Tanky Toon

One of the better Noona romances out there. Zhao Jiang Yue and Gu Jia Xin sizzles on screen and their chemistry makes their romance so believable. I like the irony of an unromantic, no-nonsense woman being the tech director of a dating app, which relies on big data analytics to match potential partners. Jiang Yue's and Jia Xin's relationship really began with the ML's intention to help the FL in pursuit of her old boss. The banter between them was easy-going and friendly.

The FL's practicality clashes almost with the impulsiveness of the pro-racer ML, it also maybe due the fact that her immunity to the ML's charms has something to do with pining for her supposedly-unrequited crush. Former boss Ning Yuan's agonizingly slow and subtle romantic interest barely registers with the oblivious FL, that he required the help (or not) of an unlikely advisor in the form of FL's love-rival Yan-Ran. The SFL/SML interactions are awkwardly funny together that it works, although the SFL is equally unforgivable as the cloying chick clinging to the ML. I hate this trope in Chinese Dramas: the desperately stubborn SFL who wouldn't take no for an answer and stalks the ML everywhere. To Yan Ran's credit, at least she does it without sabotaging the FL, but instead focuses her energy on getting the Ning Yuan and Jiang Yue together.

The other couples also have their own bittersweet stories. FL/ML's BFFs Duo Xi and Qi Heng reunited after years apart and learned to work through a long-distance relationship. Social Media Influencer Jing Jing and her on/off hubby Zhang Hao had more problems that turn out to be solvable in the face of love. The love advice at the end of each episode is also cute and note-worthy. Overall, this is such a fun and flirty drama.

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I was prepared to give this a lower grade because of the family infighting (mostly between the parents) that dominated the first part of the show and it brought back not so good memories. Also for the wailing (I mean wailing, not crying) and temper tantrums from the daughter that got on my nerves (then I remember that she was supposed to be a teenager). The flashbacks were a good ploy and created suspense but could be a bit confusing at times. But it redeemed itself past the 2nd half. Quirky and funny show about friends, brotherhood, and family, but all those sheep "baa" prompts could be toned down. Loved that it was not as cliché like a lot of dramas but a realistic portrayal of first loves, unrequited loves, and 2nd or 3rd loves. Very down to earth and practical and certainly not your run-of-the-mill drama.

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I think the drama has a potential to be more amazing as it tackles mature and serious issues like mental illness which is big taboo in reserved societies like Korea. I appreciate the realistic elements as it deals with this subject without being patronizing and the drama discussing mental problems with a very gentle and delicate hand. However, what I find issue with is that almost EVERYBODY in the damn show has a mental health problem.

I get it that it's about psychologists and their patients, but how unlucky can one be, having a schizophrenic BF, an non-functional father, and the female lead herself battling issues with intimacy on her own. As if not to be outdone by his GF's miserable life, the Male lead suffers from a serious mental illness brought on by his abusive upbringing and violent past, which affected also his mother who suffers from disassociation and his brother with anger issues. Then after all the miserable stories we hear, everyone seems to be all miraculously happy in the end with their respective partners. Jo In Sung is a very good actor, however, his aegyo moments are cringeworthy. He cannot do cheese.

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Because of the drama's popularity and Song - Song marriage (and dissolution of), it made me curious to watch after extended hiatus watching from dramas. (Did not watch this until 2019, just putting review now). It did not disappoint as it was not just all about romance, but I feel it was over-hyped. Enjoyed the action and comedic scenes. The second couple also is well-rounded and their story is given equal weight as the lead couple. The story gives prominence to the sacrifices that a lot of men and women in the military and medical field make for their country and its people.

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I personally love this story about a human pretending to be a robot when the actual robot is in repairs and managed to capture the heart of an eccentric CEO who happens to have human-contact allergy. Of course you have to suspend your disbelief in order to watch this drama. There are a lot of cutesy, funny moments in the first half of the movie, and then some heartbreaking scenes in the last half. Yoo Seung Ho is very dashing in this drama as he displays a wide range of emotion without overacting.

