lot, even if I enjoyed it for the most part or pieces of it.
In King 2 Hearts for example I liked the politics a lot, probably because a lot it was about that and also because it was written well into the story and it sort of made sense (at least to me) but this company, family stuff just bored me to death, because a lot of it was just a filler and to make a bit more conflict in the story. It was sometimes cute but that was about it.
I did however like how the story dealt with the reincarnation and all of that stuff and I found that to be quite interesting, like you become thing type of person because you did this and that in your past life and all of that. And I felt like it was used quite well with tying up the story.
So yeah, like I said, the main charm of the drama was the comedy and the rom-com elements of it, since I enjoyed the main couple a lot. The OT5 was super cute together and I sort of could just watch a drama about them all learning how to fit into the 21st century and all of that. I could take 20 episode of that kind of cuteness, even if it would have been a total fluff or even more of a fluff than it already is.
So the entertainment factor of the drama was totally there for me, as I sort of expected but I did not think I would get as emotionally connected to the story and the characters as I ended up doing. I didn’t just find it funny and cute and I didn’t just laugh over it. I also cried so much towards the end of it and that is what I look for in anything. Make me care show and preferably, make me care so much that I will cry. I am a sucker for those kinds of things.
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The drama actually sounds as crazy as it sounds on paper and yet I don’t think the description does it justice. Usually, I do not like such makjang type dramas or over the top soap opera style shows, but here it is done with so much humor and skill so instead of getting on my nerves I got this weird mix of soap opera, thriller, and comedy and then a group of weird, flawed and morally gray characters. It is a weird mix, but it works surprisingly well together. There is a good balance between all these different factors, and it makes quite a cohesive story.
Despite all the laughs and the absurdity that the drama throws at us, it never seems as if it is mocking the story or this soap opera world that is had crafted around it. It’s more playing with it and really take advantage of it. The show takes itself quite seriously with it tone, and yet it does not because it’s main goal seems to be making the most entertaining story, and achieving that is not easy. It’s shows a certain strength within the story and the vision the people behind it had. And that shines quite clearly within the story and makes Vincenzo quite stylish.
The story goes in circles a bit. Sometimes things just seem to happen just because the story needs them to happen just for it to move forward. Some things feel too convenient but the show seems to be very aware of it that you kinda don’t question it too much. It feels wonderfully self-aware of it’s genre, which also helps you suspend your disbelief and keeps you thoroughly entertained while even the most convenient plot points are happening. The story sort of manages to be logical within this small world it has created.
It plays with the soap opera formula and the clichés that comes with those stories and tales of the mafia, to take the story and comedy to another level, making things more exciting, crazier, without making fun of it. It has all done to entertain us or to provoke sort of reaction out of the audience.
But I think it is the characters that really make this show what it is. They are just so fun or interesting! Every single character, whether they are supporting characters or not, have their own quirks and darker sides, although to varying degrees. They are all quite ridiculous and complex in their own way.
Our hero Vincenzo is more of an anti-hero and even the antagonist gets some nuances and quirks that even if you sort of hated them you also enjoyed watching them. I have personally not enjoyed a villain in a kdrama this much for quite some time. They brought so much tension, drama, and comedy into the show that I was almost more excited to see what they would do more than our protagonist.
The same goes with the supporting cast. I enjoyed every scene, every little side-plot that they had going on, which does not always happen. Sometimes they feel like fillers to extend the story for no good reason, but here the supporting characters get to control both the humor of the episodes but also the heart of the show. They all felt important, flawed, and interesting in their own way. They are not just comic-relief,
The romance in Vincenzo is slow and never takes over much of the story itself, although it is very often lingering in the background and the drama is always alluding to it. However, it is never the center of the drama. It is not the main story or focus, and I have to say for my part I am usually fonder of a slow-burning romance and that really worked well here with everything else going on. I love some good pining and longing because the character does not want to admit that they are in love or have not realized it. And there was more than enough of that in Vincenzo. Both are learning to trust others and become good people. Although no one is really a good person in this show.
Do I feel like the drama could gave allowed Chae Young to save herself a little more instead of always having Vincenzo come and save the day and the drama itself had a tendency to rely a little too much on the charm and the visuals of Song Joongki for my taste. It became a bit too repetitive after a while.
