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Coulda been a ten
This Drama was on track for a ten from me all the way up to about episode 29. The story was engaging, the acting FANTASTIC, the characters all very real. THe final 6-7 dealt with the Japanese invasion so obviously there was gongi to be a lot of tragedy and suffering, but in my opinion, the wrong people suffered pointlessly, and in the most egregious instance, the wrong people suffered at the hands of the wrong person. Someone who was really a victim was made into a villain, while someone who was really a villain right from the beginingi of episode 1 got away with EVERYTHING.For the outstanding performances by the core cast, especially Yang Mi and Xing Fei, I'm still giving it 8.5
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It saved the best for last
A fascinating short ( 7 28-minute episodes) biopic in which Mitsushima Hikari played the title character, who also appeared in every episode. At first a slightly noisy historical look at the early days of TV in Japan, the final 3 packed a real emotional punch. The last two minutes of the final episode were remarkable and unlike anything I've ever seen before, and am unlikely to ever see againWas this review helpful to you?
FUNNY at first
I enjoyed both the romances, ESPECIALLY the STP. That's a combination I've not seen before in KDrama - ex-wife and best friend, and it was a lot of un to watch that one grow. But what made this one a joy for me was how much it made laugh. The first six episodes were the most laugh-filled of any KDrama I can remember. That's why the "real" OTP in this Drama for me was Lee Dong Wook and Lee Kwang Soo as life long buddies. The humour in this show was VERY MUCH my kind of humour, and it's the humour that I will remember most.Was this review helpful to you?
Ten good episodes, then...
I loved the chemistry between the leads, and even the side pairings. But the Drama dragged on far too long. From episode 11-15 we had to sit through the usual "keep the OTP apart at all costs" bakvaas, which got really tedious, really fast..That was a shame because up to about episode 9-10 it was looking like a solid 8. Only 16 episodes was appealing, but the very long episode length meant that the actual runtime was close to a standard C Drama of 24 45 minute episodes. The Drama had a lot going for it, they should have remembered two old truths: Less is More and Quit While You're Ahead
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Good premise, overlong
This was a very interesting murder mystery story for the first 9 of its 15. When the focus switched to the second murder, the story got soggy and dragged. In the end I gavce it 7.5 in recognition of everything good about it, but had it been 12 instead of 15, the show would have remained tight and tense and would probably have scored a 9 or moreWas this review helpful to you?
High octane and highly satisfying
This Drama hit every sweet spot, I think. A true team cop show, the two leads were especially good together. I absolutely love that that there was ZERO romance between them and that both really learned from each other. The action sequences were awesome, especially the driving, and the resolution of the central mystery was satisfyingly "imperfect". Not EVERY villain got what they deserved, which was a pleasing nod to reality. As someone who does not like K Dramas that do not wrap up in one season, the highest praise I can give this Drama is that I would be happy to see a Season 2Was this review helpful to you?
Romcom done right
First of all, the one thing I absolutely HATED about this Drama: The setup. The disappearing twin and the agent literally KIDNAPPING the Fl was just aaaargh! For the duration of the Drama, I FF'd the agent, couldn't stand his character.In the end though, the positives outweighed the negatives. Romcom is a portmanteau of "romance" and "comedy", and this Drama delivered both in spades. So many times I was laughing out loud, and the romance between the teo leads was one of the best I've seen. As CDramas become ever more skinship-averse, this one was a rare treat, with no shortage of osculation.
I also loved the dialog. CDramas tend to be plagued with toxic patronsing chauvinism, but both the ML and SML were given great dialog that they backed up with action.
Some reviewers have complained about the separation of the OTP but that was not so much of an issue for me because it happened so VERY late in the Drama. We were not left wading through multiple episodes of misery before a platonic reunion. I found the ending perfect, especially since the final frames were the opening frames.
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80% great, last 20% awful
This Drama started well and held up well until around episode 26/32. Wu Qian's FL was genuinely independent and self-assured, and the character grew and matured well. Tha'ts why I stuck it out and ended up still giving it 7/10 when I came VERY close to dropping it.The reason I nearly dropped it was not the ridiculously OTT flag-waving propaganda about Beidou. I'm used to zoning out and FFing through that kind of bakvass - did through beoth times I watched Go Go Squid. Nope, it was the controlling and childish ML, and the way the final few episodes hammered home the message that in the end, ONLY a man can save things and EVERY woman MUST have a man to fix things for her.
