caramel

started strong....but then what happened?

I was really excited to see Kang Ki Young as the lead and the couple was cute in the beginning! The plot started out as every other revenge plot where a naive girl is betrayed by her rich partners and decides to plan a revenge on them. Yes its a common plot but its okay, if the story is good it can still be a great show.

However....the strategies used were bad and not satisfying, there were many instances were the female lead who was depicted as someone strong and smart fell into traps and became a damsel in distress...

In regards of romance, the female lead gave almost no chance for the male lead which made it seem like the male lead was just being desperate and the romance was one-sided. When the male lead tries to stop her from making wrong decisions she just ignores it and does it anyway...

Around the halfway mark, I lost interest in the plot and romance seeing no hope for a satisfying ending...

Read More

The plot was very subpar compared to the chemistry between the leads...

Let me begin by saying I loved their main ost. Every scene with the ost playing felt so touching and beautiful.

This was my first drama from Hou Ming Hao and Lu Yu Xiao. I feel HMH acted really really well. Like the way he always looked at her with either eyes of love or eyes of betrayal was portrayed very well by him. LYX also did well for her role, her character was not the annoying kind. She was strong brave and smart. The leads had amazing chemistry from the start itself. I wont really say they were a enemies to lovers couple cause she kinda finds out quite early that he was not the one who poisoned her. So her hatred for him dies down and then she is only behind her cure. Similarly, even JBZ ends up falling for MY quite fast BUT here comes the issues...

Every 5eps or so the writer keeps introducing misunderstanding or sacrificing plots so the couple is like never together properly in peace. Most of their cute or romantic scenes come with foreshadowing that something is gonna happen etc. This dragged on for sooo long. Too long actually for me that I ended up skipping alot of parts. The plot progression and speed was a huge loss for this drama. Cause i feel the actors even the villains were doing very well. The plot was just too simple for 33 episodes with sudden random reveals in the last few eps.

My favourite scene was actually at the marriage stone where he forced himself to carve MY's name and take the lightning punishment. It was also the time he found out Ming Yi was lying to him and he lost his trust in her. HMH's acting for that part was really really good.

Oh also honorary mention to the super cute proposal scene at the end. The drunk proposal was also very naturally done didnt feel cringe at all. Overall, the drama is a feast for cute moments and good romantic scenes (also heard alot was cut out) but just lacked depth in the plot.

Read More

travel drama with a hidden meaning

After starting on this drama it made me realise how misleading the trailers were. I really thought it was gonna be a slow paced travel romance drama. But to my pleasant surprise I was actually shocked by the plot line.

Firstly, this is definitely a really high budgeted drama because the filming was beautiful and Cha Muhee's fits were all so pretty! Cha Muhee was also a very down to earth humble character who had a difficult upbringing but worked hard as an actress from the beginning. With the success of her movie her life changed but she still never lost the passion she had. However, as she becomes more famous the stress also increases.

Before she became famous she met Joo Hojin on a trip to japan. She fell for him very fast and tried many ways to get his attention. Funny thing is she was caught everytime and after some point JHJ just finds her efforts very cute. Joo Hojin is a more practical person which CMH acts more on her feelings.

So although CMH is very obvious with her intentions, it takes JHJ really long to fully open up. Now this is where i feel it could have been done better. CMH was not confident so she kept backing out thinking she is being a burden to him. He already likes her but still rejects her multiple times. So...this part was dragged for a bit.

Oh! omg i have to mention the japanese actor Hiro. I thought he was just an extra character who appears for a few secs but NOOO his character was so funny and unexpected. It was an interesting twist!

-- SPOILER --

lastly, Do Ra Mi. I really did not expect a split personality plot. Do Ra Mi was so wild and it was funny how they just kept going for night dates. Naturally as she found healing with JHJ, Do rami disappears and CMH gets all the memories.

Overall, apart from the leads being a abit frustrating, the music, the cinematography, the plot, is all not bad! I think it was still worth the watch!

Read More

a non draggy medical drama

Like what my headline says you can take this drama as a sped up version of all the other medical dramas. There is an annoying leader out to cause issues and disrupt the leads. The leads are all about "saving lives is first!!" then there is a rookie who gets an awakening, there is a mysterious hidden genius and a feisty nurse.

The pacing makes it enjoyable to watch as everything is covered really fast. There are some comedic moments especially the "Han Yurim" doctor lol. I was bit confused with his acting in some cases he was doing well then in some it felt so forced (not sure if it was intentional).

The acting is so-so alot of veterans and some of the younger cast seeing them for the first time.

I dont have much to say its good for a quick binge but nothing that remarkable or noteworthy...

Read More

a smart scammer with many enemies

The drama showcased really good acting by both the leads in particular SHS. It is a psychological mystery drama but its also not very intense. Its more of showing her process of how she gained the fame she currently has through extremely calculated steps. This process involves multiple twists and turns and even if she does anything illegal the police are binded cause they have 0 evidence against her.