Vincenzo is a style of kdrama that I rarely see. And although it contains many basics of soap opera storytelling and other types of kdramas out there, I feel it does stand out because I have never quite seen this mixture before. No matter what the drama did it was always exciting to see what happened next and it always kept me surprised even though I thought the story went in some circles and brushed over certain things along the way. I never felt like they truly ran out of ideas to entertain me and entertain me it certainly did. It never really dealt all its cards.
Vincenzo is not flawless, but it is a hell of a good time. There is always this tension within it, you kept on wondering what would happen next, what these characters would do. You have no know what is going to happen. There is always a lot going on and so much high drama, such high stakes, yet still always so filled with humor. It was a real roller coaster ride from start to finish.
Vincenzo grabbed me completely and did not want to let me go until the very end. I have not enjoyed a kdrama and the discussions that took place around this much it for some time now. And that is what I will take from it; it was just pure fun. It was pure entertainment for me.
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Some stories do manage that suspension of disbelief just a bit more smoothly than others. And Lovely Runners seem to be able to introduce us to the logics of their little fluffy, rom-com universe quite seamlessly and therefor making the more unbelievable moments feel both earnest and earned enough that is just might work. Or you are willing to forgive it despite how much of a fan fiction this story feels like it is.
The drama has a tendency to use excessive amount of tropes in it's storytelling, like the clumsy heroine, noble idiocy, miscommunication and so forth. The amount of times the two leads fell into each other arms was way to excessive to become endearing after a certain point. It also does have a tendency to drag out the plot and the twists on a bit too long as we get further into the story resulting in some pacing issues.
Towards the end the story, the convoluted timelines and the murder mystery subplot does becomes more of a burden to the drama, causing it to lose some momentum - I feel like episode one and until around 10 is this dramas sweet spot. Things just seem to be happening to the characters without too much depth but the character have such a good emotional core within them, despite me wanting a bit more development from them as the timelines become more messy and annoyed as things are just happening to keep the plot going, no matter what you are rooting for them to get together in the end.
The actors certainly add more spunk and feelings into these characters than they have on paper and really sell the earnest of the story and keep you coming back for more. It's a fluff, it's tropy, but it's fun and bubbly and compelling enough and you never really get the sense that the drama is trying too hard to be something more than it is. It's a breezy, cute watch with very likeable leads and characters that you enjoy spending times with despite it's flaws - I just wish we could have gotten more scenes with the second male lead.
The drama manages to blending humor and cliché with heartfelt moments and I do think the drama does a good job making you feel very at home in it's world and therefor invested in it and so light and airy that you just enjoy these moments with the characters. The drama creates a narrative that is light-hearted yet earnest, as it finds the most absurd situations and gives the characters enough stakes that you want to cheer them on and make sure that they finally get their happy ever after.
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Misaeng really surprised me. The story itself doesn’t sound like my cup of tea or that exciting and rather “ordinary” and ordinary isn’t always what I am looking for in the tv programs that I am watching but it pretty much just won me over at the first episode. It was fresh, it was sort of fun and sort of heart-warming and I think one of the charms of Misaeng is how ordinary it feels. This is just a drama about everyday life almost.
There is no over-dramatic plot, there is no romance in it or anything like that. It is sort of just very heartfelt, heart-warming story about this ordinary dude that is just trying his best to get his feet on the ground in this new environment that he is in. It is done very well, it is written and acted very well as well as directed and it manages to speak to people and connect to them since it is so easy to see yourself in these characters, even if you haven’t experienced what they have or are experiencing.
I really feel like applauding the writers and the director and everyone involved with this drama, as well as the manhwa author for thinking up this story since it really was just wonderfully done from the beginning and until the end. It really is the best drama that came out in 2014 and it is one of the dramas that I have enjoyed the most while watching it and I was never expecting that when I first started to watch it tbh.
I have mentioned that I thought Misaeng was fun to watch but it also sort of wasn’t, since it was quite heavy and I don’t think many people are just watching it for some entertainment because some of the scenes and themes in this drama are so heavy and make you feel quite sad while watching it but in a good way. There weren’t that big dramatic scenes but it is quite intense at times and so heartfelt in its delivery and the characters are amazing that is becomes sort of amazing and you are willing to watch these heavy scenes.
