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Enjoyable!
I've seen most of the criticism of this series being who the Jo-Kyung ends up with in the end. Unpopular opinion: I never had a problem with that. It was foreshadowed pretty much from episode one.My beefs with this show are:
- plot hole from ep one regarding a voicemail left for the mother. It just never comes up again
- I'm not a huge fan of the "actually they knew each other years ago" thing. It pops up in a lot of dramas, but this one used it better than most, I will say. It's still a pet peeve of mine
- Soo-jin was turned into a woman scorned for no reason at all, in my opinion. Why must female friendships involve this type of plot?
- The last episodes were annoying with the time skip and then back and forth with Su-ho in a way that just felt odd to me?
Anyway, I enjoyed this show. I've watched it twice all the way through and I've laughed out loud both times. It's fun, it's cute, the vibe is entertaining and light throughout the majority of the show. I love the music. The acting is great and Moon Ga-Young is so charming and adorable! Perfectly cast! Definitely a recommend, especially if you're new to k-dramas.
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Unnies Are Running: Witch Fitness Basketball Team
2 people found this review helpful
Most fun I’ve had in ages!
I love Korean variety shows and this one had so much heart! Admittedly, I wasn’t all that sure given the really long introduction episode, but the cast is just so wonderful. Not only do you laugh a lot watching them learn the basic rules and techniques of basketball, but you get attached to the players and really root for them. I knew absolutely nothing about basketball and learned along with the cast. I found myself cheering and screaming at the TV because I could see how hard they were trying and I was just so proud!Honestly, Netflix recommended me shows of athletes learning other sports or amateur men’s baseball players forming teams but I just don’t think it’d be the same or nearly as entertaining as this was. This was a perfect storm of a group of women that were so willing to let themselves look a bit silly at times and truly put the work in to become a good team. I would honestly watch them learn other sports like volleyball or soccer or anything really. They had such fun chemistry with each other and the managers.
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So much fun!
This was a blast to watch! The cast was phenomenal, the fight scenes were entertaining, and overall it had a pretty great message. This is the best found family story I’ve seen in a while so that was greatly appreciated. I also really liked that the female characters mattered and we even get 2 kickass female fighters.The show did humor really well and I laughed out loud quite a few times. The set ups for jokes were done well. There’s tons of swearing but it was done in a way that actually made sense. So, kudos to the writers for knowing how to use swear words well and correctly.
The stand out relationships to me were between the 2 girls and the number 2 student and Ga Min. But overall, I liked the group.
My only real issue was with the show was the “oh no, the study group is being broken up” plot happens like 3 times. It got a bit repetitive which was confusing because I honestly think this show could’ve either been a couple episodes shorter or a few longer.
If they’d expanded on the other members of the study group finding their own ways to help out with the gang problem and expanded on the blond guy being a part of the group, it could’ve been longer. Especially with the training sequences. I also would’ve liked some more background on the dead teacher’s son. He’s barely in the show, to be honest. If they’d cut down to maybe just 1 “oh no, the group is breaking up” plot, it could’ve been shorter.
Regardless, this was a lot of fun! I look forward to seeing these cast members again. Especially the lead actor. He did a really great job!
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Thrilling start!
I love a great revenge story! Moon Dong-eun aloof, reserved and seemingly cold mannerisms draw you in and, similar to the Ha Do-yeung described her, you start waiting for her reactions to things. Her story was awful and the lack of flashbacks from when she was happy leaves the viewer to wonder if she ever was. All of this makes for a lead character you root for and it was enough to keep me watching when some of the aspects of Netflix kdramas became especially off-putting.I really liked the 2 male characters that get caught in her web, so to speak. Joo Yeo-jeong was a sympathetic character the decision to write him as both adorably smitten and quietly vengeful was a nice touch. Both he and Moon Dong-eun bonded over the the darkness resulting from great injustice done to them and people they cared about. I was just as interested in his story as Moon Dong-eun. Ha Do-yeung is a character I didn't expect to like, but he was the austere, quietly powerful male character that usually shows up as the main love interest in a drama. Surprisingly, I was invested in his story, as well.
Kang Hyun-nam's story was heartbreaking. She was such a lovely, strong woman and I loved how much she cared for her daughter and Moon Dong-eun. The first part ends and I just really hoped nothing would happen to her in the second part.
