306
710
142
13
18
20
13
3
10
35
6
16
1
2
25
46
2
12
10
3
6
6
3
6
11
1
3
4
9
23
20
41
This review may contain spoilers
Directing and writing chaos.
I truly have no idea what was the vision and direction for this show. What was the main conflict? What was the plot? What was the genre? It was everything and nothing.Starting from the plot, I think Fighting Mr. 2nd does a huge disservice to season one - the cute, fun and a little bit dramatic story. Here we get full on makjang for the first episodes, that turns into corporation politics, and then into big old nothing.
None of the conflicts make much sense. Shi De agreeing to cut contact with the love of his life, because the dad said so was unbelievably stupid. Shu Yi trying to get his revenge at first made him one of the most toxic (for everyone around him) and unstable characters ever (at least that made sense, it was destructive but fitting). Then we have the "blond lady" misunderstanding and no true chat about it between the main characters. Not to mention the stolen files in the firm, which brought exactly nothing to the story - just stole the precious screen time that could have been used in a better way.
Zhen Xuan and Shou Yi romance could have been an amazing story, but it was simply impossible to do it justice as a side couple in a 3 hour story. Both characters were too complex and had serious underlying issues that should have been addressed in a more detailed manner. I am quite confused why they said Shou Yi has affective disorder though, since the ones that go into that category are stuff like depression, bipolar and manic disorder - mood disorders, so his lack of apparent empathy and incapability to form relationships with others was not quite fitting the label he was given.
Then we have the messy directing. What exactly was the plan? Was the dad supposed to be a scary controlling figure or a laughable, but a slightly obsessive comedic addition? Was the main romance supposed to be realistic struggles of the couple or over the top dramatic melo? I'm not saying you can't have comedy in the serious shows, or deeper topics in a lighter story - the tone needs to fit though. Here, it was a mess.
At the end we get to the problematic aspect of drinking on the set. For some it might not be a problem, for me it is. I see no excuse for drinking on the set. It puts the actor, co-actors and the whole production in danger. You don't just get your actor drunk for the sake of realism.
The only redeeming quality of the show was the acting and the music, and more specifically Unbreakable Love, which isn't even the original song made for the show.
Overall, season one was a good BL with nice characters and good pacing. This was just... a mess.
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If I had to describe the plot in just a few words I would say: Fight against the supernatural evil, and the one hidden in humanity, that leads to bettering oneself. The format is repetitive, it’s undeniable truth. They dealt with one evil spirit, a new stronger one showed up. How come it’s not boring?
At first, the cases are simply a background for introducing the characters, creating a team work and So Moon’s dive into a whole new world. Slowly, the past connections between different characters are discovered, and the background plot starts to take a forefront position. The progression from the simple procedural plot to uncovering the past mystery and dealing with the main villain is perfectly gradual, and speaks of the great pacing The Uncanny Counter has.
The core of the show are the characters. The cast is pure perfection, and whoever was the casting director, they should get a raise. We are presented with more or less four teams: high school friends, Counters, Yung partners and the evil assholes. Each group is well written and portrayed, and even the villains are charming in their own twisted ways. I still wanted to see them dead, but I was also curious about their next actions and shenanigans. The loyalty among the young friends, the protectiveness of Counters, the moral dilemma the partner’s faced - all that made me love each and every character.
The acting is top notch. Jo Byung Kyoo is a true star of the show. His acting made me cry, scream, laugh, hit my head on my desk… He was So Moon. Kind, smol, positive, but also flawed character, that was willing to slowly learn, mature and improve himself. Easily in my top 5 favorite characters of all time.
Each and every actor committed to their roles completely. I honestly did not feel that even one scene or expression was off. I was especially surprised by Kim Se Jeong's performance. I knew she was a good actress, but she improved so much with the few roles she had previously.
Production value was everything I could wish for. It is a mainstream kdrama, high quality of visual aspects is expected though. The directing of the fighting sequences was well done, making them exciting to watch. Some of the stunts in the first episode felt slightly off, but they quickly improved and became way more natural.
