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  • Last Online: 51 minutes ago
  • Gender: Female
  • Location: hell
  • Contribution Points: 306 LV3
  • Birthday: March 30
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  • Join Date: February 7, 2013
  • Awards Received: Finger Heart Award302 Flower Award695 Coin Gift Award141 Golden Tomato Award13 Reply Goblin Award18 Dumpster Fire Award20 Lore Scrolls Award12 Spoiler-Free Captain Award3 Cleansing Tomato Award10 Drama Bestie Award35 Emotional Support Commenter6 Comment of Comfort Award16 Hidden Gem Recommender1 Conspiracy Theorist2 Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss25 Clap Clap Clap Award42 Drama Therapist Award2 Award Hoarder Enabler12 Wholesome Troll9 Emotional Support Viewer2 Sassy Tomato5 Free Range Tomato6 Tomato of Chaos2 Thread Historian6 Boba Brainstormer10 Notification Ninja1 Lore Librarian3 Mic Drop Darling4 Emotional Bandage9 Reply Hugger23 Soulmate Screamer20 Big Brain Award39
Completed
This Is Not What I Expected
6 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Jan 3, 2021
Completed 0
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.0

A simple story executed in an almost perfect way.

There are countless romantic comedies showing how opposites attract. The opposite gives as the comedy bits, while the attraction leads us into the land of love and romance. Even though the opposites here were truly extreme, unexpectedly they worked well together. As a viewer, I could slowly observe how strict and perfectionist Lu Jin and free-spirited and messy Gu Sheng Nan start to adapt to each others' ways, and go from hate to love in such a fun and exciting manner.

The thing I loved the most about this movie was Zhou Dong Yu acting - it's so amazingly raw. All the emotions seemed so real, rich and clear. Not one scream seemed fake, not one tear forced, not one laugh insincere. Not to mention, she presented probably THE BEST acting drunk scene in the history of cinema. If someone told me she was actually taking some shots here and there in the middle of filming the scene, I would believe them.

The movie is quite honestly beautifully shot. Some scenes were stunning - adding emotional value to what was happening on the screen. Some had fun and exciting filters and effects added, which exaggerated the comedy just the right way. It was just smart and well planned: where and what to use to enhance the vision of the director and writer.

Any complaints? There was exactly one scene where I was completely not connected and not convinced by Ming Xi acting. Zhou Dong Yu was slaying on her end and Ming Xi's performance just felt flat in comparison. What's more, even though I appreciated how they took the time for the leads to make this bond over food before they had a chance to actually confront each other face to face, I wish the movie was about 15 to 20 minutes longer. This way we could get a bit more story behind how, why and when they started to have feelings for each other, especially on Lu Jin's side.

Overall, it was a truly funny movie, with great acting, amazing scenography and cinematography. The characters, even though extremely exaggerated in their character traits, were still believable. I laughed a lot, I cried a few times and I enjoyed myself throughout the whole watch.

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Completed
Love Has Fireworks
6 people found this review helpful
by Kate Flower Award1
29 days ago
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.5
Rewatch Value 6.0

Through the stomach to the heart - dinner table romance.

This drama truly embraces slow burn natural romance, and I’m not mad about it. Truly to be told - I truly enjoy how I cannot really point to a specific moment the leads fell in love with each other, I just remember small moments that built into a grand feeling.

It’s kind of an uneventful show, but I would not say it’s a flaw. Personally I enjoyed the mundane moments far more than when they actually tried to push forward the plot and the story. Highlight of the show? Dinner scenes. Li Yi Fei and Qian Fei hanging out in the kitchen area was what I enjoyed the most - building connections while performing daily tasks and slowly adjusting to each other. The whole dynamic, vibe, bickering, but also appreciation was all I needed, and honestly all I cared about. I love how they grew as individuals while slowly developing the feelings.

They just felt like real people. The flaws were not these awful big issues, just small things that depending on the situation could get really frustrating. Their positive traits and skills were also these unreadable, borderline supernatural skills. They were really good at their job - nothing more nothing less. Throughout the show they just kept learning from each other and improving as people and this is just the type of romance I love.

