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Ming Lan Has Become One of My Favorite Heroines

Delightful! I adored Ming Lan from her difficult childhood through her tortured teens and into a blossoming adult. I'd hesitated starting the drama because 78 episodes is a commitment, but time flew faster with Ming Lan than with some 16 episode dramas.

The writers did a commendable job juggling a large cast; each character was distinct and had purpose. The acting was as good as the script.

Children who live with abuse, neglect, or bullying learn to observe their surroundings and the people around them closely. As a survival device, they become invisible, but they're always assessing danger and planning how best to extricate themselves. Ming Lan learned strategy at an early age, and she hid her intelligence behind a quiet, inoffensive smile.

It was pure pleasure to see her outthink and outmaneuver her siblings, parents, and other adults during her childhood. She willingly took abuse and blame and quietly accepted punishment. She seemingly had little desire to protect herself, but when it came to those she cared about being hurt, she'd assume that quiet smile and plot retribution in scary fashion.

The romantic scenes were relatable with teasing, laughter, and faux umbrage. The chemistry was sweet. The interactions between Ming Lan and her grandmother were warm and touching.

All in all, a wonderful slice of life/coming of age drama featuring intelligent, decent people fighting against adversity and evil people.

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Starts with Promise, Then Flails and Falls

It's a comedy, so I'm supposed to ignore all the silly misunderstandings, nonsensical insta-love, and noble idiocy. As charming as the ML was, he couldn't overcome my flagging interest in the drama as it limped along.

Adults—people in their 30s—who act like preteens when it comes to romance... Why is this a drama thing? And talk about fantasy: three men, all handsome and talented, with two of them much younger, fall in love at the same time with a boring, older woman whose only outstanding merit is that she's a good salesperson.

I know I complain about over-the-top characters, but maybe the FL's insipidness balanced that out, and I really enjoyed ML's mother-in-law-ish brother, his flamboyant brother, and the exuberant 2FL. Akamine (2FL) was off-the-charts wacky and somehow made that endearing! I'd much rather deal with someone who is honest, speaks her mind, and has definite opinions than deal with the FL who denied her feelings, allowed herself to be manipulated, and lied continually.

Story should have been half as long, eliminated the love triangles, and focused on the aspects of a male taking on the traditional role of a wife. It should also have had a satisfying conclusion. Bah, humbug!

I added a star, because I'm grumpy and probably rated too low. Also, the supporting cast deserved it. And Takasugi Mahiro has puppy dog eyes.

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Love is... Putting Another's Needs before Your Own

Quirky drama with May-December, sisterhood, friendship, and coworkers' relationships. It began with the FL being bizarrely crude, dirty, and old-manly; she did improve over the episodes. I still wanted to comb her hair most scenes; she was a hair stylist, for heaven's sakes!

I wasn't sure how it would end for certain, and I always appreciate when the writers keep me in suspense, even when it doesn't end the way I wish.

There were lies, manipulation, and infidelity galore, but most was handled with a light hand, and I, angst-adverse to the core, was able to handle them. I had a harder time handling the kiss-the-scar scene; that was pure cringe. It's also sad to know actor Miura Haruma committed suicide seven years later due to depression. I wonder if Covid isolation was a factor. Such a hard time for most.

I've added a half-star for the warm relationship between Sakura and Rintaro. Well written, Nakatani Mayumi!

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It's Not the Years that Count—It's the Connection and Commitment

The large age gap between husband and wife was explored with the various issues they encountered: societal gossip, family disapproval, former lovers becoming obstacles, worry about the age gap bothering the other partner (one feeling old; the other feeling childish), and the pressing need to communicate the insecurities each felt. As a person with a May-October (not quite December!) romance, I can testify that each one of those issues rang true (down to the difference in music). The reviews complained about the addition of an intrusive ex, friend, and relative as annoying tropes, but I swear those happened in my life. Tropes come about because they repeatedly occur.

The more Japanese fare I indulge in, the more I appreciate the ability to tell a full story in an abbreviated time. Someone once said that K-dramas are about feelings, and J-dramas are about learning, and there's a bit of truth to that.