I’m not gonna lie, I did not pay that much attention to the soundtrack as I was watching the show. I was completely “distracted” by the plot to notice what kind of music is being played in the background. That said, I usually don’t care that much about the OST, unless they are extremely bad, not fitting or painfully overused. After listening to the song as I was writing the review, I must say: they are good. Each has a completely different feeling and emotional quality, but they are all making me want to listen to them on repeat.
So what are the flaws? The biggest one was the slightly anticlimactic ending. With all the set up, I was expecting a bit more. Tiny, convenient plots that are either added or forgotten, like Moon, at some point, is never shown attending school. We just don’t see him going there at all. Never to be addressed nor mentioned. He is still a student, he wears his uniform… but he ain’t even close to being in class. Then we have the introduction of Oh Jeong Gu close to the end that felt out of place and useless.
Taking into consideration how well crafted the story and characters are, I was able to ignore the flaws. These cons barely moved the scale, since the pros were that good.
Overall, damn yes. This show had such an emotional impact on me, there were moments when I had to pause the episode, since I was scared/not ready for whatever was going to happen. I loved each and every character. I was curious about the plot and how the team would deal with the obstacles they were facing. There was not one boring episode, and even though I am fine with the given conclusion, I would not mind a possible second season.
*Trigger warning: severe bullying. It’s pretty bad guys, especially in the beginning episodes.
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I am quite honestly annoyed. It was an easy 10/10 for me at the beginning. The story was simple yet effective in making me excited and interested. I cared deeply for Praewa and was anticipating all her "evil" shenanigans. But then they added so many plots and background stories for characters I couldn't care less about, it went downhill quickly.
If only they kept it as simple as they presented the plot at the beginning: revenge with pure chaos and death. Let Preawa win, let everyone die. Focus the mystery part of Preawa finding out the real culprit of her misery. Why do we need the "past events" story? It brought NOTHING to the plot, was dumped on me in the last episode, and I was like: cool... But why? What exactly was the purpose of it?
Truth to be told... the last episode was just bad. Amazing letdown compared to the rest of the episodes. The ending was neither shocking nor exciting. They definitely did not construct the story well enough for me to think "wow... yes, this makes total sense, why I haven't seen it coming" as the last few scenes happened.
Best part of the show? Ticha Wongtipkanon and Nene Pornnappan Pornpenpipat. Truly aced the roles given. Preawa looked mad AF and I believe every scene she gave. Nene surprised me a lot in the last episode, being the saving part of it. I also appreciate how daring they were with some graphic elements.
Overall, I don't even know. It's hard to judge a show that had an awesome beginning and tragically bad ending. On one hand, I want to recommend watching the first 4 episodes and drop after that, on the other hand... What's the point of watching just half of the show? Do with that information whatever you like, but don't get too excited while watching at first, because the letdown will be massive later on.
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There is a level of stupidity even horror movies should not cross - they crossed it.
Kind of a Paranormal Activity meets The Exorcist, but worse. It did not have the fun campy feeling as paranormal activity had. Neither was it able to create the atmosphere The Exorcist delivered. Kind of all over the place, with a bit too exaggerated plot. I simply feel like they tried way too hard on this. It was also unnecessarily gross.The things the possessed girl did were so over the top I could not stop laughing. At times it felt like a poor attempt at a dark parody movie. The level of stupidity of other characters? Unimaginable. I could have excused it, if the main lady was not literally a professional shaman - she should have known better. All these characters could easily achieve Darwin’s Award. They truly contributed to human evolution by removing themselves out of the gene pool of that fictional world.
I mean, when the movie tries to tell you a person can be possessed by the grass, you know this is going to be a crack ride. Sadly… it was not even silly entertaining - the movie dragged so much I could not even finish it in one sitting. It’s disappointing, because I actually enjoyed the first 40 minutes.
I don’t really have that much to say about the movie. It was so stupid I feel like I have to restart my brain.
It was pretty though. Quite a few screenshots taken.
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Roy Chiu is extremely good looking and I legit got distracted by his beauty a few times.
The movie did exactly what I expected it to do - entertained me. The plot is fairly simple and they explained the lore of the ghosts enough for me to understand what is going on. The funny scenes made me laugh, and the emotional ones made me feel things (though I'm easily moved, so this is an extremely subjective statement). I enjoyed all the characters and random English words thrown by them.
I must say, the way the movie was filmed and edited was exactly my type. From the beginning I was enjoying the aesthetics of it.