At the beginning of the drama I was convinced Li Yi Fei did not really know how to love the other person. He knew how to take care of someone, be nice, attentive even, but not necessarily love. On the other hand Qian Fei seemed to know how to love others, but not herself. It’s all nice and good to prioritize people around you, but at some point you need to focus on yourself. And that’s how their romance went - one learned how to love others, while the other learned how to love herself.

As any romance drama, this one also had to have additional supporting couples. I had some hopes for Jing Jing and Lu Ze. I always appreciate when the drama shows different couples in different stages of relationship - we get to see diverse types of conflicts depending on where the couple are and what their future plans are. Sadly, I feel like they unnecessarily inserted Qian Fei into their problems. And after that they were completely sidelined. The drama focused on Dang Yu and Jun Cheng and my focus completely drifted away. I am sorry, but I am just not into a love story that starts with stalking and acting dumb and cute will not erase the fact it was in fact stalking. They as a couple were frustrating ,the family drama around them was even more annoying.

The biggest positive surprise? Liao Shi Yu. Not even lying, I think she might be my favorite character. I love how professional, but also humane she was. While trying to put her feelings aside to run the business, she still had her slipups, but at the end of the day she knew what she did wrong. She valued other people’s skills over her own feelings towards them.

When talking about the characters I have to mention AI ex. I am so sorry, but the AI face swap was just too distracting. This man never looked in the eyes of the person he talked to - not once. The character itself was awful, but the face swap thing was so creepy that’s all I could focus on while watching his scenes.

For the minor flaws - I wished the drama actually focused more on friendships. I feel like every couple lived their own life and their plots did not overlap that much emotionally. Everyone was doing their own things to some extent. Sure, the girls met to chat about their relationship issues, but there was not much true overlap of what was going on in their lives.

Production wise leave any and all expectations behind. It’s obviously not a high budget production. Don’t know if I just got used to it, or it truly did improve in the second half, but the editing and mediocre aesthetics are not that distracting. The production just seems like bare minimum. Some soundtrack did not fit the occasion at all, some slo-mo moments made no sense, some transitions between scenes felt unnatural, but overall none of that was criminally bad.

The performances were great. Again, hard to judge AI ex - his whole existence was just frustration and confusion for the viewers. Were any of the performances groundbreaking? Career change? Breathtaking? Not really. But the chemistry was great and that’s kind of all one needs from a business slice of life rom-com.

Overall, mundane watch. Not necessarily mediocre, but it’s just.. lukewarm? And that’s fine. An addicting dry cookie? Needed palate cleanser? This is this type of a show.

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Completed
Salmokji: Whispering Water
6 people found this review helpful
by Kate Finger Heart Award1
Jun 1, 2026
Completed 1
Overall 4.0
Story 3.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 3.0

Plot written in bullet points.

Why did it feel like chatgpt writing? Nothing was explained, nothing was developed, nothing was truly connected. What happened? Why it happened? Don’t know. Sometimes it’s fine, but only when the horror does not pretend to have a plot, but here - they tried to fool me.

They gave me nothing except for a decent set up. But I feel like I only have bullet points of who the characters are, what’s the background, and what the plot is about - not a full narrative structure. Female lead with trauma - why, when, how? Senior with unexplained past and motives. Granny with vague goals and even more vague past. Rules of the supernatural that no one understands and cares to explore. Ending that kind of makes sense, but also feels not satisfying at all.

They had the cast and they had the budget, so what happened? It’s 2026 - lake lady with long black hair is not enough anymore. With all the innovative takes and twists in the genre you cannot give bare minimum and be happy with the result.

They tried to make it more fresh with camera work, but some ideas were ill-fitting. That fish lens bird view not only made me feel nauseous, but also it fitted more for a kids movie adventure type of a story.

The performances were good, but the writing for the characters was a mess. Example: Han Su In one second be acting like a true skeptic who only believes what she sees, to then be the first one to act paranoid because of the supernatural events.

Maybe I saw too many horrors in my life, but this one was simply below the average. There were two moments I did enjoy - both in the lake with the ghost attacking/trapping/hunting the characters down. Effective scares, too bad the story itself created zero tension.

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Completed
Countdown to Yes
6 people found this review helpful
by Kate Flower Award1 Lore Scrolls Award1
Mar 30, 2026
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.0

They were milking the denial so hard it became exhausting.

