Despite not considering what is out-dated, it is still lacking
So even if I tried to overlook everything that is out-dated, this still falls short on some aspects.First of all: The ending is disappointing. Especially since season 2 doesn't pick up right where this ended. I won't say anything more, but it feels like someone cut off the bungee cord as you were in free fall and just let you plummet.
Second: Some of the characters are rather weak and shows little development throughout.
Especially Yu Chu Yuan (played by Bai Jing Ting); I found this character very weak, to the point of being annoying, and he didn't seem to pick up on many clues or understand what kind of consequences his actions or in-actions led to. It is a bit funny to see him in this role as I have just finished The First Frost. I see some similarities in his interpretation of the characters, but his acting has also improved by leaps.
Qi Bai Cao, the FL played by Hu Bing Qing, is rather whiney. How old are these people supposed to be? I understand this might be partly cultural and partly due to the fact that it is 10 years since it came out, but still ...? I found her acting to be so-so ...it might be because I didn't really ever manage to connect properly or sympathize with her character.
The character I probably liked the most was Ruo Bai (Yang Yang), and I did also like Fang Ting Hao portrayed by Chen Xiang. He nailed this arrogant rich confident type.
Brief synopsis my POV:
Orphan girl Qi Bai Cao was taken in by a Yuan Wu Dao master, who lost his championship and was ostracized after supposedly taking stimulants. As she follows her master, she has not been trained properly, but wish to become a Yuan Wu Dao competitor. Things happen, she gets taken in by another Yuan Wu Dao school, and very quickly progresses based on her strong fundamental skills and strengths. No less than three different boys ends up falling in love with her, adding for some jealousy and rivalry. We follow Qi Bao Cao's journey towards a competition to gain recognition for her master.
Be prepared for long lingering shots and abundance of flashbacks.
So: Is it worth watching? Naaahh... hard to say, really. I didn't drop it, so the story has some kind of momentum to it. And I did start on season 2, first to see if it picked up where it ended (no), and second because I noticed Ji Chang Wook is the ML in it, and I do like his acting. I am curios to how this would be interpreted and improved if made today.
Also: The English subtitles on Viki are full of (small) mistakes and spelling errors, so much so that it was a bit annoying/distracting.
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It was so good …but then they should have stopped
This was good, and I really enjoyed it. Up until episode 31. Then it became more fragmented, and the story itself really weakened from mid-episode 32. So I was struggling wether to give this 7,5 or 8, but I let goodwill win and gave it 8 ⭐️.I’m not sure if this was filmed when Covid hit? If so, I can understand that parts of it became more fragmented. That is not really an excuse for those last 4 episodes, though. I won’t go into much more detail as to not give spoilers away, but I do understand why the episode rating declined steeply.
Brief synopsis, my POV:
Female neurosurgeon Ruan Liu Zheng volunteers to bring a patient back from Africa to China. At the hospital in Africa, she encounters her ex-husband, brilliant neurosurgeon Ning Zhi Qian.
Through flashbacks during many of the early episodes, we get to know their backstory, for example that she was head over heels on love with him, and married him swiftly after his girlfriend dumped him.
After she returns back home to China, she gets the possibility to gain experience at the more prestigious hospital Bei Ya. Her ex also returns to China, and is the main neurosurgeon at that hospital. He takes her on as his student. Is it because he feels bad for how their marriage turned out, is it because he believes in her talent, or because he has lingering feelings for her?
We follow their ups and downs, their light bickering, and unresolved past issues we can tell is lingering under the surface. Is it best to stay as professional partners, and find love with another person?
What I did like was it seemed quite detail-oriented when it came to the medical depictions. I don’t really have any clue, but compared to some other dramas this seemed to have really put in an effort to make it appear realistic and factual.
Some of the sidetracks felt unnecessary, and didn’t really add much (besides air-time?).
There was some things in the story that made me question it a bit, like what about Ning Xian when Ning Zhi Qian was in Africa in the first episodes? And I won’t even go into the last episodes…!