Add a half star for the drama getting so much right.

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ML's Dimples Made it Bearable

The FL was hard for me to watch. Her face was either angry, sad, or had the expression of smelling something bad. I know this was due to the character, because the actress showed she could be charismatic and appealing in the introductory dance scenes, but all that vitality and joy was stripped out in the drama. How at least THREE people fell madly in love with that sour-faced, petulant toddler in an adult's body is beyond fiction's ability to make me believe. Her character was tedious. I've known many people with far more trauma and deprivation in life, and they manage to live well and happily.

But, stick around for the ML. He reminded me so much of a beloved cat of mine. For nearly 17 years, every time I saw my cat, my heart would melt at how very beautiful he was: big blue eyes, pink nose, and lynx stripes on his silver body. ML was the same. Not the blues eyes or pink nose, but adorable dimples, sweet smile, and a chiseled jaw. Yes, the character was childish, but even that reminded me of my mischievous cat. When he wanted attention, he was impossible to rebuff (both ML and my cat)! His facial expressions were delicious: that quirked eyebrow, those pursed lips contemplating a prank, and his jealous pouts.

I generally despise obsessively in love characters, but ML showed he truly loved FL by being willing to die for her, saving her from poverty, and by supporting her dreams—not that she appreciated him for any of it. I thought I couldn't despise FL more, but the writers made that possible in the last episode.

The OST was fitting and enjoyable.

This should be a 7 star rating (or even less, considering how I suffered through the FL's scenes), but ML's dimples and torso deserved an extra half star.

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All Wet

I didn't find this light and fluffy, on the whole. It started well and with promise, but it devolved into stupidity, misunderstandings, love triangles, despicable second leads, noble idiocy, and nonsense (employees take off whenever and no one complains or seems to notice if they're gone for several days). Too much angst for me. If the middle dozen or so episodes had been discarded, I would have enjoyed it more.

Look, it's not "love" if you don't trust the other person. It's infatuation or admiration. Love believes. It was tortuous to have the leads mistrust and misinterpret one another's actions. I like the actress, but the character of the FL drove me out of my mind with her naive, blank stares, inability to have a rational thought, and the stupidity to keep liars/saboteurs in her life and allow them to manipulate her. Naturally, the liars/saboteurs were unscathed, forgiven, and flourished.

I gave an extra half star because I love swimming competitions (I spent last evening at a meet cheering on a favorite swimmer who won both her events), and I liked the supporting characters (except those duplicitous, scheming second leads).

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Steamy Romance, Literally!

Asako was cursed with hyperactive sweat glands due to genetics and her anxious nature. When emotionally stimulated, she had waves of heat and perspiration rise from her. Literally, steamy.

As I've often found in Japanese dramas, they can be quirky and weird, and this has all that bizarreness wrapped up in a cute story. The romance was a respectful one, with each person trying to meet the other person's needs. Misunderstandings were avoided or talked out. Such a nice change from most dramas! For example: coworker told ML she'd done a good job and deserved a head pat. ML had done so in the past when she'd excelled, but he told her he wouldn't do it now, because he wouldn't want his girlfriend to misunderstand. He drew definite lines. How refreshing was that!

Note: don't watch with your Nana, unless she's cool with sexual content; although, I've got to say that voraciously eating rice or kicking fruit out of a bed (you'd have to watch to understand) is about as explicit as it gets. I found those scenes oddly entertaining and inventive. I must be getting accustomed to Japanese dramas. What is wrong with me?!

I'm adding an extra half star for FL's lingerie. She spent 1/3 of her time without a blouse, and costuming gave her some beautiful bras.

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Good Things Can Come in Small Packages

Want something short and sweet? How about a body swap between an arrogant model and a high school girl with aspirations to become a runway model. The ML did a credible job as a teenaged girl; I found his inner female amusing. Due to the condensed running time, the viewer wasn't treated to many of the embarrassing sex switch scenarios, which are typical for such dramas. Instead, the story faced the dilemma head on, and the couple had to learn to deal with their new roles to eventually become allies. I was impressed with the quality of story, acting, and production in a drama just a little over two hours long.