Now, my issues with this series are purely related to the strange things Netflix kdramas seem to have. There's unnecessary nudity, unnecessary sex scenes and unnecessarily drawn out violent scenes. I understand they wanted to convey just how horribly Dong-eun was treated, but there's a tendency for Netflix dramas (Korean and otherwise) to sort of draw out these kinds of scenes for shock value. Some of the acting choices, particularly for Lee Sa-ra's character were cringey to watch. I'm not a fan of when characters appear to scream 99% of their lines, but it felt like the sort of acting you'd see in a Netflix k-drama.
Anyway, having seen both parts, in some ways, I think part 1 was a bit more solid overall. However, both parts were moving to watch.
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Started off strong and then fell off about halfway through.
The first half of this show was great! The ML is one of my favorites because he gives great performances in everything. The second ML was also great.The start of this show was interesting and it looked like it was going to have episodic cases about morality and how to truly punish the rich, who typically use their wealth to get away with awful things. It looked like the overarching theme was going to be about finally getting justice for the disadvantaged - and then about halfway through, this show goes off the rails in a bad way.
I hated the treatment of female characters. With the exception of the ML's niece (who's ending I think might have been considered ableist), every female character was treated pretty badly. There's the love interest (?) of the second ML who was rejected over and over before an undeserved ending. There's the female villains who's endings were unsatisfactory and the reasonings for the the former maid's hatred was ambiguous at best and disappointing at worst. The third judge never really got to do anything of import throughout the show. At one point, they relegate her to a position where it really seemed like she was just there to be pretty. She was left out of most of the important plot points.
The cases just fall away around the 6th episode and we get a long plot with lots of scenes of the rich elite operating behind the scenes and those scenes were boring.
I didn't outright hate the ending, but I had to force myself to get to it. First half was wonderful! Second half, not so much.
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Started great, but didn't finish great, IMO
This started out pretty great. I realized that there aren't a lot of k dramas I've watched where the female lead isn't supposed to be the more welcoming, sweet character and the male lead the surly, serious one. In this story, Ma Yi Deum is unlike any other female protagonist I've seen in a drama, so far. She's rude, gruff, impolite and willing to do anything to get the verdict she wants. At first.I watched a clip of the second episode's ending court scene on YouTube and there was a comment saying that she was fierce and they wish she stayed that way throughout the drama. I don't quite agree, as I think it was important for her to learn to see the victims as people. However, I will say that it felt like the show let her character sort of become aimless about halfway through. As did the show, to be honest.
I enjoy procedural court dramas. I know not every one of them can be Miss Hammurabi, but it sucks that this is the second one I've seen that does a case every ep for like 5 episodes before stopping and becoming more about the season long plot. Also, like Miss Hammurabi, there was a romance between two coworkers where I felt zero chemistry. I don't think it was necessary and it added nothing to the story.
Towards the end, everything just felt all over the place. Disappointingly, they turned a strong female protagonist into a damsel.
Despite the dark subject matter, I did enjoy seeing the victims get justice. I spent most of the show just waiting for them to finally put Cho and Baek behind bars. I didn't love that the prosecutor that took over for Min defaulted to doubting victims, though. I also thought, while they got the outcome they wanted, Ma Yi Deum tactics in the second episode were cruel to the victim.
So, I enjoyed the first 6 episodes or so, but what made the show unique to me in terms of character work slowly disappeared.
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Really enjoyable! The best thing about this series was the interaction between Terius and the family! That sounds like a summary of the show, but there's quite a bit that covers the other agents, the bad guys, the other parents in the building, etc. I was most interested in the family interacting with Terius and that's where the show really shines.
The performances were all great! I really loved seeing a strong, bad ass character like Yoo Ji-Yeon, but I also loved that Go Ae-rin got some badass moments, as well! This show never relegated her to just being a mother. She also got to be a hard working career woman and she was very clever.
I enjoyed some of Terius' moments with the other parents, too at times. I liked that he was learning more about how to interact with others after spending so much time alone.
Very cute! I thought the stuff with Jin Yong Tae dragged on a bit, but overall, I enjoyed the show.
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Wonderful start, however it started to drag towards the end.
This series is truly special. It’s unlike the other kdramas I’ve watched and felt immersive in the time period. There were so many touches to the set design, soundtrack, and 1980s events written in that made it feel truly set in 1988-1989 (and beyond). The acting was wonderful, DS/SY is a wonderful female lead, and the chemistry between the cast was so great.It’s extremely hard to get me invested in a romance in general, especially one between teenagers. So, I went into this knowing that was going to be the weakest aspect for me. I enjoyed the family and friend relationships most of all, and I do feel like that makes up enough of the show to interest even those like me that find a lot of those too trope-y and predictable.