The acting was strong. Both Wang Chu Ran (FL) and Peng Guan Ying (ML) was convincing in their roles. It was fun to see how she portrayed the immature, timid young Ruan, and her more mature, confident persona. I also have a sweet spot for Li Zi Feng in the supporting role of lawyer Xue. Ling Chen as Ning Xian was very sweet, and I liked FL’s parents.
Do I regret watching it? Do I feel it was a waste of time? No, not really, but I really wish they had ended it a bit differently, and done so in episode 32.
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Good enough to watch, but not «standout»
So this was a nice watch, but it wasn’t really anything special or standout about it.Quite lighthearted, with some charm and humour.
FL was good, and I liked her character when she was her true self, with loud outbursts and scoldings.
ML was also quite good - I just sometimes felt he appeared more as a goofy puppy that could trip in his own legs, than a successful young director, lol.
As for the topic this series is portraying, the gaming industry, it falls a bit into the «slightly bragging, nationalistic» bucket, although it is not as strong about it as some other dramas.
Brief synopsis from my POV:
FL gathers her courage and confesses her love to fellow graduating student on graduation day. He brutally rejects her, as he is in love with his female online gamer-friend, who is though and ruthless. FL and ML end up working in the same company, and gradually grows closer, although she keeps him at an arm’s length due the previous rejection. He then finds out her true identity, and strongly regrets his brutal rejection of her. Can he draw her close again, and how will she react when/if she learns his online identity?
At the same time there are of course some business hardships to overcome.
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Cute romcom
I wanted something light and easy to watch simultaneously to some heavier darker dramas, so ended up with this. It was entertaining and kind of cute, and fit my criteria.Brief synopsis from my POV:
An alien girl saves a human CEO who was in a car accident. Whilst saving him, she looses her ability to communicate with her ship and home planet, so she gets stranded on earth. She ends up befriending the CEO’s half brother, and also ends up entangled with the CEO.
He has a secret he is guarding from his family in fear they will use it to kick him out of the company. Even if they butt heads every time they cross paths, there also seem to be some kind of connection between them. Will she be able to help with his secret?
As for the story, it is a bit far fetched, and I mean besides the alien-part of the story. There were some weak parts, and some instances where I did question the continuation and logic. Some of them could be due translations though.
The acting was ok. I found the ML a bit stiff sometimes, but overall he did ok.
Iwill probably watch number 2 as well, but not straight away.
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The urge for scheming lowered the score
This isn't a bad drama, but I do think it could have been better if they had not let the urge for scheming characters and insane plots take over.The main storyline is interesting in itself, and I believe that story-arcs and development could have happened without the introduction of villainous, scheming characters.
The acting is not jaw-dropping good, but mostly decent enough. The FL and ML delivers (luckily enough) amongst the strongest performances.
They are also two interesting characters, but I kind of wish we had gotten a bit deeper connection with them.
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A bit dated, but cute and fun
So - look beyond what is too dated, and just enjoy this for what it is:A kind of quirky romance with some love rivalry, typical tropes of disapproving parent, disappearing parent, successful males, hardworking females, and some jealousy.
I'm keeping this review a bit short.
The style is a bit different from my usual K- and C-dramas, but I picked this now as sometimes it is nice to watch something that breaks out from the normality. And I really liked Jerry Yan in Forbidden Flower ;-).
Even if the story is a bit on the exaggerated side for some parts, it does also contain what I imagine was a rather fresh topic in 2010.
The acting is, overlooking the exaggerated style, rather good. Especially in some of the later episodes it looked like they had a lot of fun - a few moments in some scenes made me wonder if they were not scripted at all, but improvised and kept because it worked.
Based on today's standard I am not sure I would give it 7,5 stars, but considering it is 15 years old I am trying to judge it overlooking the dated things.
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Love, pressure and consequences
First of all: The last part of the synopsis here on MDL is wrong/misleading.This was mainly good; it did draw me in and kept me hooked. It just had some moments of being a bit too "soap opera-ish". Didn't help that the VA for some characters/some scenes were quite poorly done (especially the dad).