The main plot is almost just seeing these people interact and seeing the newbies trying to find their place in the workspace and seeing them fail and succeed at it. It has bosses that aren’t so good and bosses that are so nice and it talks about stress and tension in the workplace as well as misogyny and the question whatever you will become a permanent worker there or not and that maybe doesn’t sound that dramatic for a drama but it is very interesting, intense and realistic and we really didn’t need to have a bigger plot than that.
Like I said, that can be a bit heavy but there are some lighter scenes in between these heavy scenes and while they don’t really hurt as much in a good way but they make you feel a bit better and make the tension go away fro a little while. Some of my favorite scenes in this drama are these more lighter scenes, where we see the characters growing closer and working together.
The friendship that bosomed between the newbies and the sales team nr. 3 was one of the best things about this drama and it both broke my heart and glued it back together at one point or another in this drama. I just want these people to be friends forever and the thought of that not happening was sometimes unbearable.
Mr. Oh and Geu Rae are the most popular ship or relationship in this drama, which is completely understandable and they are so sweet together, as well as the friendship that slowly grows between the newbies at the workplace. I also really really liked how there were no love-lines and there is no second lead or anything like that. There don’t need to be a love-line in every single drama and this story just isn’t about that so it wouldn’t really fit.
Shows like Misaeng don’t tend to get me in the heart like I wanted but man this show owned my heart. I also sort of knew that I could be very good but that did not mean that I would have to like it since you don’t always end up liking shows or movies that are really good simply because they didn’t get you in the heart. You didn’t feel anything while watching it. That is not the case with Misaeng and that makes me super happy.
Sometimes it was hard to watch and some of the character arcs didn’t really do it for me but I liked how every character got their own time to be explored and we got some time to know them, at least the major characters. I almost have nothing but praises for this show except my somewhat usual complaint with TvN dramas and that is that sometimes their episodes can be rather long but other than that they are doing a great job.
I may have gotten more entertainment out of other dramas this year but Misaeng is one of those dramas that I really cherish and I am pretty sure that I am going to remember it after few years while I might not do that with some of the more entertaining dramas that aired this year. It is also so original and well done that it is almost impossible to just forget it. It just really spoke to me, even if I have never been in most of these situations before and it is very well done and I am not surprised over how popular it got. I just hope this review is doing it justice.
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The story is fairly simple, but the mystery is serviceable and works well for the tale being told. The entertainment value is good, though it’s not always clever if you think about it too much. Things get resolved very easily to keep the story moving but the world has its own internal logic that works very well.
I found the folkloric elements of the story fantastic, and the mild horror atmosphere that the story managed to create was very impressive. It treads lightly on the horror, so the story maintains its lightness, and humor gets to be at the forefront. The special effects are well done, and overall the drama looks visually stunning.
The story moves quickly and confidently from one scene to another, but even when it slows down a bit towards middle of the drama it never comes too boring as there’s always something that keeps us interested. Additionally, the character development is well handled, and we have plenty of quiet moments to delve a bit deeper into them.
The three main characters, as well as all the supporting characters, are all unique and entertaining in their own way and work very well together and within this world and the historical setting. There’s an enjoyable interaction, dynamic and atmosphere between all of them.
The two main leads are great together as a ghost-mystery team, but as a romantic couple, I didn’t feel the spark between them despite how well the story set them up or made them bicker lovingly. Either something extra was missing, or perhaps it’s because an immortal supernatural male character falling in love with a young woman he’s known since she was a girl just doesn’t work for me.
the mysteries become a bit repetitive in the slower part of the drama, but by the time the story reaches its final stretch, it’s well worth having watched the slower episodes that built up the characters and story quite well.
The cheerful tone of the drama, interesting folkloric elements, and lively characters, along with the simple plot and light atmosphere, make this drama very enjoyable watching experience. It’s lightweight and doesn’t take itself too seriously. I enjoyed it while it lasted, happy with the escapism it provided, but I don’t think the story will linger long in my memory now that it’s over.
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The cast, sets, cinematography, and costumes are all excellent, and each episode feels like a short film in a sense. However, we only got to see part of this big story in this first season. The pace of the story is slow, but the story never seems to drag its feet or lose too much focus on the story it wants to tell us.
