rje1

The Japanese one is good but has a stupid sad ending. The Korean one is even better in several ways, and has a convincing and hard-won happy ending. There's a Chinese version too, but I found it strangely distancing.

I've watched both, and the Chinese version too (my least favorite). I like the Korean one much more for many reasons. The original Japanese version ends unhappily, but the story didn't make sense and just felt like the director wanted to make us cry. The Korean one ends happily, but it's convincing and satisfying because it is hard-won over the last few episodes. The only way in the Japanese one is better is that it gives some space to explaining how the abusive mother became so (the Korean one does too, but only briefly). I think there is a recent Thai version too but couldn't find it to watch. BTW the original Japanese scriptwriter Yuji Sakamoto has written several good dramas. I think I prefer his Woman to Mother, and it has a redemptive ending.

Stick with it. A few people on this page found the same. See their comments: the first few episodes are the setup for an absolutely enthralling climax over the last few episodes, which are deeply satisfying.

Such a nasty piece of work the way he keeps beating her up, and then we gradually see his background, and then he redeems himself with the recordings.

I agree. Anyway I see their relationship as father-daughter, not just because of the age-gap, but because he always cared for her, never exploited her, and when she in desperation tried to seduce him, he gently but firmly resisted.

The only other drama that has hit me like this is the Korean version of Mother. Very different story, but similar story of hard-won redemption.

Beautifully redemptive ending, completely earned by the characters and therefore deeply satisfying.

A bright and studious woman trapped in a stifling marriage with a lazy farmer, escapes to love with a small-town car washer, pushes on with her studies with his support, but nearly loses it all to an unforeseen major setback. Movie ends on a hopeful note for a better future. Movies like this show the real China, the hardscrabble rural life amidst stunning scenery, the downtrodden role of women in society. The characters are all too gloomy and taciturn for us to develop much sympathy for them.

Yet another romantic comedy, stands out by its Icelandic setting and its running theme of fertility and food/frozen foods and frozen eggs, including a parallel dream/fantasy subplot amongst the cells in the freezers of the fertility clinic. Made in Taiwan, so of course it's sexier than films from the mainland.

Wow, what a convincing article! Have now put this drama at the top of my queue.

Glad to give you a laugh. In fact in my review of love o2o I wrote: "Whenever he wants to express his affection for her, he jams her up against a wall and chews her face off." I liked the movie of love o2o much more. Good timing for your article - it's cold and grey and wet today where I live and we're in lockdown.

Fun article - thanks! Have watched only 2 (Fairy - agree, O2O - can't stand the way he practically assaults her every time he kisses her). Other fun dramas I like to rewatch include: I'm Not a Robot, Crash Landing on You, Descendants of the Sun, Moonlight Drawn by Clouds, We Married as Job, Memorials. And the many Japanese food/cooking-centred dramas.

The FL Luo Zhi is so confident in dealing with every person and situation, it's hard to believe she hasn't already confessed to her crush. And why is she so mean to her roommate Bai Li? The actor playing Zhang Ming Rui has a natural style (my favorite actor in the drama and I'd watch him again) playing a very likeable character. The dialogue in this drama is more sophisticated and interesting than most other university/school idol dramas (that I've watched, anyway).
Comments on the ending episodes:

It's an idol drama and therefore only likely to appeal to teenagers. First episode bored me, won't be pushing on any further. BTW the fighting in this drama is nothing to do with Tai Chi, it's just the usual movie-style entertainment wushu.

I think I'll wait until it's finished and hear what you and other people think of the complete series, before I watch. If there's going to be a toxic relationship, especially when the man is the problem, then there needs to be a good role model showing how to deal with this. Women still have restricted roles in Korean culture and so I'm doubtful. For some positive portrayals of women learning to deal with toxic men and finding good men, the Korean series It's Okay To Be Sensitive on youtube (not the other It's Okay etc drama) is worth watching. The only positive example I'm aware of female same-sex romance in Korean dramas is the couple of episodes of Seonam Girls High School Investigators. The Roman Catholic church alas presumably continues to exert a powerful negative influence on Korean society re LGBTQ+ relationships.

And the thing about tropes is that become cliches, and just as good writers throw out the cliches and find original ways of expression, really good story writers will throw out the tropes and come up with a really original story. Although the story theorists say there are only a limited number of stories in the world, each with endless variations.

The theme of this enjoyable drama is that persistence, steadfast friendship, and integrity will eventually triumph over ruthless corporate greed. The lead couple each suffered childhood hardship. He copes by being "good" and never settling down; she copes by hardening her heart and planning her escape. The secondary couple are both chaebol scions who reject their ruthless parents and find self-esteem and fulfillment in learning to stand on their own two feet. All four grow in the course of this story and that for me, makes a satisfying drama series. But there weren't any of those memorable scenes we love to replay, and there were a lot of plot thread questions left hanging that would have made a more satisfying final episode.

He spent the movie looking like the cat that got the cream, and managed to stay clean while everyone else was bruised, bloody, and covered with grime. He seems to go for arrogant characters e.g. the very different This Is Not What I Expected, with my favorite Chinese actress Zhou Dong Yu.

Ancient military epic full of fiendishly sadistic maimings, abundant explosions, and soldiers forming picturesque formations in robotic precision, with a bit of politicking, romance, sex, and light humour for the occasional palate cleanser. Spectacular photography, and astounding analogue special effects. One of the two (only) female characters protests a woman's restricted domestic role and uses it to her advantage, the other makes a good fist of beating men at their own game, along with a secret romance that bridges the otherwise unbridgeable gulf between the masculine enemies.

It's a great slice of life drama about five very different young women in a shared house who gradually bond and support each other. There's also a good chinese remake that is almost a scene-by-scene copy.