Brief synopsis my POV:
Workaholic manager Zhang Min gets sent to France to deal with the inheritance of a property. An accidental meeting with Luo Xi, a female botanist student, who also turns out to be inheriting part of the property, sets in motion big changes in his life. They bicker and argue, but at the same time there's something there making it hard for them to forget each other after they both return to China separately.
By chance their paths cross again, and to complicate matters Zhang Min's father has decided upon a fiancee for him for the good of the business, and Luo Xi's childhood friend from the orphanage is in love with her.
Zhang Min is also dealing with a huge secret, and is conflicted about the obligations he feels and his increasing wish to control his own life and future.
Will their feelings for each other be strong enough to overcome the outside forces, and will Zhang Min's secret be uncovered?
The story is OK, though I feel it could have been better. It is a bit on the extreme side, and resort to some well-known tropes and stereotypes.
The cast is strong:
All the four leads are giving good performances in my eyes. Although I find the character of Liu Wen Na rather annoying and a bit extreme, Chen Hao Lan's portrayal is what makes it so.
Zhang Zhe Han as the main lead Zhang Min/Chi is intense. He made me feel the inner conflicts of his character.
As for Luo Xi portrayed by Zhang Ruo Nan, I liked that her character was not a pushover, but tried her best to stand up for herself besides all that was thrown at her. ZRN is giving a believable performance as well.
Riley Wang is fitting in the role as Tao Lun, with his puppy-eyed looks. I didn't quite like how his character developed, though.
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Warm and fuzzy feelings, slow paced romance
This should leave you with a smile on your face and warm feelings inside.It is a romance without lots of drama.
Kind of slow paced, and a bit predictable side stories.
Brief synopsis from my POV:
Young student Gu Sheng is a composer and musical artist of traditional songs. She is a steadfast fan of the famous but rather mysterious voice actor known as Qiang Qing Ci. One day in a chatroom she is talking in as her online persona Sheng Sheng Man, a familiar voice recites a recipe. This first point of contact is the start of a journey of love. We follow their development both personally and professionally.
The acting is mostly good - in my opinion the main couple acts well together, and has some scenes with quite strong chemistry.
ML Tan Jian Ci has a rather engulfing presence. FL Zhou Ye plays out the shy, innocent character of Sheng Sheng well.
What annoys me a bit is how childish the characters sometimes are written. It could be cultural differences, but I couldn't really imagine me and my coworkers acting like they did in some scenes when we were in our late twenties, like several of these characters supposedly were.
There are also some very obvious product placements, although they were not very tacky (just obvious).
It drags on a bit in the later episodes - could probably have been shortened by at least one episode, to be honest.
What I did like is how this series shines a light on the more invisible players in the entertainment industry. And: The lack of intrigues made this a comfortable viewing experience – proper feel good!
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Some warm feelings but not very special
This is a decent drama, but it falls just a little short on several aspects.The story isn't very original, and much is quite predictable. The acting is good, but it wasn't oozing with chemistry or induced butterflies in my stomach. The acting that stirred up most emotions for my part was Ji Won, who really came across as a total brat.
The story had some light funny moments, and some frustrating ones.
some characters were a bit exaggerated, like his siblings and, to some extent, the mayor.
Elements of this made me think of "Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha", which came 6 years later.
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Sweet, but maybe too much sweetener used..?
This is very lighthearted and easy to watch, and quite sweet. I see some other reviews mentions clichés. For me, it was simply put a bit too "fake", ranging from the snowmen to the voice-overs. If you want something sweet and innocent to watch, where you don't have to think, then go for it. I don't regret watching it, and I did finish it rather fast, but I will not be watching it again.The story is on the weak side, even if you overlook the cross-dressing plot. There were just quite a few other small things where I was like "huh?".
The acting was a bit sugar-coated for my liking as well. Or I guess it is more proper to say that the characters were too over-the-top, so I guess the actors nailed it! Ha ha.