It started great, but then they could not handle their own conflict well enough. I am honestly not sure if the issue was the writing, directing or the delivery from actors themselves, but something did not work.

I loved it at first. I was ready for the soft angst and pinning, instead in the second half I got a lot of annoyance and running in a circles. This could work, but I don’t think Amemiya Kakeru as the skillset to deliver that internal conflict of wanting to be with Yokoi Minato and being scared it would ruin what they already had, while also somehow trying to gaslight himself into believing he does see Minato as just best friend. A lot to handle for a rookie actor. While I saw a lot of love in Minato’s eyes, I mostly saw hesitation in Wataru’s and I am not sure it’s because of the character’s feelings, and not just the actor being confused how to deliver a cohesive performance. Amemiya Kakeru was not bad, but rather than amazing performance I’ve got a good potential.

Supporting characters were all rather shallow, I remember not one of them. Maybe the photo studio boss and the little son.

Plotwise, they were milking the denial so hard it became exhausting. I usually have no problem with characters not allowing themselves to admit to their feelings, and even when they do, not acting on them. But I feel it should be built on some underlying angst and hesitation of what could be and what they can lose. But here the feelings felt quite shallow. I don’t think I was fully convinced by this romance. It felt more platonic on one side. While I understand they both have feelings for each other, after finishing the drama I keep having this feeling: Was Wataru afraid of getting into a relationship because it might ruin the friendship, or did he get into a relationship because he was afraid of losing his best friend? I know it’s not the case, but with the presentation I cannot stop thinking it’s too much of a fitting possibility.

Then we have the issue with the structure of the story, for example: there was one episode filled with flashbacks, usually used to sum up the whole show before the conclusion or provide additional perspective, but it gave me neither and did not do much to push the story forward or change the dynamics. Or when the majority of the episodes focus on the flashbacks of the past and conclude on confession in the present, but they did not establish at all what change in present timeline for the confession to happen - what pushed the character to do it.

Production wise, the drama was pretty, but there were some editing and lighting issues. Ending scene in episode 3? What exactly happened? It feels like they filmed during the day and then edited it to look like night post-production… but it didn’t quite work out.

It was a nice show, but being too long ruined the experience. Some dramas truly should stick to 6 episodes, if it’s all the plot can fill.

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Completed
Moving
6 people found this review helpful
by Kate Flower Award1 Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss1
Nov 21, 2025
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.5

Tips on how not to construct your story - killing the vibe.

All I needed was more linear storytelling and I would be sold. If they paced the tension well and built up the story, by the finale I would be jumping from excitement. Sadly, the weird jumping between the plot lines and cutting off the hype with weirdly placed cliff hangers borderline ruined the show for me.

I definitely did like all the separate plotlines, but the way they were presented was honestly harming the amount of focus and attachment I had to the story and the characters. The moment I was invested they switched to a different character’s story and it made me frustrated and want to just skip whatever new plot they were presenting to get closure from the one I was watching so far. Does it all present a cohesive picture by the end? Sure. Was it the best way to present the plot? Not for me.

What this drama has: fun action scenes, characters you want to root for, good chemistry between actors, solid variety of backgrounds and motivations, easy to follow plot, great performances.

What it does not have: real meaningful message, interesting villains, good CGI, balance between the characters and plots.

Surprisingly with a rather detailed plot and world building, fun characters, stellar cast I do not really have that much to say about this drama? Weirdly it felt rather empty. The characters I was the most interested in and felt like they had the most potential (Frank and Lee Gang Hun) did not get enough screen time which was also a bummer.

Also, me the whole show: so like… where the fuck is Kim Du Sik?
The writer truly shot themselves in the foot with this one. Creating a character that is presented as unstoppable, best of the best to then keep them behind the scenes and never truly use their full potential. Probably the biggest disappointment.

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Completed
The Good Bad Mother
6 people found this review helpful
by Kate Finger Heart Award1 Flower Award1 Cleansing Tomato Award1
Sep 22, 2025
14 of 14 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 5.0
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Let me fix it for you: The Bad Mother.

This is such a mid show I am amazed how many people recommended for me to watch it. The only actually truly good aspect of it were the performances.