This is probably the first drama where I sided more with the Male lead than the female lead, and it's mostly because of Seung Ho's acting. Chae Soo Bin is not so shabby herself and she had to portray 3 characters, as a robot, as human, and as a human pretending to be a robot. However I could not relate to her when she managed to deeply hurt the person she is supposedly striving hard to protect. I did not like any of the secondary characters at all, and their individual story lines just bored the heck out of me, except when they are interacting with the lead characters. But this drama showcase that love, whether familial or romantic, conquers all.

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The only thing that keeps me going is the acting of Jung Hae In. But otherwise this is a slow-cooking drama made worse by alternating cringe-worthy sound tracks playing at inappropriate moments. I was rooting for the couple in the beginning but towards the end, I feel frustrated for the Main Female Lead that I wanted to push her off a cliff because the self-sacrificing male lead deserved better. The decisions made by the female martyr seemed so self-serving even when she thought she had good intentions, as if she WANTS to play the role of the suffering victim that needs to be saved by the young prince. The drama wants to come across as an art film but becomes more fartsy than artsy. Saving this film from pure destruction is the chemistry between the leads, but otherwise this drama can go to hell along with the obnoxious, social-climbing mother.

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The beginning started out strong. The two leads have chemistry and are easy on the eyes. My favorite actress Park Min Young and one of the hotties from Coffee Prince together in a drama, what's not to like? Well, what started out as fluffy and funny about the fangirling life became a boring story about the curating process. The story was too predictable for me, and too sweet for my tastes. The drama switched from the female's story quickly to the male's story and different arcs in between, which is fine if the elements were introduced smoothly. Alas, what you get from this drama is bits and pieces of everyone's story but not fully baked. Disappointing one-dimensional secondary characters that could have contributed more to the drama.

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The best Korean drama in the last decade and it lives up to the hype. A well-rounded story with drama, romance, politics, family, friendship, intrigue, mystery, etc. Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin deliver in their respective roles as the upright military officer and the sassy socialite who meet at the North-South Korean border by chance. After being thrown together under unusual circumstances, Ri Jung Hyuk learns to open up while Yoon Se Ri adapts to the provincial life in North Korea. It is their mutual respect for their individual strengths that both leads compromised and even made sacrifices for each other to make their partner happy. This is such a heartwarming drama that even secondary characters are lovable with their own charms, even with their flaws! The characters are multi-dimensional that you can't help feel for some of the characters who are depicted as "bad" but only because they are not "good". This show shot up to be one of my all-time favorites and would be hard to beat.

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I was hesitant to watch this at first as I am not a big fan of Psychological dramas, after my lukewarm reception of "It's Okay, That's Love," however, after putting aside my prejudices, I came to appreciate this drama about dealing with mental health, familial issues, trauma, how to overcome one's past, embrace one's weakness to be strong in the future. It is a powerful drama about learning, about forgiveness, about caring, about unbreakable and breakable bonds, but ultimately, how It is okay not to be Okay.

Performances by the three main leads are phenomenal, but a standing ovation must go to Oh Jung Se as he nailed Moon Sang Tae's character down as if he was autistic and suffering from PTSD himself. His gestures, mannerisms, quirks and ticks all make his character as the mentally-challenged artistic genius so believable, while retaining his forthright innocence. Kim Soo Hyun somehow became more handsome when I saw him last in 2013's MLFTS. First time seeing Seo Ye Ji, but she also was born to play the eccentric author Ko Moon Young, with a dangerous mix of sexy and devil.

Supporting characters have each of their own strength and personalities that all together, made the drama cohesive. Fashion and cinematography are also worth noting. Had to deduct half a point due to the dip in pacing towards the last quarter of the drama. If you are looking mainly for romance, this is not the drama, but unless you are inhuman, your heartstrings will be tugged seeing flawed characters leaning on each other for support, how your circumstances do not necessarily make who you are, but how you make out of it.

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In the beginning, I wasn't really sold on the premise for this drama, mainly because of how they wrote FL as a bitter, selfish woman who uses her moneyed status to intimidate people. But the ML breathe life into her sad and forlorn existence was worth watching the show. Shin Hye Sun's acting chops are versatile, having watched her a few other dramas, and she is great as the prima ballerina Lee Yeon Seo who was blinded by an accident and with it, robbed her of whatever humanity she had left in her body.

