Ikr I've told people a lot of times that esther can both act and also can't act. I said this earlier in the comments…
Exactly. You can see some moments where she is perfect. And then there are others where she seems to have clocked out maybe? Cant describe it in any other way. Lets see how the future episodes showcase her jiang mu
if you want a lot of yearning i reccommend Lighter and Princess, the FL is also very mature and talks and acts…
I usually don't like male leads that dont have a personality outside of being the love interest but with first frost it kind of worked because it was HER story so i didnt mind it. I can objectively say that lighter and princess is a good drama just not the one for me. My dramas always have a complex male and female leads like for example the leads in korean drama my mister and my liberation
if you want a lot of yearning i reccommend Lighter and Princess, the FL is also very mature and talks and acts…
Dont hate me but I dropped lighter and princess 😅 i didnt really like it and wasnt a fan of the male lead. He was too arrogant. I prefer Jin Xhao kind of lead. Another similar lead would be the one in first frost.
Okay so I have been going through a particularly dark phase in my life and needed something to take me out of it even if for a short period of time. I had been waiting for this drama for nearly a year and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it had started airing. I should also add that I'm a very casual Cdrama watcher. I usually watch kdramas so im not that familiar with esther yu or the discourse surrounding her acting. Here's my take on the show so far:
The positives first: The cinematography is gorgeous. I love how they dont make the scenes dreamlike where its not required. A detail that usually pulls me out of dramas. For example when the scene is taking place in a poverty stricken area and the cinematography tries to show it as dreamy landscape. So kudos to the team for that
Acting: the male lead can ACT! His eyes are so expressive, he doesn't smile often but when he does, its like a secret that only jiang mu is supposed to see. His intensity and the way he's always on the edge does not seem to be a mere act. I mean with some actors, you can tell they are simply acting out a part and not truly understanding the character. He Yu truly embodies his character jin zhao and is honest to the emotions required which makes his portrayal authentic. Now coming to esther yu's jiang mu. I will admit i found the opening scene of episode 1 to be a little lacklustre. I nearly dropped the drama right there. But that was more likely the director's fault. The thing is, the girl can definitely act. I see hints of it in some scenes. But then there are scenes where she doesn't do as well. Like the scene where she is letting out all of her emotions in the car and starts crying, the scene starts strong but when the waterworks start, it wasnt as good as it had been just a minute ago. But then there's a scene that takes place shortly after the car scene where she conveys her nervousness so well through her eyes alone...i dont know what to make of her honestly. I havent read the novel (i plan to though to fill in the gaps between episode releases) so i don't know how jiang mu is supposed to be but if i look at it from a pure acting point of view, esther yu is either an actress who relies on the director and doesnt try to add her own take to scenes OR she has the skills but for some reason hasnt tried to hone them further. You can see that spark every now and then that shows she CAN act, lets see how it goes further....
The negatives: The baby voice...im used to the dubbing in Cdramas by this point but is it really necessary?? And then there's the unnecessary secondary female character. Its 2025, we should stop showing the stereotypical villainous female character who for some reason is obsessed with the hero despite him clearly not having any interest in her. Come on, us ladies have our self respect okay. No girl would go after a man who once dragged her out of his place by the collar. We are not desperate hence the "male loneliness epidemic".
Anyway im looking forward to future episodes as i loooove the yearning and intensity of it all. Can someone recommend similar dramas? Korean, Japanese, chinese are all fine
Easily a 9/10 Raises some important questions that are especially reflective of today's society. Particularly given how the world is just standing by and watching a genocide take place. I for one do not find the show unrealistic. Im sure this is where we are headed
I liked the korea version a lot (the last few episodes did get a little boring) so im hesitating to watch this one. My reasons are: 1) i really liked na in woo's portrayal and while i know satoh takeru is well loved, im not that gaga over him. The kdrama made sure to keep the focus on the FL and her revenge and i liked that na in woo's acting was more of the quiet kind. He wasnt playing the knight in shining armor, he was the silent supporting hand. So how is satoh takeru's portrayal in this? Does he do justice to the role? Is he the yearning type? Cuz i love such MLs 2) the FL in the Korean version was played realistically by PMY. She obviously had the usual side effects of being gaslit for so long but she had strength. She didnt overcome her insecurities overnight (like in perfect marriage revenge which i dropped because i simply couldn't relate to the FL and her sudden change) but she wasn't a weak victim who constantly cried. She did not have woe is me attitude. Her portrayal of how She overcame the trauma was brilliantly done without being "in your face". It wasnt sudden, it was stepwise and imo PMY did that journey justice without making the character weepy or despondent. Jdrama FLs have a tendency to do that though so how would you say this FL is portrayed?