The ML says at one point "the most important thing in a long-distance relationship is trust. Let's not ever keep secrets" and then repeatedly tells the FL NOTHING about stuff going on his life, like when he loses someone dear to him or nearly gets seriously injured and yet AFTER that he's thumping his fist on a door demanding to know why she didn't tell him the company she's running is in trouble. VERY disappointing after a promising start. To eventually have the final 3 paint him as the saviour of both the FL and her company was ghastly
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Amidst a SLOW storm of Love
I'm giving it 7.5/10 for the independent and talented FL who carved her own career and made her own choices. BUT it should have been no more than 25 eps, not 30. The ML spoke as if every word took a year off his life AND he took a year to say every.single.word .3-4 minutes of screentime for maybe 10 words of dialog between the OTP was the norm. It was excruciating. One of them says like 3 words, 90 seconds later, the other one replies with a single word. Rinse and repeat. It's a testament to how much the pairing pulled me that I stuck it out. That and the actual snooker, which I loved seeing. Had the Drama been 25 instead of 30, with the leads communicating at normal human pace, and without the the FL's constant coquettishness, it would have got a 9 from me
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Not bad, but it got a bit "Lost"
There was a lot to like about this Drama. The physics references were surprisingly well thought out and on point, especially in the first 2/3 of the Drama. I smiled at seeing reference to Einstein's "God doesn't play dice with the cosmos" and the reotort that "he not only plays dice but sometimes hides them"The two lead couples were also very enjoyable ESPECIALLY the "2nd" couple. Their repeated reunions were sweet and funny and touching, and provided a cohence the story needed.
The last third went a bit soggy as it seems the writer threw in every bizarre, vaguely SF plot line they could think of, with more than a little nod to "LOST" - the whole ending on the island is where the show got a bit lost for me, sadly. But it was still a worthwhile watch and I'll be looking out for the leads again
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Right Idea, Wrong First Pair
It's a testament to the strength of the core concept that I kind of stuck this one out. I don't watch historicals, but the 'bride swap' intrigued me so I gave it a go. By ep 3, the core problem was clear - the WRONG pair was primary lead. I kept hoping for more of Bingyan and her General, but by ep 10, they were bit players. So I skipped to episode 21, where I cracked up laughing at the amount of exposition. It was a totally random pick for where to start watching "the end" but it woked really well as the Old Grandmother helpfully had a conversation with TianLei and Yuhu that filled me in on the 11 eps I'd skipped. It also confirmed that I missed nothing except endless politicking and trickery from the villain and stupidity from the non-villains.Overall not an awful watch, but definitely not worth sitting through all 24 episodes, when so many of them are "rinse and repeat" storylines. Had Bingyang and the General been the primary leads, it could have been a real treat.
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Bitter, sweet, fun
Like most who watched this, I enjoyed it. I watched it with my wife, and we both laughed a lot throughout. We've been married nearly as long as the leads have have been alive, so the OTT rage was genuinely funny for us. Sveral have commented on the chemistry between Jeong So Min and Kang Ha Neul, and there's no question that was central to the movie's success. Both delivered very good performances, and Jeong So Min especially cemented my high opion of her as an actor. The first thing my wife said when Jeong So Min first appeared on screen in this movie was"she's really pretty". and obviously I can't disagree. But her range even in a light romcom like this was impressive. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting an uncomplicated and genuinely funny romanceWas this review helpful to you?
A pleasant surprise
This Drama ended getting 8/10 from me for surprising me in positive ways more than once.First, it COMPLETELY threw me as to who the killer was, I did not see that coming at all - excellent!
Second, the tone ended up being rather unexpected, another pleasant surprise
Third, it's handlnig of the characters showed intelligence. There was nuuance and context for the characters' behaviour, and the final end of some characters' arcs was balanced and realistic. Not implausibly rosy or even implausibly complete. A great example was the resolution of the ML's own mother issues, the end to that arc was note perfect.
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Three episodes too long
This Drama started very strongly, with the central character Lee Ro Um especially interesting. Portrayed as a genuine sociopath, she was fascinating. The basic setup seemed like 70% Leverage, 10% Dark Angel, and the first 3/4 of the Drama set it up well.The major flaw was that it was too long, and as a result, it went soft and soggy in eps 13&14. This was especially noticeable with Lee Ro Um, but the Drama also burdened us with the inevitable mother and child reunion for the ML character Han Moo Young. Yawn.
Another flaw caused by the Drama's excessive length was the mystery of the mystery. The Drama dragged out its central mystery, who the "Big Bad" was, until the end of episode 13. The whole team were supposed to be prodigies of various kinds but somehow they missed the fact that the Bib Bad was basically walking around with a tattooo on their forehead that said "I'm the Big Bad" from at least episode 6.
The final 2 epiodes tightened up a bit, and overall it was a much better K Drama spin on "Leverage" than the actual Korean Leverage was. But it could have been so much better with fewer episodes.
One other important point to note: Besides doing an excellent job of portraying her character, Chun Woo Hee is also "really, really, really ridiculously good-looking" 😍
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Koshiba Fuka does it again
I've had this Drama on my PTW for ages because I wanted to compare it to the Korean original. Then recently I watched Yuganda Hamon and was stunned by Koshiba Fuka's performance in it, so moved this up the list. She did not let me down. Her performance here, in a role that could not have been more different from the restrained, downbeat introvert of Yuganda Hamon, proved that she is a very good actor.It was her performance, and that of Sakuma Yui as her BFF, that ended up getting this Drama 7.5/10 from me, versus the 4.5/10 I gave the original. The storyline is VERY problematic, but the portrayal of the relationship between the two friends in this Drama really shone. Both actors sold their roles well, and their interactions made this a pleasure to watch. The ending scenes were cute too, and a nod to what I really WISH they had done with Ms Koshiba's character at the end.
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