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Pleasing viewing experience and well executed
This surprised me a bit in how gripping I found the story. I ended up binging it! It has been in my watchlist for a while, after seeing one clip, and I happened to come across it again on YouTube, propelling me into starting it on Viki.Brief synopsis from my POV:
The female protagonist Lin Ke Song is living a very normal life, interning at a hotel after finishing her education in hotel management, and hanging out with her best friend Song Yi Ran who she also has a secret crush on. What is not normal in her life is her extremely well-developed sense of taste.
She runs into some problems at work, leading to her being let go. At a loss of what to do, she accepts when the guy who caused her to loose her job, Jiang Qian Fan, hires her as a "food tour guide" for three days. He turns out to be an internationally successful Michelin chef, in search of an apprentice who can help cover up the fact that he is loosing his sense of taste.
After some obstacles, Lin Ke Song ends up as his apprentice in Shanghai, also participating in a highly renowned cooking competition, where she competes against her talented cousin, sparking rivalry between them.
In addition to this, it seems like there might be more to it when it comes to Jiang Qian Fan's loss of taste.
This drama has a rich character gallery, and we follow quite a few side-stories. They are all well written though, and weaved nicely together.
The characters are also splendidly written and portrayed. They all have multiple layers to them, and they develop and change as the series progresses.
As for the cast, I found most of the acting strong, the actors delivering convincing portrayals of their characters. There were some scenes where the acting seemed a bit weaker, especially some of Elise's scenes, but I am not sure if that was dubbing-related (if dubbed?). The scenes where Victor sings where also annoyingly badly dubbed (if you can call that dubbing at all).
I did enjoy the performances by the two main leads, and will probably seek out some more of their work.
At times there were some lengthy sequences with "food and atmosphere shots" that I skipped through. In my experience several C-dramas that have many episodes to tend to use a bit too much flashbacks, and although there was some, it was kept at an acceptable level and length.
To sum up:
Well written, good production and strong cast. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack. Was bit disappointed that what I believe is the theme song (Me and myself) is not available for me on Spotify .
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Adult slow romance
I ended up watching an online version of this, which seemed to have been shortened quite a bit.The story revolves around brilliant doctor Xu Qing Feng, and female pilot Guan Yu Qing.
They both have their family-related struggles: Xu Qing Feng has a over-controlling mother, and Guan Yu Qing a family that prioritizes her brother, despite her contributions to the family.
They keep crossing paths, and slowly start to build a bond.
Will their families come in their way of happiness, and will they actually fall for each other?
This is a long drama, that are kind of slow at times. It does have interesting characters that develop throughout the story.
I liked that the characters were "fitting for their age"; mature in actions and manners, and looks.
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Delightful little gem
This was a delightful easy watch. Kind of feel-good, with small warm-hearted moments and humorous tidbits, all neatly weaved into an overarching story.Even if some things feels a bit dated, and there are some familiar tropes, they are not so domineering that they spoil the overall impression.
One of the things that made me really like this drama is Louis' sincere and whole-heartedly love for Bok Sil. Even if his character was a bit "over-the-top" silly sometimes, he was very like-able (if you've seen Prison Playbook some of his "moments" and body language reminded me of "Loony").
Brief synopsis from my memory:
Chaebol grandson Louis has lived a protected and spoiled life after his parents died when he was small, living abroad killing his time shopping. When his grandmother suddenly falls ill, he rushes back home, but ends up in a car accident on the way to the hospital, and is then assumed dead.
Rural girl Bok Sil has lived a simple life in the mountains taking care of her elderly grandmother. When gran suddenly passes, Bok Sil leaves for Seoul to find her younger brother.
She looses all her belongings, and ends up penniless in Seoul, her only source to money being a ginseng root which she manages to sell to Cha Joong Won, a boss in Louis' family company.
Bok Sil then crosses paths with Louis who has lost his memories, but is wearing her brother's clothes. She then ends up taking care of him in the hopes of him getting his memories back, thus helping her find her brother.
They develop a deep bond, but Louis is not the only one falling for Bok Sil – so is Cha Joong Won.
Will Louis regain his memories, and will Bok Sil find her brother?