How the story moves between periods isn't always too clear, but the show often gives viewers notice of where they are in the story. Even though past and present events certainly mirror each other in certain places and explain the characters and their hidden backstories it does feel a bit choppy at times. But because of this time jumps that the story leaves some of these storylines a bit short or they feel rougher around the edges than one would have liked.
There are also certain characters, moments, or backstories that the story focuses on that are less interesting than others – but there was also a thing I noticed from the book. The story certainly shines brightest when focusing on the perspectives of the women in the story and Sunja, the matriarch, truly has all my heart. How much these women fought for their family's survival even though their lives suffered is breathtaking and it makes sense for the show to not beautify those things too much since they're based on real events.
Both the book and the episodes tell a story that is rather realistically depressing, but not necessarily in a totally crude or bleak way. It's a story about endurance and finding a way to thrive despite everything, and it certainly works for every tear the show squeezes out of you – and oh boy, where there are lots of tears. There really is not a big happy ending for any of the characters, they just have to keep fighting for their lives and hope that's enough until the end.
This is a great exploration of culture and life, but also the loss of it. The story is quite thought-provoking and poignant, pulling at your heartstrings with its realism and resilience of the characters, allowing the audience to confront the reality these characters live in. The scope of the story is epic, although the story manages to feel intimate and personal. This season successfully gives the viewer a pretty open ending to the story just in case there is no follow-up and the story doesn't get another season, despite having so much more to say.
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Whether we need this gender-swap to tell the story I am on the fence about. I think but that the story could have worked well enough if the main character was just a woman from the 21st century. Sometimes it seemed to me that they were brushing over things that should have underlined the struggle that a person who is not in that time, not in their body, would deal with. And I don’t think this is the radical or feminist take that some might have wanted about of women or the gender. But I also don’t think the drama ever intended to be a big commentary on society or gender roles. It just wanted to be a comedy sageuk with a twist.
I liked pretty much all the female characters in the drama for different reason. There was a range of characters and even the more comic relief ones had more to their roles than just that. Most of my favorite moments in the show had something to do with the main character’s friendship with their maids as well as the mutual respect that existed between them.
The sort of regular, everyday life of the court, especially for the women in the highest positions, was something I enjoyed too. Those moments are usually more in the background in these dramas. And I found the humor mostly revolved around that; life in the palace, the people who worked there, a little bit about politics and power struggle, but also the fact that the main characters was from another time period and how that person did things differently from the others and the conflicts that created. Much more than the actual gender-swap. Which is why I think we didn’t need it.
It took a while for the drama to mix the humor with the more serious tones of the drama that boosted the suspense in the story. The humor that led the drama in the beginning, but the more political bits never felt too jarring to me. And after a few episodes I felt like they managed to mix those two elements well enough so they worked together.
Despite some complaints about the politics taking up too much time, Mr. Queen was always a comedy and manages to keep the humor up throughout the drama, despite the politics and all the power struggles taking place. But even in the darkest, most tensest moments the show always manages to mix in lighter and funnier moments in. I never felt like the overall tone of the show dropped, or that it become too heavy. The humor never dried up and the story never became too dreary.
Many people do not like the high stakes, which never feel that high compared to other such period dramas, or the politics and just want the romance and the comedy. But personally I think dramas like these could not keep the story going with just funny moments and no politics. There have to be stakes and in the palace stakes comes with political maneuvering. Most stories are based on some kind of tension, risk and conflict.
The conflict here comes out in subtle fights for power, very under the table political tactics to, shifting of allies and clashes between several powerful clans within the Joseon era. But those conflicts never took over the whole story. It is the usual shenanigans that you usually see in these period dramas, but just a bit more woman focused, which I enjoyed a lot. How the women used their power and manipulated the court and people around them. The king has his focus as well, but the is surrounded by really smart, calculating women.
Overall I felt like Mr. Queen was a pretty standard period drama that tried to have a little bit of a different angle on things, that just aimed to be very fun and entertaining. It never took itself that seriously, but I also didn’t think it was saying that much either, although criticizing society through comedy is what the genre is sort of made for. Yet the light-hearted spirit that was always persistent through the drama, the character and just the amazing performance of Shin Hye Sun, made Mr. Queen overall a really easy and entertaining show to watch.