Long story short we have a bad abusive mother having a second chance to abuse her son again after he gets into an accident. From limiting food, socially isolating, emotional and physical abuse, to literally wanting to get your mentally 7 years old son to get married and have kids (this was such a “low-key” moment in the drama, but for me it was so gross) - her trash actions had no boundaries. All explained by her “good intentions”. And sure, if the story was about her using her second chance to fix the mistakes she made the first time, I would be fine with the title. But she did not, she willingly made exactly the same mistakes and abused her son in similar fashions the second time around too - blessed with her good intentions.

Just make the show psychological drama, rename it as “The Bad Mother” and it would actually be a good show about the consequences of abuse and how much of an impact it can have on a person even in their adulthood. Because there is nothing wholesome about that parent-son relationship and the fact ML felt guilty about everything that happened is wild for me. He needs therapy. Like most MLs in kdramas.

I enjoyed the village and interactions between everyone living there, but even that aspect brought nothing new nor innovative - pick any slice of life set in the countryside and you will get exactly the same content, but without all the anger and frustration that comes from the main plot.

The aspect of the show I liked the most? Friendship between Mi Joo and Sam Sik. Their scenes were easily my favorite and they actually had fun, wholesome and upbeat chemistry going on.

About the crime plot - it was good when it lasted. It started and ended the show. Now that I think about it, it’s like watching 2 completely different dramas. The whole middle part does not really connect that well with the beginning and the ending - be it by themes or tone. Still, the investigation storyline was better than the “mother-son relationship” plot. If I had to pick, I’d say episode 13 was my favorite and yes, it had the least interactions between Young Soon and Kang Ho.

As I said at the beginning of the review - the only truly great things were the performances. Ra Mi Ran aced the awful self-victimizing egocentric mother and Choi Kang Ho delivered solid acting be it as a confident and scheming prosecutor, or confused and cheerful child. I don’t think I have even one complaint about the cast.

The production value was exactly what you expect from mainstream kdrama. They have a really well polished specific flavor to them. They all blend together and have little to no lasting effect on the viewers. They look generic pretty.

Standout soundtrack - Andy Love’s Home and Dry.

Overall, if it was not for the recommendation challenge I would probably not finish it. It does not really have unique takes or plots. And the themes we know are not especially well presented.

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Completed
Enigma
6 people found this review helpful
by Kate Flower Award1
Jan 8, 2025
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 5
Overall 7.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.5
Rewatch Value 7.5

Teacher turned uncle turned love interest?

That’s the crack show. The low key straight version of Midnight Museum and I liked it a lot. Even if I was extremely entertained watching, I cannot pretend like it’s some fine piece of cinema. It could have been - with a better paced story, more episodes and someone to review the writing a bit.

The premise is exactly what a supernatural horror loving fan would eat up - black magic and unfortunate events. What’s great is - they actually did try to make it spooky and managed quite a few times. It was far less silly scooby doo than I thought it would be. I appreciated how they tried to hold the tension instead of just relying on jump scares.

What made the spooky vibes work so well was the editing. Some transitions were so nice and smooth I was genuinely impressed. Editing and directing did the heavy lifting in this project for sure.

On the other hand, the writing was… juvenile? I think that's a fitting description. I actually have far more hope for season 2. This was just a quick introduction to what can potentially be a great story. As much as I love Win and Prim as an on screen duo, this character pairing was just… a misunderstanding. Dude be pretending to be her teacher, then her uncle, while also flirting with her when nobody's watching and I’m just sitting here confused about my existence, because my brain does not compute what I’m seeing.

I did enjoy both as individual characters. Ajin and his fake ass clumsy persona, when in fact he is this hot tattooed black magic wielder. Fa who is so smart, yet desperately wanting excitement and purpose in her life. Great. Yet something about their dynamics was off putting. Rather than being excited to see them on screen for the potential low-key romance, I was excited to see how much of a clownery their next interaction will be.

I want to be perfectly clear though - I did have A LOT of fun while watching the show. It’s a perfect short binge watch material. I could not stop myself from starting the next episode. And with that hype I will be patiently waiting for season 2.

It's only 7.5/10, but it's not:
I'm disappointed and expected more 7.5
It's the: holy shit that was a lot of fun even if many things did not make sense 7.5.

