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A CUTE INTROVERTED LOVE STORY
I’ve honestly not watched Yumi’s Cells 1 & 2, but Yumi’s Cells 3 hit me differently, it really ended up clicking with me.Yumi’s Cells 3 is essentially a love story between two introverted individuals. Yumi, who is now a successful writer, seems to live her life in a very dull and monotonous way. There’s nothing in her life that creates enough emotional ripples to truly shake her, until she meets Shin Sun Rok PD. He disrupts her life in ways she hasn’t experienced in years.
Ever since her success as a writer and her breakup with her previous boyfriend, both her love life and her overall life have become stagnant. This stagnation has made her very calm and rational, to the point where her Writer Cell has taken over, while her emotional cells , especially her Love Cell have gone dormant.
However, her encounter with Shin PD changes everything. Interestingly, he is even more calm and rational than she is. He struggles with social cues and ends up unintentionally riling Yumi up in ways he doesn’t even realize.
Their first meeting is incredibly awkward. He mostly responds with “yes” or “no,” and during their bus ride together, he puts on earphones, which Yumi perceives as disrespectful. Ironically, she had wanted to do the same earlier due to the awkwardness but held herself back out of courtesy. When he goes ahead and does it, she feels annoyed—for the first time in years.
This annoyance continues in small but significant moments. For example, when he buys all the bungeoppang (fish-shaped bread filled with sweet paste) from a shop Yumi regularly visits, especially her favorite flavor it frustrates her even more. Another instance is when he questions the intelligence of Maltese dogs. This deeply irritates Yumi because she has grown attached to a Maltese dog named Coco, her friend’s pet that she’s been taking care of. Hearing such criticism from Shin PD pushes her irritation to another level.
Through these interactions, we see her dormant emotions begin to awaken, her hate cells and other emotional cells start coming out of dormancy. Up until Episode 2, it genuinely feels like she dislikes Shin PD intensely. However, things begin to shift during their work trip to Busan, where she starts seeing him in a different light.
What stood out to me the most is how this drama gave strong “Inside Out” vibes. The concept of different “cells” representing Yumi’s emotions, decisions, and thoughts is beautifully executed. I especially love this first-person perspective approach, it allows us to see the depth of the characters rather than just surface-level events, which is often the case in many dramas.
What made me appreciate it even more is that we don’t just see Yumi’s perspective, we also get Shin PD’s point of view. We get to understand what he’s thinking, why he behaves the way he does, and how his intentions can be very different from how his actions are perceived. This dual perspective feels incredibly human. After all, aren’t we all like this? We think and act with certain intentions, but they may come across entirely differently to others.
That’s the beauty of this drama, it’s not just a narrative from the female lead, male lead, or writer’s perspective. Instead, it presents a deeply personalized approach, giving us insight into both sides of the story.
For example, when we see Shin PD’s perspective, we learn that he is an extreme introvert with a very low social battery. He relies heavily on his rational and calm side to navigate his daily life, and it’s only at night, when he returns home, that he truly relaxes and recharges. Many of the moments where he offends Yumi are not intentional, they stem from his limited social energy and difficulty expressing himself.
Overall, I’m really looking forward to how the story unfolds in the upcoming episodes and how their relationship develops further. 🤗
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A story that challeges our definition of masculinity and feminity
Honestly its a very different and cool story at that...It shows a Hikaru who is a makeup artist who has this cool and honest vibe the kind of person who treats the people closest the best and doesnt pretend nice with everyone...While the female lead Haruka she's a naive, kind, bubbly a tomboyish girl who doesnt know how to dress up or do makeup and likes to dress up casually...She has a crush on a guy at her workplace Kurotaki...In order to woo Kurotaki Haruka asks Hikaru's help who acts like fairy godmother to her and helps her present herself well and also become the best version of herself both inside out...I started it today and ended up binge watching all episodes that have aired so I guess that tells that story is pretty good and binge worthy...Dont know why not a lot pf people know about it...Its actually pretty good...Also it has touched on some very important matters like our definition of masculinity and feminity in today's world...Like its not necessary that girl only knows how to dress up, cook, and stuff while its not necessary the guy can only be serious, can't communicate his feelings or do only things that make them macho per se...It touches these matters in a way that it doesnt feel too serious or documentary like...I like the way this story is and am hopeful that more people watch it.Was this review helpful to you?
