Why Am I Here

Crash Course or Just A Crash?

This is the first time I dropped a show. I tend to finish everything no matter how bad it is, but 16 episodes is too much to bear. So much things go wrong in this show. The story is about a star teacher and a small side dish restaurant owner. How do they cross path together? Yet the writer make it in the every worst possible way: childhood relationship. The main story is boring and predictable, while the side stories are all over the places. Choi Chi-Yeol himself already has a lot of personal problems including his teaching issue, his past trauma and his digestion issue, yet they mix it up with Hae-Seong problems, the students situation, the All-Care complicated mothers, and most unnecessarily metal ball serial killer as well as the online hater. With all those, it becomes excessively too much on the plate. The romance is mature and calming, but too slow and frustrating as well (speak your feelings, seriously!). First half of the show is painfully slow and focuses to much on the students.

Most of the cast's perfromances are outshined by Jung Kyung-Ho. Roh Yoon-Seo is definitely in the same level with him here, but the third best performer here is Oh Eui-Shik as a mentally-disabled brother which means there is a problem. The chemistry between ML and FL is only bare minimum. Make up team is doing an absolutely horrendous job here. They make Chi-Yeol looks like falling in love with a fifty years old woman. I get it that they are poor, but why does she look like a fashion-blind when she can afford a Starbucks coffee maker?

Chi-Yeol is supposed to only be able to digest foods from Hae-Seong family. Yet he has seen to eat normally in multiple occassion, including when he treats Hae-Seong family to a premium restaurant. The girl that hugs Chi-Yeol earlier is disappeared, yet they somehow forget about her.

Apart from the mature romance as well as Jung Kyung-Ho and Roh Yoon-Seo performance, there aren't any reason to rewatch this show. Maybe it's just me, but if you ask, it's a no no from me.

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Hang In There, You Will Meet A Good Person

"Yesterday is over, tommorow is yet to come, today... is unknown"

For the umpteenth time I have to say that this genre is not my tea. However once again, I fall for this show. This show is a story of people with their own hardships, when they are so down and nothing goes in the way they want. They feel like they have to go through all of the sh*ts alone with no one to trust and to hold on. But hang in there, a good person will come, it will be over. The story is about two twin sisters whose have polar opposite personality. Yu Mi Ji is a free spirited and cheerful person, but she doesn't feel to have any life meaning. On the other hand her twin, Yu Mi Rae seems like a decent and smart girl, but actually she is overworked and just barely hanging on. All of these situations are the result of their overbearing mother. Funny enough that their mom is the only one who can't distinguish the twins, while others like their grandmothers, neighbours and even classmates can do it.

Park Bo Young is definitely the star of this show. She exceptionally plays two characters who have totally different personalities. And don't forget Lee Jae In as the young twins, she does a great job. To me, it has been a while since I saw a drama with such chemistry. Bo Young and Park Jin Young have a great chemistry, even when the romance is not someting very ecsatic. I guess that's the correct romance though, nothing you can expect when you start a relationship with someone you already knew for more than 10 years, right? The villains are borderline between okay-ish and too dragging, but I'll take it as okay. The conflicts at the corporation aren't too overcomplicated. I feel the amount of problems is appropriate, compared to the number of episodes. The visual effects are great, they put a lot of double Bo Young scenes smoothly. Additionally, the soundtrack is excellent.

There are some things that are still bothering me. Compared to Mi Ji and Ho Su who already knew each other for long, I feel the romantic development between Se Jin and Mi Rae is too fast, especially Mi Rae is the type of person who shove her feelings. There should be a reason behind it (and I think they both have a past connection, considering this is a K-Drama after all). It is also unknown how does Se Jin notice it is Mi Rae at first, considering he isn't from Duson-Ri and he has never met Mi Ji before.

"Love isn't about winning or losing. It's about remaining on the same team until the very end even if you lose."
It's a shame that the writer choose to translate that quote through misunderstandings and unecessary breakup. Problem is they already have some misunderstandings before. By doing it that way the story becomes repetitive and boring, even when the reasons behind it are understandable. The final episode is beautiful but storywise it's kinda filler. Most of the plot in the last episode don't really impactful to the main story.

On top of that, I feel like this is a good healing drama. There are a lot of lessons we can take from this show alone. This show is worth to watch when you are looking for something to comfort you.

"I'm going to make it out. Everyone is waiting outside."

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Once again, an astonishing story from Dr. Romantic. This show has successfully hooked me for 3 SEASONS. They are really good on creating such malicious plot. But everytime you think something evil going to happen at "this" point they always able to twist it, because it's all about humans and saving their lifes after all! The storyline this season is more instense than the previous one. But we still can see the thrilling stories from all doctors and nurses in the team. They all have overcomed their hardships once, now they're free to chase their dream. Massive shout out to doctor Jung In Su, he was once "accidentally" dragged to Doldam. But with his hardwork and commitment, he's now the Head of Trauma Center EM. I like this season more because it has less political issue and focus more on the patients and treatments. Dr. Jang Dong Hwa is a good representation of us, how we are shocked, thrilled, impressed and hooked by all of the stories around Doldam Hospital.