Any flaws? The final scene between the big bad guy and the hero was... extremely anticlimactic. It was built up well. I could see that male lead is trying to outsmart the villain, while Hsueh is dealing with, let's say, trauma. Sadly, what followed was weak. With how entertaining the movie was, I expected some epic fight by the end.
Overall, a short, fun movie for a relaxing evening with which you don't have to strain your brain too much. If you are searching for pure entertainment based on some crime/supernatural elements, go for it.
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Female lead was dumb, the police were dumb, the friend was dumb, even the villain was dumb - don’t let people fool you into thinking it’s some tight cat and mouse chase with a brilliant killer who outsmarts everyone. It’s not hard to outsmart idiots. It does not make him a genius.
What’s good? Acting and editing, some directing choices. I liked the shots presenting the world from the eyes of the phone user, and then from the angle of the camera. We never really think about how much our phones see, as we assume the camera is off. So it’s creepy to see how much one could spy on us, if they had the access to the camera itself. Overall, there were many pretty shots, they knew how to make it visually interesting.
As a side note about the “social commentary” - I am so tired of this “phones are dangerous, be careful how you use them” topics. How about showing what the true issue is: lack of laws and procedures when the cyber crime happens, lack of police involvement when the crime is being reported, worst case - ignoring the reported crime because “nothing can be done”. Criticizing the government and police for the lack of protection of the citizens should be the focus, not “people use phones in irresponsible ways and depend on them too much”.
Overall, what a waste of time, even for Im Si Wan fans.
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Refreshing concept with basic execution.
Honestly speaking, I don’t even have much to say. I’m not the biggest fan of the reincarnation trope, but it is something new in the BL genre, hence I gave it a try.As I said, the idea behind it is fun - not only do we see the reincarnation trope, but also a new twist to it - female to male reincarnation. How many interesting ideas for plots and conflicts we could get out of it! Do we get them here? Not really, and the few we get are barely developed.
Yeon Seok was quite a fun character in a constant mode of panic for various reasons. I did enjoy Jin Gun’s performance, even though sometimes it became a bit too comedic for me. On the other hand Jeong Ha Yeon as a character just did not catch my attention at all. Jeon Chang Ha acting in some more emotional scenes requires improvement, but overall, I was not mad about his delivery.
Overall, I don’t regret watching it, but I could do without it too. It does not really bring much to the table.
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Not scary, but disturbing.
More than once I asked myself: what am I watching? Either because the scenes were truly graphic and they did not shy away from some triggering scenes, other times the picture they were framing was simply funny in my eyes. I think that's the unique quality many Japanese horror films have: they just go for it and see no limits.To some extent, the story led nowhere. Did I mind it? No. From the beginning it was more about questioning what will happen to the characters next, and not where they will end. As we all know, usually horror stories are not that nice to the main characters. That said, the plot was still at times confusing (especially closer to the end) and some stories were for sure not explored enough. Given we only got 25 minutes for each episode, I still believe they did a fairly good job with the plot.
The thing that amazed me was for sure directing and editing. I was in love with the style the whole drama was shot in. They committed to show the gore and violence and some of the worst sides of humanity. The sounds and music used in it were PERFECT choices.
The acting, damn it was good. Ririka's performance was especially to die for. Truly believable and raw. You could feel all the emotions Kiyomi was feeling, though at times I would rather not be able to see and understand it all.
The goal of this show was not to scare, but to make you feel uncomfortable. There are no jump scares, but we did get some long scenes showing the most despicable acts. As I watched it, I questioned how bad these people are and how much their actions are influenced by the supernatural.
Overall, I would like to say trigger warning for rape and gore. If you expect some cheap jump scares followed by loud sounds, this ain't for you. If you are grossed out by gore, this ain't for you. If watching serious abuse is too much for you, this ain't for you. It's a good show, but the target audience is rather small because not many would enjoy watching it.
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At first I was not sold on the cast. I loved Namtan as Mind, but could not get into her acting as Mean. Luckily, I got on board in later episodes. I also felt like Krist is a bit too old to play a high schooler, but again, got used to him as I watched more episodes. They both did an amazing job in conveying all the emotions and bringing these characters to life. For sure I liked Kay and his portrayal of Gun more than Sungjae’s performance. Jan did a stunning job as Tida. I hated her quite a lot, but still felt slightly bad when things started going against her wishes.