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THE DUMB PRINCESS PINGYUE
I love the story especially the way it started and the whole dynamic and chemistry between ML and FL. The whole story surrounding Princess Pingyue/ Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan in the first 20 episodes is really engaging and the actors acting their roles are the best too! Its only towards the end from Ep 30 onwards that due the whole political angle the plot kinda loses its engagement. Especially the story surrounding Li Rong and Su Rongqing...SPOILERS AHEAD -
My biggest beef is with the role or character of Li Rong why the hell is she so dumb...Especially with regards to Su Rongqing...Like girl he let you die in your previous life and conspired against your family, why do you still trust him more than your own husband Pei Wenxuan who tried everything in his previous and current lives to save you and do everything for you...She really does have princess syndrome...She thinks Su Rongqing is her knight in shining armor...Pei Wenxuan is a safe bet...And her brother is just a pawn for power to her...Like Ep 34-35 was utter nonsense when Su Rongqing tells her about what happened in the past and that it was the noble families who made her come across this alchemist whom she then later placed alongside her brother aka the King in the previous life...And the alchemist tried to kill the King and naturally the king thought that his own sister is trying to kill him so he poisoned her and killed her and the other noble families let it happen...And first instinct as a sister was to not to believe her brother's intensions but SU RONGQING...Like GURL WHAT??? ARE YOU FOR REAL??? She conveniently left out the part that it was the noble families manipulation that caused a misunderstanding and that's why it led to the sad outcome...And after Pei Wenxuan comes to rescue her you'd think after being in love and now being pregnant with his child her instinct would be to share and communicate everything with her beloved husband...NO...NO...She is hiding it all from him...And again trying to meet WHO? Yes you guessed that right...SU RONGQING?!?! At this point I was confused if the ML was Su Rongqing or Pei Wenxuan...Like Girly believes, and cares and trusts him more than anyone else even her own family...I've never seen such a dumb and irritating female lead ever since START UP...Like in this whole plot the real villain was actually LI RONG/ PRINCESS PINGYUE...
Like later thanks to Pei Wenxuan her misunderstanding gets cleared and she gets to know about her brothers side of the story and all the hardships he had faced and the reason for his cruelty which is honestly heartbreaking like the two characters he wanted to protect his mom and his sister were the very two ones who both directly and indirectly caused him all the misery and pain in the previous life and caused the death of his beloved wife Qin ZhenZhen...
Funny thing is even after Pei Wenxuan explains her everything after that too she is scared to meet her brother and still doesn't trust him like gurl when in the first few episodes you thought your husband aka Pei Wenxuan killed you...You were ready to kill him or take revenge on him and not marry him again...Same with your brother you lost trust in him...But when you though SU RONGQING killed you...Girlies reaction "Ohh I don't blame him, he suffered a lot, that was just the past him because of his family dying he did that, I would have done the same if i were in his shoes, the current him doesnt want me dead, i can help the current him not go down the same path...
LIKE GURL WHAT?!?!
The story should have been name "LI RONG X SU RONGQING AND THE OTHERS" cause that's exactly how the FL character behaved...
If not for her dumb character I would have loved this story a whole lot more...I watched this story mainly for Zhang Linghe...But my guy was sidelined but by this dumb female character...Honestly I have no issues with the actress she did a great job with her acting...Zhao Jin Mai is a great actress and her chemistry with Zhang Linghe is great...I have watched their work in OUR GENERATION...And they were great together...Its just whoever wrote and directed this story made the female lead so dumb that it just frustrated the shit out of me...
It's only in the last few episodes she seems to have some clarity and decides to protect her brother, mother and father...And all her other friends and supporters...But again her idea was to again fight alone and sacrifice herself i swear had it not been for Pei Wenxuan she actually would have died...He literally is the reason all the good characters are alive...Like my guy is actually super smart but doesn't boast about it...He's literally playing 8D Chess here...Like all the plans have worked out thanks to his wisdom otherwise had they followed the FL's ways the 2nd life would have ended up the same way as the first if not worse...
Thank god Zhang Linghe worked in Persuit of Jade that drama really let him shine in the best ways!!!
Other than the dumb female character and the plot holes she caused rest everything was honestly not that bad!
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Dao x Arthit The SUN FROM ANOTHER STAR
Dao x Arthit love story is the best so far! Like its giving me the same level of engagement as Johan and North's story from Fourever You Part 1!!! The other love stories are good too but this one really caught my attention! From Ep 9 till Ep 15 and still ongoing Dao's and Arthit's story and the actors chemistry is really eye catching and the chemistry is undeniable!Actors Oat Tharathon aka Dao and Ngern Anupart aka Arthit really did justice to the characters! I love the contrast between the personalities of real life actors and the reel life characters!