The story is okay but as I am writing this review few weeks after I finished watching it, it hits me that there wasnt anything memorable about it. It does not leave a lasting impact but while watching the 8 episodes its still a decent watch!

Read More

light cute and funny

As a “Wow the world” fan seeing them in a drama together felt so refreshing. I’m so used to seeing them bickering with each other. But! now it makes sense cause this drama was filmed before the variety show thats why they knew each other better~

The plot is something like Love Game in Eastern Fantasy/Dream within a dream. LHE travels into the story of a book and has to make GHM fall in love with her. The issue is once he falls in love with her she will disappear as her mission ends.

So the drama is her process of getting his attention by helping him alot in his work. He slowly warms up to her and starts liking her. This is when she realises her time is running out so she starts to distance herself.

Now, the leads are cute they have chemistry and there are comedic moments. However, sometimes i felt like the plot was a bit draggy also cause the story of the second leads was not interesting so i ended up skipping all of it.

You cant really watch this drama with logic in your mind because most of it is being controlled by the “system”. So she is often thrown into ridiculous missions randomly.

Overall a funny cute romcom~

Read More

smooth sailing, misunderstanding free slice of life office romance!

no damsel in distress plots, no long winded misunderstanding plots, no breakups, lovely parents, no annoying characters FULL OF FLUFF!

You might take some time to warm up to the drama with the first 3 episodes because our leads get married very fast. But after that there are soo many cute and fluttering moments! They are a couple throughout the drama which is so rare to see in dramas. I would say the plot is a very realistic plot without cliches to add drama/issues. The chemistry between the leads is good and Miles was really a green flag!

I personally also loved the dynamics of the 2 managers their enemies to lovers story was also very interesting and cute. The pacing of the drama was done well where the manager couple's tension increases midway just as our main couple is in a stable relationship. I was not very interested in the best friend's relationship tho....but they only took up a very small part of the screentime so it was okay.

There is no love triangle but there is a bit of ex situation but it doesnt cause any issues. Its mostly just because their entire relationship is a secret the ex thinks he has a chance.

Overall, a mature romance drama with a simple office drama plot! Might rewatch for the fluff~

Read More

a very wholesome school drama

The entire drama depicts their life in high school. There is no university life for this drama take note! Hence that being said the drama focuses more on families and friendship compared to romance. The bonds between the classmates, them and their homeroom teacher as well as their families.

Through the lives of different students we get to see different types of families. Some parents who are pressuring their kids, some who are not giving them attention, and in some cases the students have to survive on their own.

Hua Biao is a student who transferred from another nearby school. He has amazing grades and is a really lively character. Yang Xi is an aspiring long distance runner who is not very strong academically. Li Yu is Yang Zi neighbour since birth and they practically do everything together. There is kinda a love triangle between them but no its not toxic. All of them are respectful to each other and very loyal. Li Yu realises quite early that Yang Xi like Hua Biao and HB also likes her, so he already knew his chances were low but still stayed as their friend and helped them when required.

The drama goes through each characters difficulties and how they work to resolve it. It is set in the late 90s. Very similar vibes to Reply 1988! It has a very realistic ending which is not exactly happy.

This is one of HMH's early pieces so you can enjoy seeing his more cute and energetic character!

Read More

Really good balance between solving mysteries and romance!

To be honest I was under the impression that this drama was not going to have much romance. However, the main leads were so cute throughout the drama! They get together quite early in the show and have a very stable and healthy relationship. Both parties are very loyal and trust and support each other to the max. I also enjoyed the side characters and their mini love lines as well. So if anyone is hesitating to watch this thinking there is no romance dont hesitate and just give it a try!

Being a fan of crime and mystery, personally i was enjoying the different cases presented every few episodes. I feel like the writer did a good job in explaining the details without making it too confusing. The pacing of the drama was okay as well. At some parts it might be slow but it still keeps the suspense of the case. Some cases were truly brutal but really interesting. Qin family's case was the most shocking to me.

I adored the 2 grandmothers they were the number one supporters of the main leads and I loved that they had so much power. So our leads were well protected. There wasnt any major heartbreaking moments for our leads but within their families yes. So i enjoyed watching the acting done by Ao Rui Peng for the scene where he realises the truth about his Father.

Overall a really interesting drama and a great watch! Looking forward to more shows with the leads.

Read More

one of the best visual effects ive ever seen in a drama!

wow where do I begin....there are many things to unpack in this drama. Let me start with the directing and filming of the show. First of all we can tell that its a very high budget drama. From the insane colourful and detailed interiors of the rooms, to all the beading details on the outfits, it was definitely not cheap. The visual effects felt so natural and mesmerizing, especially during fight scenes where the motion was very fluid (except for maybe the hidden race power...that was lowkey ugly).