Enter Kim Myung Soo as Kim Dan, an angel with an equally angelic face, whose mission was to find a cynical, spoiled brat the true love that she apparently deserves. Surprisingly, Lee Yeon Seo gives in to their push and pull, and it seems like Kim Dan has tamed the shrew, but not without a few sacrifices of his own.

The rest of the cast delivered, from Ji Kang Woo as the long-suffering Lee Dong Gun who lost his wife who is Yeon Seo's doppelganger to Kim Bo Mi, who plays as the over-looked second-rate ballerina who deserves the spotlight as much as Yeon Seo, but was held back by family politics. The suspenseful dramatics were held by Yeon Seo's family whose eagerness to claim Fantasia's throne and misplaced affection, led some of them to heinous dealings.

Though I bawled my eyes out half of the time, the drama exceeded my expectations in that in dealt with the different types of love and sacrifices that people make for love.

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I had high expectations for this drama because my fave Leo Luo is in it, but sadly it didn't live up to them, though no fault of his. Leo Luo Yun Xi and Bai Lu have sizzling chemistry as Jiang Jun and Yuan Shuai, childhood friends turned rivals due to a misunderstanding.

The boardroom drama at the first half of the show was amazing, especially when the FML tries to battle investment experts as a fresh-faced rookie. Even after a few setbacks, Jiang Jun's determination finally won her a permanent seat in the investment company she works in, with her friend-turned-rival as her boss. Meanwhile, Yuan Shuai attempts to worm his way back into her life after harboring a decade-long crush and Jiang Jun mistakes those gestures as an attempt to throw her off her game. She gets the unlikely help from Du Lei, an industry expert from a rival company, who may or may not harbor more ulterior motives.

The main story-line is what made me finish this drama, while the secondary couple was forcibly thrown together and their chemistry is non-existent. Xu Li was ingratiating that I had to skip a lot of her scenes together with Xiao Chuan. As for the rest of the supporting characters, I feel that they were handled poorly. For example, Qiao Na could be an evil bitch but she wasn't. Shen Xin and Linda I believe were forgiven too quickly for my liking, despite having inflicted harm on other people. Same goes with Du Lei, his narrative weaved from bad to good to bad to good as if the writers didn't not know what to do with him. Even Tai Mo, who was supposed to be this big villain, was underutilized, and his defeat came too easily. The 36 episode length did not accommodate the possibilities, and instead, the last 6 episodes were unnecessary.

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I was excited by the premise of a love-hate relationship between celebrity and commoner that I ignored the lukewarm reviews. After watching it though, it was neither here nor there. What I did enjoy was the idea of a kpop idol and a rookie journalist being at odds in the beginning due to misunderstandings. It was their story that made me finish the drama. What I did not enjoy was the secondary couple who should not even be together due to the toxicity of the relationship. I wish that they casted a real kpop idol to play the male lead who could actually sing and dance, but instead they casted a kpop idol for the female lead who did not require her singing/dancing skills.

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I am a sucker for gender bender dramas, and this one is done well. Park Eun Bin is solid as steel as she maneuvers the political machinings of the royal family as a pretend monarch. Rowoon is decent but not outstanding as the Royal tutor loyal to his King. The supporting cast did a better job than Rowoon, even the child actors playing their younger selves. Kudos especially to rookie actor Nam Yoon Su who played the brooding noble pining for his cousin. The plot, while intricate, was a bit predictable, especially the anti-climactic ending. Despite this, this drama was an easy and enjoyable watch for me.

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After a slow and sluggish start, this drama gets better after a few episodes in (you just have to be patient or skip the side/artsy-fartsy parts). The dynamic between the two best friends are great, played naturally by Ariel and Bolin who have great on-screen chemistry. I finally came to like Ariel Lin in this drama and Bolin Chen is suitable to play the love-lorn guy who secretly loves his bestfriend about to be married. Can't get enough of this couple whose characters have so much history together. I know it might not be the best T-drama out there, but it is one closest to my heart.

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