Dao is a person who can see spirits, communicate with them, feel people's hidden emotions and also sense the energy of places or spirits and their memories...While Arthit is just Arthit lol 😂...Story starts with Dao renting a place where he gets a staggering 70% discount on his rent as 3 different people died in the same apartment at different times and haunt the place...Dao being our unbothered boy rents the place...And coincidentally Arthit turns out to be his neighbor who well ended up renting the place cause he got a 50% discount on the rent...And by his way of being and dressing you'd think the guy is dirt poor lol but he has a rich father Direk and rich friends like Johan and the others and bro is just very down to earth in his ways...He is studying medical along with Johan and the others...Now the way Dao and Arthit's paths end up crossing is because one of the ghosts in Dao's home was a friend of Arthit's who got murdered under mysterious circumstances and the ghosts girlfriend is accused of being the killer...This case is then solved with the help of Dao's powers...And this ends up bring Arthit and Dao close but what really gets them connected is Arthit's search for his mom's spirit and wanting to know if she's happy and if he could still communicate with her...And there's Dao's cheating ex who stalks him and so Dao takes Arthit's help in dealing with him...Over a period as their lives entangle Arthit ends up falling for Dao who turns out to be his first love! And now how will their love story turn out from here is all that this story about...Im honestly looking froward to how their story is gonna progress so far I love it! And recommend others to watch it too!
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Jang Man Wol and Ryu Seon Jae are back in a ROYAL SETUP!✨
Finally a worthy Kdrama to watch! Honestly I've been quenching my thirst for good stories with Cdramas and a drama like this drops and it feels like Kdrama industry finally back in groove!!!😇IU did it again! The QUEEN's back!!! I just love her in sassy queen roles! After Hotel Del Luna finally I see her in another sassy role and I love every bit of it!!!🥰😎❤️ IU as Seong Hui Ju and Byeon Woo Seok as Grand Prince Yi An are just perfect!!! Honestly I wasn't sure how good the story would be when the trailer was out given how grand scale of a production it has and two my favorite actors were in it, but it did not disappoint at all! I love every bit of it! I love how we see the background of both the characters and what makes them the way they are...
SPOILER'S AHEAD -
Hui Ju is the literal definition BEAUTY WITH BRAINS! She is a QUEEN in all ways just limited by her title and family background...While Yi An is from a royal background and hence suffers from the heaviness of it...They are shown to be acquainted via the same royal school...Where HJ is shown to be extremely competitive and excels at everything she does but still gets judged and looked down upon for lack of title...But she fights through it all and goes on to become a CEO of her own beauty company and makes her own name but is still being looked down upon due to her lack of title and noble family connection which she decides to fulfil by marrying Grand Prince Yi An cause why not, a QUEEN deserves a KING!!👑✨She being the confident sassy girl she is proposes to Yi An about a contract marriage to which he initially refuses a lot of times but our persistent QUEEN keeps showing up and tries to convince him countless times...Until he eventually agrees and now we'll see how it will proceed!
I love the contrast they have shown in the way both have similar backgrounds in that they are both born and considered illegitimate but while she has fiercely and bravely faced it he has put up walls and shows less of himself and hides his true side...We all see the contrast in their dressing where he chooses mostly black or muted colors while she chooses bold and colorful palette for her dresses like RED which shows her BOLD and FIERCE personality!😎🔥
Honestly I love the chemistry between the two all levels I see hints of their previous works here like IU's Hotel Del Luna and Byeon Woo Seok's Lovely Runner! The first meet between Yi An and Hui Ju just looks so beautiful! Her in that beautiful RED DRESS 👠 like RED is so her color! And we also see hints of Yi An having a crush on her as he admires her from afar! Honestly I initially thought only he liked her from 1st ep but now that I've seen the 2nd,3rd,4th ep it shows some of her caring sides for him too like her looking at his taste in paintings and identifying that he seems to like cats and then later when he gets sick she is the one who calls a doctor for him and also tells the doctor not tell anyone that he came to treat the prince and that take it as he came to treat her and she later also got sandwiches for the his assistant...Like we get to see that she can also be caring and affectionate when needed but she saves it for only those who truly deserve it! She even saves the "Honor Flowers" from their archery competition! 🌸
So given all that I've seen till now I'm honestly excited and looking forward to what more this show could offer and hope it doesn't disappoint!✨
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A MASTERPIECE IN MAKING ✨
Park Hae Young has worked her magic yet again. After masterpieces like “My Mister” and “My Liberation Notes,” she returns with “We Are All Trying Here.”Actor Koo Kyo Hwan, whom we know from “D.P. 1 & 2,” plays the character of Hwang Dong Man, and Go Youn Jung, known for “Can This Love Be Translated?”, “Resident Playbook,” and “Alchemy of Souls 1 & 2,” plays the role of Byeon Eun A in this drama.
