1
2
Fun but unsubstantive
There was something quite charming and enjoyable about this drama, crazy visual effects and all — it's the kind of show you can watch without using any part of your brain. Once you did, however, you find that there's a lot lacking especially when it comes to plot and substance.As much as it pains me to say this, the humor is almost on par with that of Melting Me Softly — it's loud, obnoxious, and zany, and most of the time it misses the spot. A few characters seemed to exist just for the laughs, but they really just ended up annoying and one-dimensional and seemed to serve no purpose. The worst culprit was DH's sister.
There are a lot of things that definitely made me uncomfortable, especially how race was handled. I understand that the people behind the drama said the webtoon artist was supposed to represent how people can come together around love for a culture, but his personality had not much to it other than being dirty and liking to draw x-rated cartoons. It also just felt incoherent at times, especially if it was used for humor which, as I previously mentioned, often fell flat.
I'm a fan of any romance that shows people slowly falling in love with one another in everyday situations, but I really just didn't FEEL it in Backstreet Rookie — honestly, I much preferred the dongsaeng-style relationship that SB and DH had, for multiple reasons. They dragged on the ex-girlfriend plot for far too long, and they also added in a "childhood" connection that made any sort of romantic plot seem even weirder with the age gap.
I also didn't like SB's sister, Eun-byul, who I felt like made so many bad decisions and never owned up to them, instead having SB run after her apologizing. I felt like I just really wanted more substantive conversation between the characters.
With all that being said, one thing that I did love about this drama was the theme of family (which may be why I preferred DH and SB being that). SB and DH's mother had the most heart-warming scenes together and the most touching conversations, and it was definitely something I wanted to see more of.
Was this review helpful to you?
Another fun installment to the series
I'm really glad we got to see this friend group together again — seeing all the characters and how they fit together to round out the team is still the highlight of this show.Plot-wise, though, I do think this one is the weakest of the three. The weekly cases, Do-Gi's different personas, and how the team infiltrates each situation are just overall not as memorable or creative. The pacing feels slower overall.
Part of this is that there's no overarching plot. The first episode made me think they were going international and having another "who's going to get to it first" arms race with Interpol, but those characters, who I thought were going to be secondary characters, never showed up again. And then the last case made me wish that there had been an overarching plot related to the military and Do-Gi's background; it makes for a really intimidating antagonist, and the personal tie would've added a lot of stakes. We didn't get either of those though, which means there's just no recurring antagonist and no ongoing tension throughout the show.
Nevertheless, I think this was a decent send-off for our Rainbow Taxi team — and it does leave room for another season if they end up making another one.
Was this review helpful to you?
Well-written but slow
It's objectively well-written but I'm not sure if I really connected to the characters on an emotional level.The pilot episode is fantastic and the overarching plot is really interesting, and it's supported by characters that are very layered. The show is supported by extremely strong performances — especially Lee Seung-gi's.
While I think the premise is interesting, the pacing did feel a little slow at times. There are some good twists, but the big whodunnit seems pretty obvious from the start, and we're just waiting to get there. I'm not sure if the show needed to be stretched into 20 episodes. Perhaps it would've worked better as a weekly watch, but there wasn't quite the "race against time" tension that I wanted.
Was this review helpful to you?
Half-half
My favorite part of this drama has to be the romance. Mi-joo is just such a lovable character, with so many heart-warming scenes between her and her kids. I loved every single time she was on screen and wish we got more romance — though I get it would've been difficult considering Kang-ho's amnesia and state of mind throughout most of the show.The main selling point of this drama really is the relationship between Kang-ho and his mother, and while I do think it's written with a lot of depth and the gray area leaves you a lot to think about. I didn't quite connect with it on an emotional. The same could be said for the country-side gang in general, who are kind of your typical comic relief characters.
With that being said, I think I was actually much more intrigued by the high-stakes revenge plot, but it's pretty much glossed over by the end and the steps Kang-ho took to get there doesn't make much sense. I get it — this drama has a revenge plot but it's not a revenge drama; it's mostly a backdrop to the story of Kangho's relationship with his mother. So I'd just say to anyone going into this to have the right expectations.
Was this review helpful to you?
Intense
I knew this was going to be a fantastic movie considering all the rave reviews (and the fact that the director also gave us Oldboy), and it didn't disappoint. The Handmaiden is beautifully shot and beautifully acted. It's simultaneously depressing and full of hope, and it's extremely intense throughout.Was this review helpful to you?
Not for everyone, but worked for me
I know this won't work for everyone — especially if someone's coming into this expecting a simple rom-com or melodrama — but it actually really worked for me, twist and all. It's realistic without feeling watered down, and I found that the story provided surprisingly thought-provoking commentary on perspective-taking.Was this review helpful to you?