They should give second title to this show: The Downfall of Yang Ho Jun. Man has gone from the second-hand of director to being left behind during evacuation.

I don't need to mention, this is the peak performance of the casts across all seasons. Ahn Hyo Seop and Lee Sung Kyung performance improve a lot here, to the point of outstanding.

Still there's a flaw in this story. Across the other season in this franchise, this show has the less showcase of the Master Kim's skill. During the shooting incident, it is unknown what is the cause of the shooter to shot the thugs and kidnap doctor Seo U Jin. It is also unknown how he manages to survive the bullet and walk away from the incident. On the day the Trauma Center lost their first patient, there is a shortage of doctors due to Cha Eun Jae being on another operation, making Kang Dong Ju has to deal with three patients all by himself. However actually there is another available doctor: Yang Ho Jun, but somehow they don't page him. Dr. Bae Mun Jung is also originally belongs to Cha Jin Man's trauma team (he joins the preparation briefing), but somehow he's removed and returned to Doldam. The final episode is somewhat makjang and I personally think it's lower on quality compared to the other episodes. The fate of Cha Jin Man is also unknown. I mean he's Eun Jae's father after all and we want to see whether he finally regrets everything, but maybe they're saving it for another season?

Such and intense yet heartwarming story. Even there aren't many more to explore, I think it's good to see another season!

"Don't give up asking questions about why we live and what we live for. The moment you give up on that, the romantic life ends."

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First things first, why this movie is here? It doesn't meet the requirement to be here I suppose?

The story is quite lightweight, animated movie level. It's about an idol group HUNTR/X who is also a demon hunter part-timer. The idea is excelllent to be honest, but the execution relies too much on the music. Like for every problem, the solution is always music. The animation is excellent, but somehow the motion is a bit not smooth. For the cast I prefer to have the actor/actress who do both the voiceover and singing, though the current option is still excellent. Jinu's voice alters a lot between his normal and singing voice.

I have seen a lot of KDramas, they often disappoint us with lackluster ending. Although this movie isn't even Korean, I don't understand why they replicate this "culture". With such great story idea and decent build up, they bottled it so hard. The ending is quite anticlimatic and lazy. Think about it: after winning such big fight, then it's... the end?? I think they didn't show whether Gwi Ma is defeated or not for potential sequel. However, the way they didn't tell us how can Rumi become half-demon/half-hunter is pretty disappointing. Another thing annoys me a lot is HUNTR/X never complete their main songs on screen.

This movie relies so hard on the soundtracks, either existing or new songs all are lit. They have #1 Billboard 100 song and #1 Billboard 200 album now, INSANE! For the lightweight story and catchy soundtracks, it is very recommended for rewatch, escpecially for younger people.

PS: Since it's a US show, I'll give my rating with US standard instead of "suggested overall".

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A Diary of A Family Coping with Struggles

Let me tell you: this drama is not my cup of tea at all. The only reason why I watched it is because the trailer used to keep appearing on my Netflix home. Never have I ever thought that this show will be my best K-Drama I've ever watch so far! The storytelling is a masterpiece. There are a lot of shows talking about life struggle, but I haven't found anything like this one. It's not just a love story (and never just a love story), but it's purely a journey of blood, sweat and tears of Ae-Sun trying to fight her struggle of living under the patriarchial society and stand out for her daughter and herself. And it is a pure unconditional love from Gwan-Sik who always stands out for his wife, her dreams and her ambitions whatever it takes. The whole story doesn't feel dragging at all (or maybe it's because I don't see this genre a lot? I don't know). I love the back and forth plot, it's not confusing and interesting. The narrative by Geum-Myeong also gives additional point of view from her. The whole depiction of the family seems interesting, because poor family in K-Dramas generally are shown as not-so-poor. They usually still have foldable phone, high-end cars and wear luxury make ups. But in this show they do it properly, and it's relieving (they somehow still has camera though).

The entire casts do an outstanding perfomance here. IU has a magnificent job by doing two roles in this show, while Bo-Gum is giving a massive impact as just his presence will give huge spirit of devotion. So-Ri and Hae-Jun also successfully bring the mature atmosphere of endless affection between them two. And not to forget the other casts whom successfully make us through the emotion rollercoasters for the whole shows.

The cinematography is also excellent. You will be pleased with the beauty of the seas in four seasons around Jeju. But more than that, I think the writer wants to relay the message that this scenery potrays the spring, summer, autumn and winter of our lives. They all have their own beauty and storm. The soundtracks are also nice.