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The things that I like the most about the dramas that Park Hye Ryun writer is how easy and fun they are to watch and how great I feel when I watch them. They are all a feel-good shows for me. They all manage to be both funny, entertaining and dramatic and emotional at the same time and there is a great balance between all of these things in this drama, as well as in Dream High or I Heart Your Voice.
I was just so pleased with this drama, it is well written and for me it hit all the rights spots, since I got emotional and I smiled etc. so I was very much in love with it. It is also very easy to watch and I tend to not get bored over her dramas or at least those who I have seen.
The story isn’t necessarily not that new but I feel like I haven’t seen that many dramas like Pinocchio and Park Hye Ryun does tell a good character story well in my opinion. The story is very well paces and I didn’t feel like it ever dragged along ether and I liked how she wrote it. It was like she had a plan and she didn’t just write something in for no reason and I like that. I also liked how the new reporter theme was used in this drama.
The character have always been quite good in those Park Hye Ryun dramas that I have seen and for the most part they are quite well rounded in this drama as well. I especially like how she writes female characters and they get to do more than just be the love interest or the mean bitch.
The secondary characters could have been a bit more developed in my opinion and I felt like she has done a better job with the second female lead in the past, which was a shame. Yoon Yoo Rae could have been a much more interesting character but she was just the cute comic relief to me. The second male lead Seo Bum Jo got so much more to do in this drama, as well as In Ha’s mom.
Maybe it helps the plot to go along smoothly and swiftly that the main character can’t lie and she has to tell the truth and can’t hide her feelings or anything. I did have my concerns around the middle of the series that it was going too fast and there wasn’t enough story left to tell, but I was gladly proved wrong on that.
I also liked the main couple a lot and it could have ended up being super creepy since they were raised as niece and uncle but it totally wasn’t creepy at all and very well done and felt realistic.
This is one of the better dramas that I have seen Park Shin Hye act in and I think this drama has helped some people realize that she doesn’t totally suck and maybe they will stop hating on her now because of Heirs or for other things. I liked PSH and I find it very comfortable watching her act and I am a fan so I am super happy that she got a role that I like.
In my humble opinion Pinocchio is one of the better dramas that came out in 2014 (most of the drama aired last year) and it was, like I said before, a very nice and sort of feel-good watch that I enjoyed a lot and therefore I have not many bad things to say about it. I am a huge fan of Park Hye Ryun now and I liked how she crafts her stories. They are meaningful and entertaining, both light and dramatic and I liked very twist and turn along the way.
Overall I liked this drama more than I liked I Hear Your Voice but not as much as Dream High. But like I did with Dream High I felt so nice and comfortable watching this drama, but I was maybe just a bit more emotionally invested in Dream High. I will miss watching Pinocchio every week and I can’t wait for Park Hye Ryun’s next drama.
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A review of both part 1 and 2
What both stunned and impressed me the most about the kdrama My Dearest, right at the very start, was how focused it was on the ordinary people and how they deal with war. And what the war does to them. It makes it less of a war epic and more of a human tale of self-preservation and hope at a trying time. which I found to be quite a fresh approach to this kind of historical drama, although many will no doubt find it rather slow and dry in its execution and style.The story is ruthless in its realism and harshness with how it seems to paint the world. The narrative is very willing to comment on several aspects within society that it tells it’s tale, the nobility and their uselessness, the lack of care that a certain position within society seems to push into you for the people that live around them, as well as society’s attitude towards women in wartimes and just their position in society both outside of that as well. The way it uses these elements to shape itself, the details it shares throughout the story is very tangible, interesting but also poignant. It is incredibly well thought out and effective within the narrative to stir up further emotions both with the characters and the viewers.
These are not the heroes that poems are sung about, but seem to be more everyday heroes of the common folk. Most of their influence is not great within the grand scheme of things, but it is the people who knew them who will always remember them with kindness and love. They are the ones who will tell the stories about them until they disappear from human memory and are forgotten.
At some point, despite their intelligence and strength, as the war and the hardships seem to tighten more and more around them, the characters seem to wear down a bit. But they never lose who they are, their will to fight but how they go about fighting, how they deal with situations changes a little. All that happens very slowly and works very realistically within the story. It’s a really well-handled look at character, as well as how normal people deal with such situations.