I think the only problem I had with this version was that I did not care about the romance at all. I much rather watch the friendship blooming and skip any romance altogether. While the guys looked truly in love with Mind, I could not feel the same emotions from her. I saw she liked them and felt a lot of gratitude towards them, but the romantic feeling was not there for me.
The plot is for sure intriguing, but not exactly on the realistic side. Did it bother me? No. It was cohesive and exciting. I can imagine how nerve wracking it must be for someone who has not seen the Korean version. The anxiety that keeps one on the edge of the seat every time Mind almost gets caught. I wished I had never seen the Korean version to appreciate this one more.
The leading premise of the show is clearly “bullying is wrong”. That said, I appreciate how many times the “kids/teenagers” made exactly the same mistakes, judged each other before even trying to find out the truth, called each other names and blamed each other without proof. It made the message more realistic. Many young people claim they would never partake in bullying, but they are… They just think their reasons for it are valid and the person deserves it. It’s not easy to change and it’s not easy to see faults in your own actions.
Overall, I would for sure recommend this over the Korean version. It's produced with less over the top style and is more grounded in reality. The characters are more likable too. The only thing that drove me mad were these long af bangs Mind/Mean had. Poor girl, my eyes hurt every time I looked at her.
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Here’s the thing - the cast is amazing, brilliant, funny, and has perfect chemistry with each other, but the concept of the episodes lack creativity and clever directing/planning. How many times can we watch an episode about food and restaurants? What is this, mukbang? All the episodes that focused on anything other than food were, just based on that aspect, better.
Many times the production team focused so much on making the fake place “bigger and better and more shocking” they forgot to actually make it “work”. This is not Pimp My Ride Restaurant Edition. They should focus less on the place/building, and work harder on the writing of the story behind the place and the people working there. Simpler ideas would be so much harder to guess.
One more thing that started to annoy me as the show progressed was the love line joke between Jessi and Sang Yeob. Yes, at first I found it hilarious, but at some point I felt like it went too far? I started to truly just feel uncomfortable with it.
That said, it was still overall extremely entertaining, all thanks to the cast. Nara was the awesome older sister trying to fight against her bad luck, So Min made me cry while laughing because of her unusual jokes and out of the box behavior. Jessi was the queen she usually is, with a straightforward attitude and Mi Joo was the pure chaotic energy and the master of body gags. And then there are Jae Suk and Sang Yeo trying to run the show and survive.
If you liked season one because of the cast, you will still love this season. Even with some flaws, I still believe it’s funnier and better than the majority of the variety shows I have seen.
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It’s been a while since I have seen a story as predictable as this, that still managed to surprise me with some ridiculous plot lines and reasoning behind the characters' action. We get to know rather stereotypical student Sky, brainwashed Sun with some serious issue of Stockholm Syndrome, Bank - a cute puppy and Pitch, the only redeeming quality of this drama. We follow their love stories, where every conflict (and I truly mean each and every one) is based on the complete lack of communication and honestly, while at the same time, the characters complain the other party is not honest and does not communicate their feelings ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
In the background, serving as a thrilling angst addiction, we have mafia schemes that led to our main boys being beaten up here and there, almost losing their lives too many times for me to care by the end.
For a romance driven show, the chemistry between Sky and Sun was not as golden as their blood apparently was. At the same time, I found it refreshing that there were more emotions and sparkles in the scene where they stood one meter apart, compared to all the kissing scenes.
On the other hand, Bank and Pitch were rather a nice surprise. The unsureness of their feelings and slow development of their relationship felt more grounded and reasonable. The playful chemistry of them bickering while smiles did not leave their faces was just bliss to watch.
The best acting for sure was served by Sugus - that smile alone could kill. Sadly, Gun’s performance was mediocre at best. Unintentional comedy bits that were the crying with no tears scenes truly made the watching experience that much more fun, but for all the wrong reasons. I could see how hard he tried to squeeze these tears, and I truly felt bad for him for failing each time.