This brilliant actor is absolutely wasted on rom coms and cameos. He needs to come in a thriller/romance with a character similar to the one he played in tomorrow
would you give me the name of other dramas with better story telling involving this particular concept as you…
Not a drama but a chinese movie called better days. It tackles bullying and street violence and also has a bit of romance. But be warned its got a very dark tone. The Taiwanese drama MARS also tackled a similar subject and while its really old, i would say give a try. The korean movie Hope also tackled the topic of SA and was really heart wrenching while remaining hopeful as well. I'll think up of more titles and update you but these are the ones from the top of my head
Also these suggestions are based on the issue of SA/violence, not romance. The first frost handled the romantic story really well, its the other stuff that i feel required more attention and better story telling so these movies/dramas are ones centred around that
Finished the drama and while its a poignant story and the FL is really nicely fleshed out (which i find rare in Cdramas) , i do think it could have easily been cut down to 25 episodes. Also i find it interesting how sang yan is usually always there to the point i began thinking he's got a tracker on her but he's conveniently never there when her uncle is harassing her in the present day timeline because....plot device (the enounter in overtime doesn't count, thats literally his workplace) I also found the storyline of the friends very tedious and skipped most of it. I do think the love story was very well done though. The chemistry was electrifying and sang yan was a beautiful character played really well the male actor. Was it worth all the hype? I mean ive seen dramas with better story telling involving this particular concept, but I'll say the love story was beautiful, the rest not as much
she was a red flag right from the beginning. it’s high time kdrama viewers stop viewing toxicity as “romantic”
Yeah im honestly tired of drama viewers always calling straight up red flag female characters "badass" and justifying it by saying "good chemistry " I personally see no chemistry between the two.
Its the best thriller drama of 2024. It filled the void i had been experiencing. It honestly feels like it has been ages since a truly good thriller came out. Gives me the same vibes as blind and beyond evil. A shop for killers and parasyte were nice and all but there was something....lacking in them. I cant explain it but it was like they were almost there but stopped just short of being epic. This one ticks all the right boxes and brings back the vibes of korean thrillers that attracted me to them in the first place
I have come to the conclusion that nowadays people live such fast lifestyles that they simply aren't willing to give time for something to show it's potential and will quickly move to the next thing. This drama is literally a masterpiece in terms of both plot and acting. Those who left the drama at ep7 or 9 will never get to see what a green flag the ML is. But will continue to see the most toxic male leads ever as long as there a spicy scenes.... Oh well their loss. This drama had been on my PTW for a long time, im just regretful i watched it so late. It's wonderful and i especially love the plot twist. Fans of lovely runner: you had sungjae falling for im sol in every timeline and here you have the ML falling for the same girl twice 😅 this show definitely filled the void left by lovely runner and i highly recommend it to fans of the drama
I can objectively say that lighter and princess is a good drama just not the one for me.
My dramas always have a complex male and female leads like for example the leads in korean drama my mister and my liberation
The positives first:
The cinematography is gorgeous. I love how they dont make the scenes dreamlike where its not required. A detail that usually pulls me out of dramas. For example when the scene is taking place in a poverty stricken area and the cinematography tries to show it as dreamy landscape. So kudos to the team for that
Acting: the male lead can ACT! His eyes are so expressive, he doesn't smile often but when he does, its like a secret that only jiang mu is supposed to see. His intensity and the way he's always on the edge does not seem to be a mere act. I mean with some actors, you can tell they are simply acting out a part and not truly understanding the character. He Yu truly embodies his character jin zhao and is honest to the emotions required which makes his portrayal authentic.