The characters do feel sharp and manage to be both a fresh take on the traditional characters that we get in a Korean historical dramas, but at the same time they have quite a bit of the characteristics that we are used to seeing; Jang-hyun may come across as smug and aloof, and Gil-chae may come across as snobbish and somewhat self-interested. But there’s a lot more to them and their flaws are very presant within the story. Overall there are plenty of multi-layered characters that make My Dearest a rather worthwhile and heart-wrenching watch. Everyone has something to say in their own way and all have some point to emphasize within the story. The story touches your heart from beginning to end if people just allow themselves to enter this cruel, realistic world with these characters as a guiding light.
The plot itself goes through its ups and downs, and it does hit a bit of a lull within the second half where the story tends to repeat itself quite often. Characters almost miss each other a few times over the course of few episodes in order to create tension and longing within the viewers, and since the story is already slow by nature it might make some people really struggle. It makes it seem like the story has lost steam and doesn’t really pick up fully until right near the end. But if the characters manage to grab you and make you completely fall for them in the first half of the story, it’s perfectly tolerable.
The story never seems to fall into being too epic or too grandiose in its approach to the narrative, as some costume dramas tend to do to make their heroes seem bigger. Much rather My Dearest seems so focused on being realistic and grounded in reality like it has a bit of an obsession with the human spirit and the lengths to which people will go to survive. It run through the very heart of the series. And the love story, which is really successful on its own, reflects that. It’s very slow and down to earth and it’s quite unusual for a kdrama in lots of ways.
The story takes its time, sometimes excessively so, and repeats itself a bit too often, but even if it takes the story a good while it manages to underline every point that the drama set out to make really well. The story always seemed to know what it wanted to say. And the humanity that this series carries with it and manages to reflect within the narrative does make you cry many times. It’s gorgeous, it’s heartwarming and filled with hope for brighter days that is always enveloped by a little bit of sadness.
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This review may contain spoilers
From Why Secretary Kim to My Stranger Hero and now Her Private Life it seems like my kdrama rom-com slump is finally over. I say slump since for few years I didn’t really enjoy those rom-coms like I used to, and I didn’t really write any reviews for those dramas.Her Private Life went in a bit of a circle for me. I wasn’t too keen on it at first. I wasn’t a fan of the humor and the whole fangirl aspect of it wasn’t really doing it for me, even if I consider myself a fangirl myself (just not that much like Deok Mi).
It wasn’t until the romance really kicked in, with all the fake dating shenanigans - one of my fav rom-com tropes ever - that I almost sold my soul to this drama for a few weeks.
The drama toned down the humor and sort of became sweeter and light, which I enjoyed. I really liked all the pining in the beginng and the start of the relationship. It was very predictable at times, but I could not get enough.
I would personally have wanted more depth into the whole fangirl business and the whole culture of that. More focus on Deok Mi and Cindy - which was one of the more interesting side characters in the drama - and them finding a balance in their fangirl activities. Not just the worry about how Ryan would react to Deok Mi being a fangirl.
For a drama about the private life of a fansite manager and all of that, I expected more of the plot to revolve around that and not about the family drama of Ryan Gold.
The success with this drama, with me and other, is kinda thanks to the actors and how well they played these characters. They had very nice chemistry together. Deok Mi and Ryan was the sweetest couple and treated each other with such a respect and tenderness. It was wonderful.
There was not a whole lot of conflict in this drama, even if it used some very well known tropes in it story lines that usually really amps up the conflict. The characters sat down and talk things through, which I really liked. I thought that was sweet and I like how things didn’t drag too much.
But that also left the story kinda conflict-less and therefore not a whole lot happened toward the end. It slowly ran out of story to tell. If you are going to have such a non-conflict like story then you kinda have to fill it with side characters and plots that make the story a bit more exciting.
The romance, as sweet as it was, wasn’t always enough. Especially when some of the side characters and their stories were really not fun at all. The ending suffered a bit from this, in my opinion. The story was over before the drama was over and I was starting to fast-forward through certain scenes.
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The story may not be big but it seems to be enough there that the story never drags it’s legs or or goes into endless circles with the plot. It spends a good time with all the characters and the introspection of those characters that takes place within the drama.