Overall… I have no idea why I watched it, but I for sure do not regret it. It’s one of the cases of mindless entertainment, when you just accept nothing makes sense and the quality of the whole show is questionable at best, and yet you keep watching.
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The writing got me on a few plot twists that I didn't see coming. Some bigger, some smaller, but all executed quite well. With a limited screen time, they did a good job at giving enough exposition to ground you in the story, but not waste time on unnecessary details. The characters were interesting, and surprisingly I got attached to them quite fast. The chemistry and the switching dynamics and testing each other between Po Xiao and Feng Ren was perfect and by the end of the movie, I craved for me.
It’s definitely worth talking about the visual aspect of Wuliang - it was an aesthetic feast. Even if the plot was not as interesting, I would still finish the movie without skipping a second just to appreciate the beauty of it. The background music perfectly enhanced the atmosphere the visuals created.
The acting was also amazing. I felt everything the characters felt. Well, sometimes I went on more of an anger ride, when they felt sad, but that’s given. The emotional delivery was quite detailed. Nothing to complain about.
Overall, I highly recommend watching. It’s an old tale of “with great power comes great responsibility”, but it focuses more on the characters, building trust and understanding each other's motives, while trying to survive.
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It’s not a drama, it’s meditation.
Not gonna lie, as much as I loved this show, by in the end I had one thought: maybe instead of watching it I should have gone outside and touched the grass myself.No story, little to no dialogue, pure healing vibes. You watch it to detach from daily stresses and relax a little bit. Following The Walking Man on his walks filled with little moments of his imagination was a bliss to experience. Mundane in the best possible manner.
Iura Arata is an amazing actor. Roles with no dialogues are so hard to nail - expressing the feelings without one of the main channels of expression: speech. Not everyone can do that. He aced it.
Then we have the sceneries - the beauty of nature mixed with tradition. The peaceful coexistence. The sounds of nature, little encounters with animals, simple chats with people.
Overall, a drama not for everyone, but for those who enjoy projects like this, it would be a therapeutic experience. Highly recommended as a morning meditation to start the day with good vibes, or evening meditation after work, to heal the stressed body.
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To quote the movie: “Storytime is over, I’m bored”
Okay, I was not really bored, but I was slightly frustrated. I wish they just made it a comedy horror - it had so many elements working for it, if they leaned a little bit more into the silliness and exaggeration of that situation.The movie is way too goofy to be a serious psychological horror, but also not goofy enough to be a comedy. It dances between two completely different atmospheres not knowing what it should be. Personally, I loved the scenes that had these tiny jokes or just borderline acid delivery. I did laugh a few times. Rose was extremely likeable - fun, with realistic reactions, solid survival instincts.
The plot is extremely simple and obvious after 30 minutes of watching. There is no real big twist, since it’s not hard to guess who the villain is from the start. But it is a fun and easy watch. I did find one scene quite… unnecessary, but I am also not surprised it exists.
For the production, I was actually quite impressed with the practical effects of the injuries and blood. I also loved how cheap and childish the costume of the villain was - it made sense for that character.
Was this some groundbreaking cinematic experience? No. Did I have fun? Hell yeah. This is a good movie for a silly group watch fir sure.
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"Art of Barely Making It" manual by Wu Xie
Time Raiders is the drama to start your The Lost Tomb journey with. Putting aside the fact chronologically it makes sense to start here, I also think the storytelling and directing is the most digestible of what exactly is going on and how this, at times chaotic, fictional world works.Yes, the whole lore is extremely complex and detailed. The story feels greater than life. The adventures are thrilling, exciting, sometimes scary. The plot is interesting, but for me I always watch these shows for the characters. They are what draws me in and makes me want to pick up different titles from “The Lost Tomb” series. And the versions of the characters presented in Time Raiders are some of the best and most loveable ones I have seen so far.
Starting with Wuxie. What’s to love? He was amazingly animated, hilarious, but also resourceful and less of a damsel in distress than in other versions. It’s one thing to have all the skills, it’s another thing to have a survival instinct. While he might have lacked in some areas, he for sure had a strong will to live. You don't have to go full martial arts in dire situations. Sometimes a simple “stab stab” with a knife is enough. He did what he could instead of standing there scared hoping everything will miraculously solve itself out.