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If You Make Excuses, You Lose

"We lost because we didn't have enough money? I didn't go to college as I didn't have tutors. I lost because I was sick. Everyone can't be in same environment. They are fighting with what they have. If we make excuses, we'll lose in same way again." -- Baek Seung Soo

That encapsulated the driving force in Stove League: to face the obstacles and overcome them without excuses or whining.

I love baseball (go, KC Royals!) and Namkoong Min's acting, so this was a treat to watch. There was a huge cast of great actors but no cardboard characters; they all existed for a purpose. The story was superb with twists, losses, wins, and great personal development arcs. Oh Jung Se played a complex villain. Watching his story develop was satisfying.

I was a wee disappointed with the ending, but I reminded myself that the Korean drama culture is more about enduring rather than winning.

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Odd But Entertaining

I was immediately drawn in by two scenes shown in the intro: a beautifully dark, rainy night with the lovely FL bending down to "shake hands" with a young man sitting on the concrete and a dynamic, dancing shot of ML in a suit. Sadly, neither one of those featured in the drama! Maybe that's par for the odd drama I just watched.

The concept was having a young man as a pet. I totally bought the ML as a dog! He had puppy dog eyes and shaggy hair. He was pretty adorable. Also appealing was the way ML and FL filled in the empty spots of each other's lives. There were warm moments between the two that were a joy to watch.

This could have been a very sweet, fluffy romcom, but it made me uncomfortable that the FL kept having sex with her boyfriend, the 2ML, when it was evident she wasn't that into him and felt closer to the ML. Too much time was spent on FL/2ML's relationship to the detriment of the drama. Judicious editing could have eliminated at least two episodes of FL's endless waffling between the two men. Also, the 2FL was a horrible person. I can't see an accomplished man falling for her, but love is blind, as they say. If she'd been edited out, the drama would have probably lost another two episodes. Twelve episodes would have made a tighter, better story.

ML's dance scenes were awesome and worth an extra half star.

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A Sweet RomCom with Demons, Murder, and Blood

The good: a sweet and brave FL, her loyal friend SML, and a handsome, tortured ML. I enjoyed all the casting. Kim Mi Kyung played the spiritual mother of the FL, and I always look forward to her appearance in dramas (I've seen her in 24 and have nearly that many more I want to see). She's especially good in roles of powerful leadership tempered with maternal instincts, and that's the exact role she played here. The cast of students added warmth and levity to balance the darker issues. With only 12 episodes, the drama maintained interest and didn't drag until the final episodes.

The bad: it seemed all the characters took turns taking stupid pills which rendered them unable to make sensible decisions. FL Seong A told her best friend to avoid her love interest, the ML, but left out the reason why: he's demon possessed. Best friend made terrible decisions without consulting Seong A, which put numerous lives at risk. Worst of all, the big villain was taken into the household and given full run of the place when everyone knew she was plotting evil. Did bad things happen as a result? Darn skippy, they did. After all that, the viewers were treated to a poorly executed time skip at the end of the drama. The last few episodes were once again written by the janitor, makeup artist, and security. That's the only viable explanation for the disjointed and illogical mess the drama became (that, or the writer contracted brain-eating amoebas).

The drama depicted Bong Su as a supreme evil spirit, but the worst I saw of him were a few anger management failures. The Big Bad kicked a tripod once, punched his rival for love in the gut a couple of times, and got into a few altercations. He was also guilty of raising his voice several times. Hardly the evil we were promised! The true villain was the shaman who orchestrated the deaths of a hundred people, terrorized the ML most of his life, and caused the death of her spiritual mother. As often is depicted in South Korean dramas, she was given cheap grace and walked away free and unrepentant. To the very end, even when the viewer was supposed to believe she'd had a change of heart, she was still trying to solve her problems with murder.

I subtracted a star for the execution of the ending, but I added one for the delightful cast.

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