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Completed
Noona, You Are a Woman to Me Season 2
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate Finger Heart Award1 Flower Award1
3 days ago
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Speed dating on crack - fun edition.

Honestly, I had a blast watching. All the contestants were extremely unique (or at least far more unique than the usual bunch we get in shows like that) with their own distinctive charms. As individuals I loved them, as for the relationships, I had some questions.

Seeing how many couples ended up actually dating after the show, I’d say it was a massive win. Do I understand how at least some are still together? No. But then I saw just a tiny part of their interactions in a short period of a week they lived together.

On a personal level I truly liked Siwon and Jihye. They both seemed really determined and direct - knowing what they liked and what they dislike, being honest with people they interact with.

On the entertainment side I loved Jungwon - what a fox he was. I was shocked by more than one of his decisions and actions.

Pairings one, I adored Siwon and Yujin - they were such an unexpected ship for me, but I loved how wholesome their dates were.

For the criticisms, , it’s the usual: wish the show was longer - not even necessarily more episodes, but they staying together longer. One week is a ridiculously short period of time, especially since if they pick each other at the end, they are called “couples”... when they are still in the process of getting to know each other.

Then I wish there was more variety of age gaps, but also for the smallest age gap being larger than here. The catfish this season was way too young.

Overall, I liked it more than season 1 for sure.

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Completed
Ripe Town
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Dec 6, 2025
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.5

There is no justice when seeking revenge.

Revenge will never give you a peace of mind, because it will always create victims that will hunt you till their last day. Never ending spiral of survival in the world that does not care.

It’s a drama that requires a lot of patience - 10 episodes in I still felt rather clueless about the past events and their impact on the current timeline. Maybe not completely blind, for sure not seeing the big picture thought. The writer takes their sweet time to explain the murders, their motive, connection between victims and the wanted outcome depending on the side. While the actual explanation is more or less spoon-fed to the audience, it does not feel like they tried to insult my lack of perception, but rather elaborate on the vague idea I already had in my head. It was delivered in a way that seemed appropriate taking into consideration the long and detailed set up.

I am not sure how much of a main character Qu San Geng was. For me I saw him more like a vessel for narration. While the story directly impacted him, somehow he seemed a little bit detached from it. Technically he was the force driving the investigation forward, so why does his presence feel so passive? I’m not mad about it, I think he served his purpose perfectly, but maybe I just expected to connect to his character a little bit more?

Ripe Town is a story about injustice - be it legal or social. About the power of status and money. About idealistic ideas that are crushed by reality. This is not a fun investigation, one could even say the ending feels unsatisfying. But that unsatisfying ending actually perfectly fits the story. I felt deeply frustrated more than once and even the more lighthearted moments left a bitter taste in my mouth.

That said, it was not all pain and suffering. Thanks to many interesting main and supporting characters, I can with full confidence say it was an enjoyable watch. Song Chen easily being the best of them all - not exactly good, but definitely not bad. Sticking to his convictions and morals. I also really like the “sidekick trio” Leng Gui Er, Gao Shi Cong and Feng Ke Zhui. Their dynamics were the ray of sunshine and fun that gave me a little bit of peace of mind.

One thing the drama did a phenomenal job with was making me switch my opinions about characters back and forth depending on the amount of information I had. It clearly shows the depth of the story and the characters’ actions. Nothing is quite as black and white as it may seem.

Performance wise, Yu Yao as Lu Zhi was probably my favorite along with Ning Li and Bai Yu Fan. Personally these 3 were the true main characters for me, and everyone kind of faded into background compared.

As for the production, I loved the color schemes used - the grays, blues and greens with hints of warm tones from lanterns created a somber and grim picture that accompanied the at times bleak reality of the characters.

Overall, I would for sure recommend it, but it is better as a binge watch. Be patient with how the story unfolds, you will get your conclusions at the right time.

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Completed
A Life for a Life
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate Flower Award1 Big Brain Award1
Aug 2, 2025
13 of 13 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.5
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Could've been a thrilling ride or an emotional journey. Wanted to be both so it became neither.

It might be a “me problem” since I caught myself having similar complaints about other dramas too - they are not simple enough. And this is also how I felt watching this show.