Now coming to esther yu's jiang mu. I will admit i found the opening scene of episode 1 to be a little lacklustre. I nearly dropped the drama right there. But that was more likely the director's fault. The thing is, the girl can definitely act. I see hints of it in some scenes. But then there are scenes where she doesn't do as well. Like the scene where she is letting out all of her emotions in the car and starts crying, the scene starts strong but when the waterworks start, it wasnt as good as it had been just a minute ago. But then there's a scene that takes place shortly after the car scene where she conveys her nervousness so well through her eyes alone...i dont know what to make of her honestly. I havent read the novel (i plan to though to fill in the gaps between episode releases) so i don't know how jiang mu is supposed to be but if i look at it from a pure acting point of view, esther yu is either an actress who relies on the director and doesnt try to add her own take to scenes OR she has the skills but for some reason hasnt tried to hone them further. You can see that spark every now and then that shows she CAN act, lets see how it goes further....
The negatives:
The baby voice...im used to the dubbing in Cdramas by this point but is it really necessary??
And then there's the unnecessary secondary female character. Its 2025, we should stop showing the stereotypical villainous female character who for some reason is obsessed with the hero despite him clearly not having any interest in her. Come on, us ladies have our self respect okay. No girl would go after a man who once dragged her out of his place by the collar. We are not desperate hence the "male loneliness epidemic".
Anyway im looking forward to future episodes as i loooove the yearning and intensity of it all.
Can someone recommend similar dramas? Korean, Japanese, chinese are all fine
Raises some important questions that are especially reflective of today's society. Particularly given how the world is just standing by and watching a genocide take place.
I for one do not find the show unrealistic. Im sure this is where we are headed
1) i really liked na in woo's portrayal and while i know satoh takeru is well loved, im not that gaga over him. The kdrama made sure to keep the focus on the FL and her revenge and i liked that na in woo's acting was more of the quiet kind. He wasnt playing the knight in shining armor, he was the silent supporting hand.
So how is satoh takeru's portrayal in this? Does he do justice to the role? Is he the yearning type? Cuz i love such MLs
2) the FL in the Korean version was played realistically by PMY. She obviously had the usual side effects of being gaslit for so long but she had strength. She didnt overcome her insecurities overnight (like in perfect marriage revenge which i dropped because i simply couldn't relate to the FL and her sudden change) but she wasn't a weak victim who constantly cried. She did not have woe is me attitude.
Her portrayal of how She overcame the trauma was brilliantly done without being "in your face". It wasnt sudden, it was stepwise and imo PMY did that journey justice without making the character weepy or despondent. Jdrama FLs have a tendency to do that though so how would you say this FL is portrayed?
He needs to come in a thriller/romance with a character similar to the one he played in tomorrow
The Taiwanese drama MARS also tackled a similar subject and while its really old, i would say give a try.
The korean movie Hope also tackled the topic of SA and was really heart wrenching while remaining hopeful as well. I'll think up of more titles and update you but these are the ones from the top of my head
Also these suggestions are based on the issue of SA/violence, not romance. The first frost handled the romantic story really well, its the other stuff that i feel required more attention and better story telling so these movies/dramas are ones centred around that
Also i find it interesting how sang yan is usually always there to the point i began thinking he's got a tracker on her but he's conveniently never there when her uncle is harassing her in the present day timeline because....plot device (the enounter in overtime doesn't count, thats literally his workplace)
I also found the storyline of the friends very tedious and skipped most of it. I do think the love story was very well done though. The chemistry was electrifying and sang yan was a beautiful character played really well the male actor.
Was it worth all the hype? I mean ive seen dramas with better story telling involving this particular concept, but I'll say the love story was beautiful, the rest not as much
I personally see no chemistry between the two.
This drama is literally a masterpiece in terms of both plot and acting.
Those who left the drama at ep7 or 9 will never get to see what a green flag the ML is. But will continue to see the most toxic male leads ever as long as there a spicy scenes....
Oh well their loss.
This drama had been on my PTW for a long time, im just regretful i watched it so late. It's wonderful and i especially love the plot twist.
Fans of lovely runner: you had sungjae falling for im sol in every timeline and here you have the ML falling for the same girl twice 😅 this show definitely filled the void left by lovely runner and i highly recommend it to fans of the drama