What’s more - even though it was obvious he lacks some skill and expertise, they made it abundantly clear he has so much potential to grow. That’s how the opening of any story should be - starting with a character we can witness the development of. With each adventure he gets better instead of being this unstoppable force since day one.
On the topic of unstoppable forces, we need to chat about our lovely emo boy Xiao Ge, who in this version felt like an actual human being, even if he still had his supernatural emo magic qualities I love. The number of times he actually used his words was amazing. Some of these instalments are determined to turn the character into a silent film edition. Not here though. He still has this mysterious aura about him, speaking only when it’s actually necessary - man of few words, but many actions, but it feels more like a persona than performance.
Short note on bromance - great set up. You can sense there is a connection between them before they even know it.
For the other characters, similar to Wuxie and Xiao Ge, this is also the best Pang Zi - dude was actually funny and not annoying. Some of his lines and reactions were almost the highlights of the episodes. But as funny as he was, they made sure to present him as a skilled and useful addition to the team.
Francis Ng aced his performance as Wu San Xing - what a natural delivery. Even when he was in the background he used 100% of his abilities. Not a second nor a frame was wasted.
On the frustrating side - A Ning will forever be annoying, why not just let her die? She would have zero issue leaving them all for death. Sometimes you just need to stop being a gentleman if being one makes you a dumbass.
Plot wise, I greatly appreciated the actual stakes that made me tear up a little bit. Unexpected to be honest. I don’t exactly watch these dramas to be moved, but to be entertained. I expect magical over the top solutions for serious troubles, so it’s refreshing to see characters lose and there is nothing they can do about it. Seeing them deal emotionally with the consequences of their actions, witnessing how it affects everyone around them, making plans to lessen the impact - great way to add emotional weight.
Time Raiders somehow was able to deliver even pacing - 18 episodes for two stories seemed like the perfect choice. We had enough time to explore the area, lore, witness different interactions between the characters, and enjoy both the fun and the scary parts of the adventures.
The comedy was flawless. The funny lines, little moments, or even longer scenes focused on the hilarious set up were incorporated into the script effortlessly, lightening the mood without taking away from the tension completely.
As for the production - great. The CGI was actually mostly good. There was one scene that went a little bit (a lot) over the top, but it was hilarious to witness. I loved the sets - the caves, dark corridors, awfully tiny spaces that triggered my claustrophobia. I loved the lighting - well balanced when it was realistically dark for the setting, but bright enough for me to see what was happening. Good balance between realism and the accessible presentation for the viewers. And god bless these underwater scenes, because these were some of the best I have seen in any Chinese drama for ages.
The soundtrack perfectly accompanied the drama - got me tense when needed, hyped up for some cool action scenes that were about to happen. And they also knew when to not include any sound at all, which is in fact a valid and sometimes correct choice many directors forget about.
To add last note about the performances: Sometimes in dramas acting and the chemistry between actors is so good you start to question how much of what is happening is actually part of the script and directing, and how much is just the actors vibing and it just working together well. The delivery was so good if you told me they just let the actors act like themselves for realism, I would believe you.
Few extremely random thoughts I had while watching I don’t quite know where to place in the review:
We got a borderline Bollywood action scene and I lived for it.
Can we talk about how good at throwing Cheng Xiang is? Or how well Xu Zhen Xuan runs? What I mean is - I did not have to convince myself what they did could happen, because they committed to present it in a realistic fashion. Things need to be thrown into the ceiling? We are running away from something dangerous, or towards something we really want? We will be using all the muscles in out body. We are sprinting like an athlete, not half jog like it's a PE we don't want to be in. I hate when characters throw shit like a 5 year old kid using as little muscles and movement as possible and we need to pretend it was a great aim and strong throw.
The whole “oxygen issue” in the second story was an intentional comedy when you find out you have from 3 to 7 hours of oxygen left even when you are buried alive in a coffin. Ain’t no logic in that high stake, but I did not care.
I just love how every Tomb drama ends on the note that leaves you in a complete state of confusion, more questions than answers.
Overall, I’d say this is the perfect drama to start your Lost Tomb journey with. The story is presented in the most digestible manner while also making sure you understand there is a bigger picture behind these 18 episodes - you just opened the door, you did not even take a first step into this wacky and fun journey.
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