Though the story is written excellently, there still some flaws there. The quality of the story seems divided into three part on this show. The first third of the show is really the most outstanding part, it is the part where we see young Ae-Sun coping with all her struggles. Then it comes the second third of the show, the transition part. This is where the story quality goes to a big downfall. The episode about village election is unecessary, not really impactful and seems more like a filler. I understand that they want to highlight the patriarchial society here, but making it as a whole episode is just too much. The story quality picks up in the final third. IU plays two roles in this show impressively, but I can see clearly that she does it better as Ae-Sun rather than Geum-Myeong, thanks to the better story though.

For rewatch recommendation, I'm not really sure though. It is too painful to rewatch the first third of the show. But to let you know, you may look at you family differently after watching this show. This is still a must watch for everyone, because you may not see something like this again anytime soon.

PS: 9.5/10 is the highest rating I've ever given here, and I had never given that to a melodramatic show. Truthfully, I was planning to give it 10/10 if it's not because of that silly village election episode.

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Romance... But Calm?

Seeing what we get after and prior this show, I'll give a massive shoutout to the screenwriting. This show brings a common workplace romance between a heartless and stiff boss with a warmhearted secretary. At first, I thought it is going to be quite dragging as usual, and complicated given all of the conditions that they show in the first episode. However, I didn't really expect that it doesn't take so long before Ji-Yun turns head over heels for Eun-Ho. The triangle love is there but thankfully it isn't threatening. Many thanks to the writer for not overcomplicating things, and that's how most shows should do! Both Ji-Yun and Eun-Ho have mature thought when responding to problems. I even think Byeol is astonishingly mature considering she is only 7.

For the first two episodes, I were dazzled by the shooting technique. The camera movement while filming Ji-Yun and her colleagues movement's around the office is absolute incredible! And the flashback scenes at last episode is just amazing.

I also love the chemistry between Han Ji-Min and Lee Jun-Hyuk, potraying FL and ML respectively. However when it comes to romantic scenes, I somewhat think that ML is sometimes a bit off. Thinking back about it, FL should be the one who is loveless and lack of romantic experience. But somehow I feel Jun-Hyuk expressions are sometimes a bit unnatural and awkward while doing romantic scene such as holding hands or hugging. Also I think the childhood relationship isn't necessarily needed! Yes you can have Ji-Yun having a trauma, but it doesn't need to be related to Eun-Ho. Why do we need it? Is this some kind of KDrama trademark? Also I don't understand why Jeong-Hun doesn't join when they assemble at the bookstore?

The pace of this show is freaking consistent, but the final episode is a bit faster. I think the writer was trying to balance between putting heartwarming scenes and giving closure to all the problems, but in the end nothing really hit the spot. There is no further explanation about what as actually happened to Jeong-Hun brother (apart from he did suicide due to depression). The screentime is a bit unfair to the second lead couple. They are already getting a little screen time since the beginning and as the story progressing, it is becoming less. And in the end, they rarely get romantic scenes. It is such a shame, especially since Kim Yoon-Hye acting skills has improved a lot here. Final scene is really questionable, why does it have to end that way? I personally think that giving longer final episode would solve this problem easily.

While you usually find passionate and flustering office romances, this show is giving a new atmosphere of more calm office romance. Though it's not an oustanding, it's worth watching, since there isn't any stupid and threatening tropes in this show.

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Vincenzo Cassanova is The New Standard

This series is totally exceptional! Honestly, it is rare to find crime drama like this nowadays. The story is outstandingly well written. The tense is high from the very first, and yet the writer manages to keep it up for 20 episodes (additionally, each episodes are very long). It constantly brings us through a roller coaster journey of a war between two "mafia gangs". We are trapped in curiosity of how Vincenzo manages to solve a problem, how Han-Seok will respond or what will come next against Vincenzo. It is good that the writer depicts Vincenzo as an experienced mafia with full of knowledge while his opponent is just a newbie gang trying to act as a mafia, surrounded by people who also doesn't have any knowledge about mafia. Vincenzo is a thoughful and strategic person whose unstopabble and rarely makes mistake.

Song Joong-Ki and Jeon Yeo-Been play both main characters excellently. But apart from them, the other leads are having more oustanding job. Taecyon deserves a shout out after playing a character with two full contradictory personalities, a total dumb intern and a heinous psychopath. Kim Yeo-Jin also plays her character excellently, being a person who is ruthless and greedy. She really gives the spirit to Myung-Hee as someone who doesn't ever want to stop before getting what she wants. Jo Han-Chul depicts a goofy but opportunistic law firm director. Last but not least, Kwak Dong-Yeon does a really great job picturing someone who is stuck between his desire to do a revenge and threat received from his brother. Additionally, the character of An Gi-Seok is totally hilarious.

