A Place Called Silence is about a mother and her mute daughter getting involved in the disappearances of four female students. It deals with school violence, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Just like its title, the core of the film shows how every character is a witness to these abuses but chose to remain silent.
This is a haunting and brutal tale of bystander effect, a father’s love, and a mother’s protection.
who else was happy to see Sa Dingding? any AOL fans.
I didn’t know anything about the guest roles or OST lineup so I literally had to pause and come here when I saw her in episode 1! It was such a nice surprise!
I always felt that the story suits Japanese television more with how strong the individuality of each characters and how complex their relationships were (aka they are bolder), and I was right. This version tells the story more in the male lead’s point-of-view, so character growth and understanding are very much present. Aesthetic-wise, absolutely poetic. It heavily relies on mood and symbolism (particularly butterflies and art) and their monologues give that emphasis on emotional depth and quiet introspection. The drama could (and probably should) have been longer, though.
To the Wonder is such a beautiful retrospect about one's culture, heritage, and identity. It tells the story of a Han city girl moving to a nomadic Kazakh village in the mountains—a setting bound to challenge one's definition of a fulfilling life and their views on modernity and tradition. It's slow and mundane, but also very much lovely.
Been following his works since LDK (2014) and I'm just so proud of how far he has come.
While he indeed started with romantic shoujo live adaptations in which he was typecasted as the cold, popular ikemen, he has successfully shifted to non-romantic (ex. the Good Doctor, Atom no Ko, Onmyoji) or shonen live adaptations (ex. Alice in Borderland, Kingdom, Golden Kamuy), has diversified his roles (ex. doctor with autism, former Russo-Japanese war soldier, aspiring General) and has shown his range as an actor multiple times.
Seriously, I shall take no Yamaken slander, especially if their image of him is stuck in 2014-2016. I'll be offended because he hasn't done any romcom in years and I miss him in that lmao
No Gain, No Love was hella hilarious, unpredictable, and unconventional. It started off poorly but gradually became better as it progressed, unlike most dramas where they start off strong and then fizzle out later on. The first week (episodes 1 and 2) simply felt forced (the story, characters, acting, & chemistry) and disjointed. However, the following episodes brought out open communication among the characters and delved into topics like polyamorous relationships and foster families. It was unexpectedly a sweet and sincere story underneath all the raunchiness and absurdity. Unfortunately, the last week (episodes 11 and 12) became completely out-of-place. The last arc felt so unnecessary, so that highlighted how incomplete and underdeveloped the overall drama was.
I watched Chastity High with no expectations because of the rating here and now that I’ve finished it, I am kind of offended with how this is rated below 8.
While this 8-episode drama seems like a simple story set in high school, it delves into dark and uncomfortable matters without being self-righteous or dramatic. It deals with class disparity, family violence, teenage pregnancy, sexuality, and same-sex, teacher-student, & interclass relationships. It may not have started off with most righteous cause, but every little thing that happened ultimately led to their fight for the real enemy: the system.
oh the romance subplot is between the poor girl and the playboy son of the governor 😛 my sis got him begging fr so i still dk why it has a low rating when it has literally everything 😭🤚🏼
Two years later and this drama remains to be my favorite one.
I rewatched the entire proposal scene today and cried as soon as Niao Niao’s mother spoke lowly of her daughter. No public humiliation from the princesses could tantamount to the humiliation she endured from her own family’s criticisms. That scene was the catalyst for a lot of things—Ling Buyi’s firm declaration on marrying her, which led to Niao Niao finally acknowledging his feelings and her high regard for him. It was also the exact moment when the bond between a mother and a daughter was broken & how everyone in the royal family—how the Empress—came to witness that.
Talk about so many layers. I simply cannot emphasize how brilliantly written Love Like the Galaxy is.
6 
11 
1 
This is a haunting and brutal tale of bystander effect, a father’s love, and a mother’s protection.
While he indeed started with romantic shoujo live adaptations in which he was typecasted as the cold, popular ikemen, he has successfully shifted to non-romantic (ex. the Good Doctor, Atom no Ko, Onmyoji) or shonen live adaptations (ex. Alice in Borderland, Kingdom, Golden Kamuy), has diversified his roles (ex. doctor with autism, former Russo-Japanese war soldier, aspiring General) and has shown his range as an actor multiple times.
Seriously, I shall take no Yamaken slander, especially if their image of him is stuck in 2014-2016. I'll be offended because he hasn't done any romcom in years and I miss him in that lmao
While this 8-episode drama seems like a simple story set in high school, it delves into dark and uncomfortable matters without being self-righteous or dramatic. It deals with class disparity, family violence, teenage pregnancy, sexuality, and same-sex, teacher-student, & interclass relationships. It may not have started off with most righteous cause, but every little thing that happened ultimately led to their fight for the real enemy: the system.
oh the romance subplot is between the poor girl and the playboy son of the governor 😛 my sis got him begging fr so i still dk why it has a low rating when it has literally everything 😭🤚🏼
I rewatched the entire proposal scene today and cried as soon as Niao Niao’s mother spoke lowly of her daughter. No public humiliation from the princesses could tantamount to the humiliation she endured from her own family’s criticisms. That scene was the catalyst for a lot of things—Ling Buyi’s firm declaration on marrying her, which led to Niao Niao finally acknowledging his feelings and her high regard for him. It was also the exact moment when the bond between a mother and a daughter was broken & how everyone in the royal family—how the Empress—came to witness that.
Talk about so many layers. I simply cannot emphasize how brilliantly written Love Like the Galaxy is.