Nice case-of-the-week
Another case-of-the-week jdrama, similar to Gossip: #Kanojo ga Shiritai Honto no 〇〇 or Don’t Call It Mystery. I feel like the cases in this one weren’t as memorable though (barring the LGBT one, which made me cry).The strongest part of this one is probably our trio of main characters, who have a really cozy dynamic together. One thing I would ask for though would be for the climax to hit harder — I’m not sure the big, personal case at the end really hit hard enough for me. Still, I could see this being a show that could go on for many more episodes as they went through different cases.
Was this review helpful to you?
Feel-good
I don't watch a lot of historical dramas but I found this one modernized in a way that made it very easy to get into and easy to love. The balance of humor and serious topics was done really well, and I will always love a drama that also focuses on female friendships — especially one that subverts the evil second female lead trope. The communication between the leads from start to end is very refreshing, and it made this drama a very pleasant watch overall. The leads are super cute.I do wish a little bit that the romance developed more slowly. The pacing isn't bad by any means, but they get together pretty early considering how many episodes the drama is. Still, this was a really delightful watch overall. If more historical dramas were like this, I would tune in more.
Was this review helpful to you?
She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat Season 2
1 people found this review helpful
Calm
Rating this (and the prequel series) a little above the median. I think the most important thing is that I'm extremely impressed with its portrayal of lesbianism and asexuality, and even more so with its commentary on how it ties into housing discrimination, as well as gender roles in family units. I don't think it's something I've ever seen tackled so head-on in an Asian drama.With that being said, while I do think this is ultimately a peaceful and cozy watch, with leads that are refreshingly mature, I feel like everything ended up feeling just a little too polite for me. I don't mind the lack of skinship — I actually love that this drama talked about different levels of comfort and going slow, but in terms of relationship dynamic, as a matter of personal preference I enjoy couples that are a little more high-energy and have banter. The leads here are very much not that, and after a while they start to feel a little one-note.
Was this review helpful to you?
Mainly cinematography
Beautiful cinematography, though I'm not sure the time travel aspect really worked for me. It's a trope I typically like, but it felt kind of misplaced here. Everything does fall into place at the end but ultimately I think I needed either a little more exploration of the fantasy mechanism itself if it was going to be used.Was this review helpful to you?
Surprisingly adorable and enjoyable
I didn't realize that each episode was only 3-5 minutes when I started watching this, but everything was surprisingly solid, from the pacing of the story to the growing romance between the characters. Despite touching on some heavy topics, this drama is light-hearted in a comforting way and the lack of annoying villains or drawn-out misunderstandings is refreshing. I'm not one to rewatch things but this would be a great one to re-binge considering how short it is.Was this review helpful to you?
Steady
A very steady and consistently written season, though I think season 1 was just a little stronger in terms of both the mystery and the relationships between our main characters. I personally preferred the episodes where stakes felt a little higher and closer to home — the earlier ones in this season where our lead was getting falsely accused and trying to get there before the next kill.The story loses a bit of steam as it goes on and the backstory turns out to be kind of predictable, but I thought everything was wrapped up pretty neatly.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Comforting
Oh I enjoyed this one so much. It has to be one of the best slow burn shows that I've seen, and I loved how much it focused on the emotional aspect of them growing closer. Their scenes feel so down-to-earth, realistic, and intimate, and I really appreciate how even the tropes don't feel tropey.It's so sad that it ends on a low note — and I know season 2 is a long shot at this point — but honestly, the ending doesn't diminish my love for the show at all. I've grown to really care about both main characters so much, and I'll definitely be reading the novel just to see how their story ends.
Was this review helpful to you?
Okay
I thought this drama was very good when it came to the down-to-earth moments, the more subtle scenes, and the angstiness of their traumatic childhood, though it loses me a bit when it crosses into dramatic mode, like gangster fights and terminal illness.Even though I really felt the chemistry between the leads while they were in the "unrequited love" phase, and I felt the chemistry of the leads as lovers, I felt like the actual transition between these two phases left more to be desired. I think it's partly the non-linear editing of that particular scene, but also the fact that we spent so much time solidly in the first phase, instead of slowly inching towards the confusing, blurry middle ground, that their first scene being together felt a little out of the blue, even though it was shot and acted beautifully.
Overall, a good watch with its touching moments, but not one that would stick in my mind.
Was this review helpful to you?
Didn't click
When I saw that this was a friends-to-lovers story, I jumped into it right away. But it turned out that it wasn't the plot I typically enjoy, where we get to watch two people realize they're in love with each other and slowly make their way to each other. Instead, the leads pretty much get together in the first episode, and the drama revolves more around little bumps in their relationship, some of which are awkwardly realistic like figuring out how to communicate after living together, and some of which are more trope-y like third parties trying to get in between their relationship. The last episode is also pretty rushed.Ultimately, this was pretty light-hearted and low stakes, but it didn't really click with me.
Was this review helpful to you?