On one hand it was a crime “who did it” mystery with twists and new revelations at every turn. We followed a few characters, all with their individual stories that at the end connect into a whole picture. On the other hand it’s a one man psychological drama about how obsession over your own regrets can affect your life and lead you to a point of no return. And these two just did not mash well for me.

The tension was rising when the plot was following the mystery bits, but then we got a full on episode that seemed like a borderline slice of life drama of romance between Xiang Dong and Fen Fang. Then we go back to mystery, but we focus on a completely different set of characters, and then come back to Xiang Dong and turn it into a character driven show. But then again we are back to following Yong Hong, Yao Xin and Wen Guo and I was getting whiplash from all these switches. Whenever I got interested in the “who done it” aspect, I was put back on the path of Xiang Dong’s obsession. When I was getting invested in his character, they switched the focus completely to someone else.

I really enjoyed all the elements, characters, plots and themes. The stakes were high, the progression of the plot made sense. The acting was fantastic, but I just could not get that invested with all that switching of the focus points.

Directing and production wise it was visually beautiful, but unreal about intentions from time to time. Some scenes had your typical grand revelation editing, but the content of what was shown was obvious by all the previous hints given. I honestly did not know if it was stylistically overdramatized for no reason, or if it was the big revelation because the writer thinks I am an idiot and did not figure it out a few episodes ago with all the obvious hints…

Overall, I still believe it’s a solid show. It has its ups and downs, but it can for sure maintain your attention and interest.

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Completed
Cursed in Love
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Feb 9, 2025
8 of 8 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 7.5
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.0

All the sweets are served with HOT TEA.

What a dramatic melodrama it was. All the twists, all the angst, all the pain and toxicity served with the most beautiful Japanese sweets. Great combination.

This was not a smart script, but it was for sure entertaining. “Wait what?” was my default reaction to a lot of scenes. Sakura was not the brightest of the bunch, but I appreciated how she was not backing down no matter what. Tsubaki was painfully hot with his kabedons every episode, even if there were no firing neurons in his brain. While the drama did not try to hide who was the evil mastermind even for a second, I appreciate how “who she used” was quite a surprise and twist by the end.

The plot was just a full on crack and they knew it. They warned me from episode one when even the female lead was clearly stating undeniable facts: “Something is wrong with me”. You, male lead, everyone in his family, and me for binging this show in one sitting.

I read that quite a few people were not crazy about the performance of Mizuki Alisa as Tsubaki's mother. I loved it. She delivered that evil mother with over-controlling tendencies and inferiority complex perfectly. All the other actors delivered great performances too. Yokohama Ryusei did not really have to do much with this role - he just had to look hot. Hamabe Minami aced the emotional scenes, though I would maybe like a bit more dramatic reactions here and there.

Overall, I had fun, but I am not fully sure if it was for good reasons :)

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Completed
Crazy Love
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Aug 31, 2024
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 5.0

It’s fine to hurt people, if you were hurt first - all forgotten and forgiven…

What a hot mess this show is. I am amazed.

I won’t lie, the drama was entertaining. But I also find C class horror movies entertaining. Entertainment does not truly equal quality. I was in a constant state of confusion, and that’s what made it fun.

First of all, I still do not understand when Lee Shin A started to have feelings for Noh Go Jin. She was already liking him before he started to act like a human being and not a psychopath. What made her attracted to him? Was it just his handsome face? I cannot comprehend it. It’s not the case of “he seemed cold, but he showed warmths towards her, so she started to see the good in him” - she was already into him when the tiny bits of goodness started to force their way out of the depth of his trauma and trash personality.

About trash personality and excusing bad behavior because of a painful past - that was a whole ass trend in this show. Except for Lee Shin A, LITERALLY every significant character acted shady and did bad things because of either their current bad situation or past issues. And then it was forgotten and forgiven. The level of scheming was a bit too big for such a sweet resolution if you ask me. Consequences of your actions? Don’t know them.

While the romance had rather good pacing, and even though I do not understand Shin A’s reasoning, I can see a proper progression of both of their feelings. I cannot say the same thing about the mystery aspect of the drama. For the longest time the writer makes you believe male lead is a naive idiot who ignores all the red flags of everything wrong happening around him, when in fact everything was happening behind the scenes, outside of script, probably only in the writer’s imagination. We see none of the process, just the results and it’s so fucking unsatisfying.