The cast:
The main leads were convincing, and acted with emotions and sincerity. As mentioned already, I found Louis to be a bit "over-the-top" sometimes, but the portrayal and acting by Seo In Guk was spot on. Another character that was a bit exaggerated for my liking, was Cha Joong Won. How Yoon Sang Hyun managed to portray this character so convincingly I consider a testament to his acting skills! LOL.
Nam Ji Hyun who gave life to Bok Sil did so very satisfactorly, making her actions and emotions seem very genuine.
There are a lot of other well-known faces in this production as well, pretty much all delivering strong performances.
All in all I found this to be the drama I didn't know I needed to watch - overall nurturing positive feelings.
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Time well spent
I got around to watching this now as it came up as leaving Netflix soon in my region. The episodes are long, and it is kind of slow-paced, so it is not as easy to binge-watch. But so worth watching!Brief synopsis from my POV:
Ace baseball pitcher Kim Je Hyuk (played by Park Hae Soo) is almost at the peak of his career, when it all comes crashing down. Saving his sister from a rapist, Kim Je Hyuk ends up sending the rapist into a coma, and gets sentenced to a year in prison.
We then follow his life in prison, where life is slow and simple, yet not simple. Kim Je Hyuk has a "single-track mind", so he appears a bit stupid, but his heart is in the right place and he finds ways to solve the challenges life throws at him.
The story:
As I said, this is a bit slow-paced, but I think it reflects well on life in prison. The story has elements of suspense (prison intrigues), there are some light romance, and lots of friendship/bromance, some heart-warming moments and small bits to make you chuckle.
It is easy to feel a connection to the characters, and many of them are "multilayered".
The sidestories for some of his fellow inmates adds extra layers to the story, sometimes shifting your perception.
The cast:
I won't go into individual descriptions here, I will just say "splendid". There are several familiar faces here, and some (for me) unknown ones, but I found them all to be portraying their characters with sincerity and great convictions.
All in all:
Definitely do not regret I did prioritize watching this now. You could call it a prison-based "slice of life" story. Watch it if you value human connections, friendships, and are no stranger to slice-of-life dramas.
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Intense, well-written and a bit disturbing
This is a rather intense show to watch. The story is well-written, with a good flow that keeps you hooked. It has a slight sci-fi element to it, and the kids-parts can be a little disturbing.Note: The synopsis here on MDL is a little inaccurate, I would say.
Brief synopsis per my POV:
30 years ago a village on an isolated island was struck by a terrible tragedy. Now, a series of mysterious deaths of rather prominent people ends up being investigated by police special task force led by Do Jung Woo. He has a brilliant mind, but a rather controversial appearance and behaviour. Criminal profiler Jamie Leighton is called in from the FBI. It turns out both she and Do Jung Woo has a hidden past, and who is really behind the events unfolding, and the deaths? Can the past be "set right"?
Cast:
Namkoong Min as the male lead (Do Jung Woo) is brilliant. I can see similarities in how he portrays this character and his role in The Veil. There was also one scene in particular that made me think of his character in Beautiful Gong Shim. I guess all the roles I have seen him in so far have been characters that are strong individuals and doesn't necessarily conform to society's norms and expectations. As for his portrayal in this series in particular, I found he balanced it well: The thin line between "genius or crazy".
Kim Seol Hyun as police officer Gong Hye Won is convincing. She shows the right amount of righteousness, and more tender moments with her family.
Lee Chung Ah as FBI agent Jamie Leighton was a bit weaker, in my opinion, but that might be due to how her role was scripted. I just found her a bit "too flat" – not all the time, but enough to not be "wowed" by her acting.
Yoon Sun Woo as Moon Jae Wong was good, although his part was somewhat smaller. The shift was just spot on (will not elaborate to not give spoiler).
As for the other supporting cast, there are several strong actors and good performances, so I won't mention in detail.
The storyline:
It is a rather intense story, with some different hints and clues keeping your interest and weaving the story together, sometimes by small surprises. Sometimes more is revealed when scenes seemingly are repeated, so do not skip!
The sci-fi elements to the story isn't apparent straight away, but becomes more prominent as more comes to light.
The story shows how wicked people can become in their quest to pursue own goals.
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