I started to really feel the 1 hour+ runtimes around episode 16 or so. Once we start to get into the kids prepping for college fully and Bo-ra making choices about her future, it felt just a tiny bit aimless. If you’re looking for a slice of life-ish type story and you were actually alive during this time period, you may still enjoy sitting with the story as it builds to its ending. For me, I plan to finish it someday but eventually ended up looking up the ending and dropping it on episode 18.
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Anyone viewing this as a fantasy is concerning
I have never seen a male lead so incredibly selfish and immature. It was not giving amnesia; it was giving lobotomy. Not only did Louis act like a literal baby, he cost the FL so much money and frustration. She was literally worse off for knowing him. It got so bad, I couldn't make it past episode 7. It seemed to become a question of who would she choose: the responsible (yet unprofessional) adult or the literal baby. The director was an HR nightmare, but anyone attracted to Louis creeps me out. He was a toddler in an adult body. Right down to throwing tantrums when he didn't get his way.Louis barely did anything to try to help GBS. She was working so hard and had very little money to survive on her own and he never seemed to care about how much she suffered or sacrificed for him. He never thought to try to get a job on his own or at least not cost her so much money. It goes beyond not knowing the value of money; he literally knew nothing he "had" belonged to him; it was GBS's money. And he spent it anyway. He's selfish, has a shopping addiction, and seemed borderline illiterate.
GBS was also ridiculously naive. There were points where it made sense for her not to know better. The work drama, for example. But there were times she believed extremely obvious scams and, if Louis was 2, she was 8 at the most. Neither of them should've been left alone. Regardless of that, Louis still relied on her to cook for him and clean up after him and give him an allowance like she was his mommy. I can't fathom anyone finding any aspect of this romantic.
Usually, I think long and hard before dropping a drama. If I made it more than a couple of episodes in, I try to give it a chance. I found Louis' lack of growth by this point made the show unwatchable. Even if he got his memory back and paid GBS back for the thousands of dollars she spent on him while he remained completely useless, it still wouldn't make up for him being so utterly unlikable. She deserved better and its clear the writers of the show don't think so. My heart honestly hurts for any woman thinking anything about this "romance" was sweet. That poor girl was a victim.
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Too long and honestly kinda repetitive
I enjoyed the start of this series. The first episode is really solid and the cast is all pretty great at comedic acting. The story is a good launch pad to some interesting situations. However, my interest waned pretty quickly.This series relies a lot of characters just doing incredibly ridiculous things to make a lot of plot points occur and it was a bit tiring to watch at times. When it worked, like the wedding episode with the eviction notice, it was really funny. When it didn’t work (in my opinion), like when Joon ki is running around trying to get a suit case Chewbacca was zipped in, it was too ridiculous for me to laugh at.
They drag out the main couple getting together for way too long. Joon ki and Chewbacca coming out about their relationship too so long Dong-gu looked like an idiot for believing their lies. And there were a few episodes where it felt like nothing really happened.
So, if you’re really looking for a funny show, this wouldn’t be top of my rec list. But if you’ve watched everything else, it’s not the worst show I’ve watched. Not sure that’s a real compliment.
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Ending left a lot to be desired, but I think I understood the point
Overall, this was one of the best plotted kdramas I’ve watched in a long time. The ending was a tad frustrating, but ultimately, I think I understand what the reason behind it was.This story digs into generational wealth/poverty and tells the story of the South Korean economy from the 90s-the present. As an American, I learned a lot more about the stock market, South Korean conglomerates and how their legal system changed to accommodate them. On its face, not something I would’ve thought I’d be interested in, but the story weaves in the family plot is of the Jin family empire and it all makes for a really interesting drama. I found myself finishing it much faster than I thought I would.
The only weak parts of this drama (for me anyway) were the romance between DJ/HW and the prosecutor and some of the acting choices. I pitied the prosecutor because I just never thought DJ/HW really cared that much about her. She was constantly an afterthought and she thought about him all the time. To find out she waited so long after their failed romance dating no one and hoping he’d be into her again… that’s just sad. We don’t even really get to see her working cases that weren’t involved with him so it made it look like her life revolved around him.