I did like a lot of supporting characters. I found every teacher in the academy unique and entertaining. I liked that they were written to stand out on their own and not just fill the space. The side plot for the ex-secretaries was also endearing, especially with their inside woman ;)

The acting was good. Nothing amazing, but I did not have any bigger issues either.

Overall, there are so many better rom-coms, I cannot recommend it with a clear conscience.

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Completed
Kidnapped Soul
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Dec 22, 2022
Completed 0
Overall 4.0
Story 4.5
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 2.0
If you look at all the separate scenes, if you describe the plot, if you look at most of the acting alone: this is a great movie. What’s the issue then? It was glued together with an old chewing gum - it just does not stick together. All scenes felt disjointed, nothing transitioned smoothly and it ended up as a confusing mess.

Honestly, what was wrong with these weird transitions between scenes? They showed a really well acted, emotional scene - a dialogue of a mother describing her pain of losing her child who went missing. But in the middle of it, they just cut to flashback of her looking for the child on the day she disappeared - all the emotional impact gone with this weird cut. And then they came back to the mother now describing what was shown… So why even show it? Usually I’m more of a show don’t tell, but here the tell was important, because the emotions the mother was feeling were the focus.

It would be a decent thriller if they did a better job in the post production and completely removed the laughable supernatural elements. It’s not like the plot could not happen without that aspect and it didn't even take that much screen time anyway. It was just another not well executed idea the writer and director had…

The detective was amazingly hot, so that’s a plus I guess.

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Completed
The Phantom in Lost Mountain
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Dec 12, 2022
Completed 3
Overall 3.5
Story 5.0
Acting/Cast 5.0
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 2.0

It feels like a passion project for someone who really dreams of making movies…

but are not quite there in terms of skills.
I could feel that a lot of care was put into this movie and it was taken seriously. I could also feel all the limited resources and how they impacted the final result. The plot had quite a number of twists, but the writing and directing was not smooth and detailed enough to truly tell the story well.

I think one of the biggest issues I had was the fact, I was not exactly on board with male lead. I don’t know how old he is supposed to be, but clearly old enough to know better. Yet he acted like a teenage boy. Sure, his mother would not win an award for the best parent, but he completely disregarded her struggles and just dumped all his grievances - whenever justified or not - on her. Dude had some issues and I struggled with rooting for him.

As for the storytelling - it was a bit confusing. The main lead investigates the attack on his grandpa, keeps referring to the attacker as a killer, barely does anything, but still finds more information than the police? And there is also a dirty lady in the forest that lurks here and there. Also a lot of focus on romance and romantic feelings people have. It all does make sense at the end, but to get there, you need to truly push forward feeling like nothing connects and it’s just a few random scenes put together.

Every character had their traumas, and they yelled about their traumas… and yet we as viewers did not really know what said traumas were. Everything felt extremely detached and awkward because of that.

The acting was decent. Some actors did better than the others, some scenes and lines felt more natural than the rest. Nothing major to praise nor to complain about.

The production was kind of all over the place. The transitions between the scenes were distracting and rough. They had hard-cut the background music during some scenes, not to mention some choices of the songs were rather questionable. The views though, some were quite beautiful. Also… I was over 6 minutes into the movie and they still kept showing credits here and there…

Overall, it dragged painfully. 30 minutes in I felt like I already watched 2 hours. It picks up by the end, but I feel like too much information and actions are dumped in that last 20 minutes so the whole pacing of the movie is off.

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Completed
Zhang Gong Zhu Zai Shang
5 people found this review helpful
by Kate
Dec 6, 2022
27 of 27 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.5
Story 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Fanfic like story we all crave in the middle of the night.

I have hardly any thoughts about this show except for the fact that the female lead was amazing and the character deserves a full length drama. Strong, smart, confident - we need it.

The political schemes are complex as a set up and deserve a more in depth exploration too. The delicious angst this could bring if it was longer - I can only imagine.

The fanfic-like romance between confident and domineering female lead and puppy male lead with deadly skills was everything one might ask from a short show like this.

What surprised me the most was quite decent acting for a short, low budget web drama. This could have been a cringe fest and not fun entertainment if delivered with poor acting.

Overall, confident, hot male lead who? I only know Li Yun Zhen.

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