Honestly, when I started it, I wasn’t sure if it was going to click with me or not. It’s unlike the usual dramas we watch,there is no superhuman ML or invincible FL...What we see instead is a deep dive into the very realistic and harsh world of the film industry. When I first started the drama, I didn’t know who the writer was, but I got this uncanny feeling of similarity to “My Mister” and “My Liberation Notes,” and lo and behold, it's the same writer!✨🤗
Unlike the typical K-drama style, which often leans toward a kind of fictional utopia, this drama dives headfirst into the realities of the film world. There are no purely black-and-white characters; every character falls into the grey area, just like most of us in the real world...The characters represent complex emotions like: greed, ambition, jealousy, inferiority, competitiveness, hardship, and the deep desire to be noticed. Each of them has something they love, something they want, and something they are anxious about...
OUR ML & FL
Our ML, Hwang Dong Man, represents the struggle of someone who wants to pursue what he loves but hasn’t gotten his break yet, even after 20 years in the industry. He’s an aspiring director and the only one in the famous film industry group “The Eight” who hasn’t debuted...Despite this, he shows up to face the world with a smile, masking his anxiety with a talkative facade. It’s his way of maintaining a sense of normalcy in a harsh and often demeaning environment...
He’s a character that may be hard to fully understand at first. He uses his love for food and his talkativeness as shields to fill the void within him...Watching his peers move forward while he remains stagnant, he inevitably feels jealousy and anxiety, which sometimes cause him to behave unpleasantly towards his colleagues, friends, and those around him. Still, his struggles make him someone we can’t help but root for...
On the other hand, Byeon Eun A, a producer at Choi Film, is almost the complete opposite...Instead of expressing her emotions outwardly, she internalizes them, letting them build up until they manifest as anxiety in the form of nosebleeds. She reminds me of Lee Ji An (played by IU) from “My Mister,” especially in the way she moves through life with a deadpan expression and eyes that seem to lack warmth...There’s a sense of hollowness and emptiness within her that reflects in her gaze, almost as if her eyes are a mirror to her inner world. She’s known as “The Axe” due to her sharp screenplay reviews and used to be extremely cutthroat in her criticism. However, something happened about a year ago that caused her to change...It seems to be connected to her ex-boyfriend, though the details are still unclear since only two episodes have aired...This is something that will likely give us deeper insight into her character as the story progresses...
Both characters carry their own struggles, and it’s through these struggles that they begin to connect...
OTHER CHARACTERS
Park Gyeong Se, played by Oh Jung Se, is one of “The Eight” and is easily provoked by Dong Man’s blunt and talkative nature. After his movie receives bad reviews, he blames Dong Man for it. He represents someone who externalizes blame, and for him, Dong Man becomes the scapegoat...
His wife, Ko Hye Jin, CEO of Gobak Film (played by Kang Mal Geum), is loyal yet grounded. She’s the kind of person who will show you the truth when you’re wrong. She understands Dong Man’s situation while also recognizing her husband’s tendency to shift blame. Tho I have to say the way she kicks out Dong Man out of their group activities and his brother too when he confronts them about it I found to be very harsh especially the sign outside the restaurant "Dong Man and his brother not allowed here" is very bullying and discriminatory...But I guess she has her flaws too...
Choi Dong Hyeon, CEO of Choi Film (played by Choi Won Young), comes across as narcissistic and self-absorbed. He looks down on others and doesn’t like seeing anyone who might outshine him...
Hwang Jin Man, played by Park Hae Joon (“When Life Gives You Tangerines”), is Dong Man’s older brother. He works hard and struggles but deeply cares for Dong Man and wants the best for him. While he may seem brusque at first, his actions reveal his genuine concern and love for his brother...
There’s still so much more to explore in their stories, and I’m honestly looking forward to learning more about each of them as the series progresses!😇✨
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