PLOT:
Now in terms of plot, you can see it has multiple small plots set in place for a larger plot. Every few episodes the leads will solve mysteries in different clans and locations bringing them closer to solving the main issue. The leads get alot of screentime so you wont find yourself skipping much. Its a subtle version of enemies to lovers but they kinda fall for each other quite fast. There was one thing that I felt was quite repetitive, the fact that Fan Yue kept dying and coming back to life. Towards the end it became like Bai Shuo was the main main character and the rest were there just to sacrifice themselves for her. This part was a bit of a letdown for me. Most of the time you see Bai Shuo crying for others but rarely saw anyone crying for her cause shes always alive...

I really enjoyed the plot for the 2nd leads. Although in the first half of the drama they are really hateful characters, I ended rooting more for them than the leads by the second half. Their plot was really a enemies to lovers plot and it was truly very interesting to watch. They were so cute together.

Regarding the storyline, I first put the drama on hold cause the first few episodes were just too confusing for me. But after you get past the first 5 episodes it makes a lot more sense. I think the writer was setting up the foundation with the first few eps which felt like an information overload while watching. Other than that, the story progression is good with good reveals and plot twits along the way.

ACTING:
Needless to say Bailu was just amazing. Her crying scenes felt so sad you could actually feel her misery through the screen. Her character was smart and confident and her styling was done so well.
Ao Rui Peng was really good as well. He had the aura of the Demon Lord and you could see the clear distinction in personalities when he switched characters.
Dai Luwa is so pretty and shes also really good! She acted the evil role with alot of confidence and really very cunning.
Chang Hua Sen also had to change between roles which was natural too
I actually hope the second leads can get more main roles in the future cause they have really good potential!

OVERALL:
A really good wuxia drama with amazing visuals and acting. The plot will keep you hooked and you can take your time to watch this drama as it has 40eps with a very lead centered plot.

Read More

started out fun but then lost its steam towards the end...

Let me start off by saying the romance is good. There are plenty of cute moments and both leads take initiative. So you will get plenty of fluff and screentime of the leads.

The story begins with the leads "traveling back in time" through a elevator incident. This gave them the chance to relive their lives in a different manner. The female lead worked extremely hard to not repeat her mistakes and go for the dreams she originally had. In this process she meets the ML who helps her achieve her dreams. This is how eventually they fall in love.

The story was fun during the high school period. Towards university when the actual romance starts, other than the fluff, the main plot became weird. The entire plot involving coding, development and auto cars was very unrealistic and not really planned well. So while watching those scenes u kinda just have to take it as it is without any logic.

The ending was even worse, the SML who was a innocent guy with a crush suddenly became a obsessive SML and they added kidnap and sabotage plots in the last 3eps... Most of the plot behind is protecting their startup but because it wasnt developed properly there isnt a connection between viewers and the plot.

The last episode just threw all their efforts away....the reason for their time travel was just wasted and all their efforts were gone...

Anyway you can watch it for the fluff and skip the rest....especially the other leads... they are just so boring and make no progress..

Read More

exceeded expectations!!

I went in to watch the movie on a friday night after work partially to support Jun (being a carat) and also i really enjoy action movies and it has THE JACKIE CHAN. However, I didnt have much expectations plot and directing wise.. BUT wow they shot down all my concerns in the first 5mins itself.

The introduction of the 2 teams were done so well. Throughout the movie both sides had their moments to shine. It was not a movie where one side is always lacking behind the other or isnt smart enough. Usually in these movies they always make it like the police are incompetent but wow in this the strategy play was done so well.

The villains had their moment to shine and at the same time even the good guys did. The acting was amazing by everyone especially the 2 veteran actors. Their stunts and actions scenes were so clean and crisp it was really satisfying to watch.

Although Jun's role was not very big but there was this intense fight scene with jackie chan and the fight choreography was amazing for that scene. Really kept me on my edge

Honestly, there isnt much plot, its really a story of strategic play between 2 strong experienced leaders. The movie directing was good, pacing was good as well and i liked the small comedic elements thrown occasionally.

Overall it was really a good watch. I would recommend it as well!

Read More

very entertaining...but was that ending really necessary?

This is a sad ending drama but I would say it shouldn't be a reason for you to not watch the show. The screentime given to the leads is alot so you will feel satisfied while watching. They have many funny and cute moments together. Their fighting scenes are really good since both of them are experts so when they fight together they have amazing chemistry.

I feel like the director choreographed and filmed the martial arts scene well with some really fancy movements. The politics in this drama I would say is not so important. The entire drama is about a journey and how they get through state by state solving political issues along the way.

This is now my third Liu Yuning drama and I am really enjoying his acting. I feel its very well paced and not over the top! First time seeing Liu Shishi but she was really good in this as well as a cold and level headed assassin. I loved their squad, cause they were his wingmen and they were so funny trying to push the leads together.

The war in the last few episodes felt very out of place honestly. Although the acting was amazing for each member but I feel like even if that war portion did not exist the drama could have ended peacefully...

Overall still a very good watch. I will rewatch their cute and funny moments often~

Read More