I also was annoyed at how often someone would say something shock to DJ/HW and he wouldn’t react until they’d already left. They did that several times and the leaning in to whisper intimidation tactic was used a lot, too.
The strongest parts of this drama are the scenes with the family. Both DJ’s and HW’s. Watching HW's family struggle, especially what his father went through, was heartbreaking. DJ's relationship with the Miracle Investment team was great. DJ's constant fight with the Jin family was very interesting to watch. Of course, the most outstanding relationship was between DJ and his grandfather. I was surprised by how much this drama made me invested in that relationship.
The ending was not what I wanted. It did feel like a sudden turn to punish HW for things we didn't even know he'd done. I think the writers wanted to say that the solution to his death wasn't being reborn rich and paying it forward. Instead, he had to reconcile with his own actions and greed and take the Jin family down with the resources he had. In a world where rich people don't ever get the punishment they deserve, this ending falls a bit flat because obviously, the desired ending was DJ taking over and having the Jin family see the results of their own actions. Instead, we get a very quick ending that didn't feel nearly as satisfying.
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This series was fantastic! I found it on the recommendations page for shows like Psychopath Diary and I am so glad I watched it!The Groundhog Day plot is one that could've gotten old, very quickly. The transition from the repetitive days to the longer plot as they dig into the boss' issues was seamless. For once, I was invested in the corporate espionage drama (though not as much as what was happening with Lee Roo-da and Mr. Baek. The coworkers were interesting, as well. I really felt for the contract worker.
This is a show that does the redemptive jerk plotline so well., I was doubtful they would try to redeem Mr. Baek or that I'd find it believable if they did. However, as we see him wanting to change and actually taking solid steps to do that, I found myself rooting for him. The ending was really great, although it was frustrating to go backwards.
Definitely a recommend from me! I had a great time watching it.
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I want to fight Viki for putting this in the comedy section
Viki, for some nonsensical reason, put this movie in the comedy section. In addition, the cutesy little picture for it made this look like it'd be a funny little romp about a single father who encounters an adorable ghost. Instead, the ending made me cry and I don't think comedy was ever a predominant aspect of this movie.This is a somewhat sweet, uncomplicated film about a single father with a terminally ill daughter getting wrapped up in a case a young police officer is trying to solve. The cop ends up in a coma and the single father is the only person that can see him.
To be honest, of the similar premises I've seen, this one involves a lot less interaction between the 2 leads. They don't really come to like each other as much as come to see how they could help each other. The cop moreso because he can help and the father because he sees how others having his "I don't owe anyone anything" attitude eventually came to bite him in the ass. The lesson here seems to be help when you can because you never know how it might come back to you. Extremely simple, cut and dry.
It's a recommend if you like Ma Dong Seok and don't want something too, too heavy. There's less violence than I've seen in other dramas/films with trafficking plots and the kid is adorable. However, just remember that Viki totally mischaracterized this.
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Pretty cute!
This is a pretty adorable GL. It was pretty funny at times, as well. Around the 3rd episode, I wondered how long they could drag out Ayaka completely dodging all of Hiroko's very, VERY obvious cues. The back and forth between her deciding to date Hiroko and then taking it back made it feel just a bit longer than was entirely enjoyable, so it wasn't a slam dunk for me. Also the first kiss was not super great...I did like that this show discussed fear of discrimination at work - though I don't exactly understand why Hiroko's response to hearing about what happened to Ayaka's boss was confessing in front of all their coworkers.
Overall, one of the better GLs I've seen, so it's a tentative recommend.
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Cute!
I thought this was a pretty cute Freaky Friday story where, instead of mother and daughter switching, it's father and daughter. The acting is pretty great and I loved seeing Jung So Min adopt the mannerisms of a middle aged dad. I thought Yoon Je Moon did a great job playing a teenage girl, too. Especially the date and karaoke scenes.There were parts (karaoke and a scene with the psychologist) that felt pretty clearly like doubles were used. I wished for a bit more interaction from the mother and the psychologist because it seemed as if they were meant to be more significant characters, but they weren't in the film much. Also, one of Do Yeon's classmates has a pretty rough home life and nothing's really done with that. Seemed as if she was just there to encourage Do Yeon to appreciate her father more.
Overall, I think the daughter learned more lessons than the father, so it was a bit one sided. However, I still found this to be pretty cute and I laughed out loud a few times. It's a recommend if you're looking for something simple to watch about father and daughter bonding.
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