Hometown Cha Cha Cha strikes a pretty good balance between having a story that is constantly moving forward while also capturing this mundane life and the quiet moments as we follow all of these different characters and their lives in this small community where everyone knows everyone.
All the characters we meet on our way through the story are interesting and it’s fun to watch them and their impact on each other’s lives. Everyone has their own burdens and baggage’s in life that the drama manages to explore quite well. Watching people’s walls break down over time and people face their demons without it ever dragging too long or being too dramatic.
We get to see the different sides of most of all the characters and how complex and human they are. Each episode of the drama is more than an hour long, which I usually do moan about, but here I hardly felt it. Because I enjoyed the time with the characters so much.
There is almost this subdued suspense that is there all the way through the story. It never get’s too big, too dramatic or too ahead of itself. It captures this feeling that life can be messy but it’s also just a series of moments that pass and fade over time really well. Some moments are wonderful, warm and calm but some cruel and sad. But life still goes on somehow. The message of the story and the story itself is not much bigger than that, but it works really well.
So much of the romance, but also just the friendship that is going on, is just about the individual’s personal boundaries and the communication between them. Everything about how the romance was built radiated comfort and warmth in my opinion, which I found really sweet and just pleasant to watch. Like everything about the drama was. Shin Min Ah and Kim Seon Ho, as well as all the other actors, fill their characters with life and emotions.
There is also a really good balance between the love stories within the drama and the other stories that deal more with people’s personal lives and their position in life. The love story will never be too sappy, which would not suit this type of story, but rather it seem more human and sensible. Even if misunderstandings occur it is quickly worked out and one can understands the reason why the character act a certain way because they story has worked for it. These people are complex and you get to see them from many angles.
The love story is still a very big part of the story; both when it comes to the main characters and the supporting characters. But even though the story is about them falling in love, it is also so much about these characters learning to love themselves as well as the other characters around them. But the drama also deals with loads of different themes such as loneliness in old age, divorce, there is a lgbt character, and many other things that crop up as we go through the lives of the characters of this small town as this is ultimately a story about the community.
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This is not some Cinderella tale, where the rich guy falls or the poor girl or anything like that, and while I often like those dramas a lot, it was also so refreshing to get something like this one, where the characters were just normal people and we just follow them through their young adult life. After the drama I truly felt honored to have been able to see them grow as humans.
I was truly amazed by the fact how nostalgic it felt, and how it evoked that nostalgia within me, despite the cultural and the time differences, that I had from this drama. I was feeling not only nostalgia for those universal things like; your first crush, your first day at school after the summer, first idol band you liked (granted, I was never that kind of kpop fan, like Shi Won, but then again I never lived in Korea, where these kpop idols where, with that type of idol culture), while also nostalgic over time that I had never experienced. And that connection, that nostalgia and that coming of age aspects of the story made me weep like I have never weeped before.
The drama may have been set in ‘97, but the story feels sort sort of timeless, even if we didn’t grow up or were around Sung Shi Won or Yoon Yoon Jea’s age in '97. Throughout the drama I found myself saying this to myself; god this drama speaks to me. It perfectly describes emotions that I had felt when I was a teenager and even beyound that. That age where you feel like you could where you put everything on the line for the smallest of things like a boy band or something. A more naïve and innocent times.
It’s a story about you first love, about your first heartbreak and just about growing up, but so much of it is just about friendship. There is so much heart and soul in this drama and it hits such a sweet spot, at least for me, which makes Answer me '97 is quite a unique drama. It was just so original and wonderful. And it has had such an impact of this more slice-of-life, coming of age type stories in kdramas.
It was just this little show produced by the cable network TvN that just became so big and so successful. It just fills us with empathy (or sympathy) and nostalgia. I felt like the writer(s) of the drama understood what it had been like, being a teenager, just like I feel like a lot of adults forget what it is like to be with all those hormones and emotions and can’t therefor quite catch those feelings when they try to talk to you or write about it.
The later half was much more about the supposed lover-triangle. I did feel like they did a good job on it and I felt like they did keep us guessing for the most part throughout the drama. It was wearing a little tiresome by the end, but I didn’t feel like it ruined the story or anything. But I always got the sense that the people involved knew what kind of story they wanted to tell so they didn’t go overboard with the story, so it become too crazy or just fell flat. It just hit that sweet spot.