On the contrary, I am pretty disappointed on how the writer depicts Hong Cha-Young. I am expecting her to become furious and ruthless after losing her father and promising to Vincenzo, but to me she is still too delicate. As the result, her act is occasionally covered by the heroic acts coming from the Geumga Plaza residents. I was expecting to see a show between two partners against the evil, but what we actually get is Vincenzo and his gang fighting against the bad.

Unfortunately, even the unrealistic premise has the tolerance limit. The scene of Vincenzo being saved by the pigeons is total garbage. It looks like this scene is secretly added by an intern. Also I heard that originally this series is set to be 16 episodes. We can notice the story quality drop for the last 4 episodes, even though it's not destructive.

The soundtrack is good, even though they rarely play it. Moreover, I totally enjoy the scores. It sounds like an elegant opera. To conclude this review, this series is incredibly masterpiece. I may take a while for us to see something like this again because maybe Vincenzo is the new standard of this type of KDrama.

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Romance is A Bonus, Second Half Mess is A Destiny

Marry My Husband. The title seems intimidating. At first, I was thinking that I may get a story full of intriguing and complex marriage. It isn't wrong though. However, the writer packs the story so well that makes it lightweight and easy to watch, yet not missing out the point. The lead Kang Ji-Won gets a second chance to fix his miserable marriage and life. Park Min-Young does a savage job in this role. She takes us into the journey of her second life. We already know the ending, and now she comes prepared. But everytime she does something, she always makes us guess: Will she cause a better outcome? Will the ending change? She brings us into this circle and makes us keep wanting to see the outcomes more and more. We keep wondering, will the villain suddenly regret? And the answer is always a no. Yi-Kyung and Ha-Yoon potray these villains excellently. They all seem innocent from the surface, but once an evil will always be and evil. It may need to take a life for people to change, but going through everything only make them more and more vicious. It is all a really enjoyable story... until the writer stupidly adds Yu-Ra in.

The addition of Yu-Ra is no difference than hopelessly adding a serial killer to a romance story. The stories around her seem hyperbolic and unreasonable even in this kind of fantasy genre. The way she messes up with Su-Min's family does not make sense. Same thing with the threat to Eun-Ho. How does he come into her mind? Eun-Ho barely knows Ji-Hyuk! It is just like a hopeless premises that need to be added for the sake of episodes number. Like there is a straight road, but they decided to take a turn to an unpleasant gravelly path. This show might be better if they focus on the main goal and packed into 12 or 14 episodes.

The overall story is pretty good. Although I think Ji-Won should push Ji-Hyuk more to find out his goal. Because she knows that the reason she get the second chance is to get a revenge, so there must be a reason for Ji-Hyuk too. However, Ji-Hyuk always reluctants to discuss about it. And everytime that happens, Ji-Won annoyingly just gets over it easily. The story then hit by a hurricane, again, after Yu-Ra appears. Every character suddenly has a sixth sense, as they all know other people's secrets and what other people are planning.

On top of that, this is a really good show since it is kinda easy-to-watch. It tells us not to be blinded by other people try to sugarcoat everything in front of you. You need to be more cautious, take a step back, see clearly and look wider. When you feel betrayed, fight it. For me, this show is categorized under incorrect genre: it is more like a thriller. Romance? It is a bonus!

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Masterchef®: Season Joseon

This is my first ever historical K-drama. I have zero knowledge about Korean history, so I might have missed out a lot of historically incorrect things. Bon Appetit, Your Majesty is mostly a belly-tickling food showcase. The original concept is good. Everything about the food is excellent, the visual of the food presentation, the cooking process, the reaction of the "customer", the explanation of the cooking process. The concept is very similar with Masterchef show: Chef Yeon Ji Yeong gets a challenge to cook a dish with a concept, serves it to the judge(s), the judge tastes and comment the dish and the cook gets to explain the dish and cooking process. The political side looks very confusing to me with no knowledge in Korean history, but some on screen explanations are quite helpful.

The casts are quite good. YoonA and Lee Chae Min are doing a good job, although it's not something extraordinary. The Ming Chief Envoy somehow has the worst Chinese accent compared to his colleagues.

However, the pace is extremely slow. It takes 5 episodes for the Ming Cooking Competition. Unfortunately when this pace applies to anything else, it becomes painful. They use the receipt of request-cook-serve-judging phase pattern almost the whole show. After repeating it a lot of times, the tone and vibe switch drastically after episode 10 and with such pace it's not appealing at all. Also it turns a bit makjang after episode 10. All about the cookings disappear too after this episode, and it becomes like another show. The final episode is a massive letdown. I don't care if the king goes to the future, but those grenades are ridiculous!

The soundtrack is quite okay. Watch this show if you're quite okay with a slow pace.

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