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It was also just the drama that I needed at the time. It was such an escape, since I wasn’t feeling that great mentally and then Dream High gave me something fun and cute to watch every week and something to look forward to. It became my feel-good drama and I have watched it a few times through since then and it just makes me smile.
Despite the acting not being top tier in every aspect of this show, Kim Soo Hyun may have carried it a bit on his shoulders and his characters is in a lot of ways the very heart of the story, or the biggest heart, and it does have some great actors in the supporting roles as teachers and other adults (and then JYP is just JYP). And I feel like each and every character fit the idol that was playing it, and they found some really creative ways with getting around those more stiff acting moments from the cast (many who were acting for the first time here) so it never truly bothered me too much. I was too busy having fun with it.
It’s that standard underdog story that you know and love, but it just did it so well and it hit all the right spots (at least for me). There were some great character moments, there was actual character developments and plot developments going on there, it was not just for fluff or just to promote some kpop groups, It manages all of that while also being a completely great, fun and easy to watch, coming of age story. It was a great fun.
Some actual thought went into this story, which made me really fun to watch. it didn’t drag a lot or at all and it didn’t suddenly become bad or anything. It was quite consistent though it did become a bit more dramatic toward the end but it was still cute.
I cared so much about the characters; both the teachers and the students and I just wanted them to do well and fall in love (there were some great couples there, my favorite being the Milky Couple) and just be happy. And unlike a whole lot of kdramas, this one kinda made me guess which lead the main heroine would end up with. Like, I was worried there for a second. I usually always figure it out quite early.
This is a kdrama for kpop fans. I feel like this is a kdrama that you make someone watch to get them into kpop, or vise versa. The way they incorporated the dancing, the singing and the music into the story, without shoehorning it in and making it just be there as filler, was excellent. There was a real emotion there when these people sang their songs, and actual stakes to the performances. And then also some really funny inside jokes if you follow kpop. It just had a really good mix of kpop and kdrama elements.
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This review may contain spoilers
With movies such as Train to Busan (but also another very underrated comedy called Zombie on Sale) and the Kingdom series, South Korea is proving that no one is really doing the zombies as well and them right this moment. Ashin of the North is not the much anticipated third series of this hugely popular kdrama Kingdom, but a kind of prequel to a character we will get to know better in the third series. When we get to do that we will have to wait a bit more to find out.Ashin is dark, not only in terms of it’s story and the subject matter of the story, but also in how it was shot. There were scenes, that were supposed to take place at night, where I did not see properly. That got on my nerves, but nothing that completely ruined the story for me or anything.
Personally, I would have liked to get a good three episode arc from Ashin and not this one and a half hour movie that we got. I thought the story was a bit hasty in parts and maybe a bit rushed in the first half and I really would have wanted a whole episode just to set things up and spend more time with the characters. Really explore the people’s actions and the consequences that came with that later in the story. And I would have liked more screen-time with the adult Ashin and her thirst and drive for revenge.
Getting a good two episodes where more character focus and a nicer buildup to the escalating tension would have been nice. Because I felt it was a little lacking. And I was expecting more of a connection to the previous season of Kingdom and perhaps more answers regarding the plant that is the root of this all. There was not much information we were getting from this story in my opinion.
Except for Ashin’s revenge of course, which will come to play later on. The revenge and how it all comes about is still a really cool and interesting, dark plot twists and what I enjoyed the most within the story. It wasn’t until that section came about where the story caught my attention.
Ashin is dark and thrilling in parts so if you’re just going into this to experience some excitement and a bit of zombie horror then Ashin manages to be completely satisfying. Maybe Ashin falls into the trap, like the first series Kingdom did for me, of being just an introduction or the beginning of something and not telling a whole story. Perhaps I will not really manage appreciate its genius until I finally see the third series and where the story will take the character of Ashin and the conclusion it might give to that story.
If Ashin was supposed to be something to quench my thirst for the third series, then I did not think it managed that as well as it hoped, although it is very good entertainment and a thrilling ride with some good twists. I just wanted a better buildup to things and character work. Had fun watching it though. Just didn’t leave as much as I wanted behind.
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