myrnskees

I went into the drama not realizing there were only 8 episodes, so it was a very quick watch for me. I also like to watch everything on 1.5x speed so it went by super quickly. The acting of the drama was great and the main leads did such a wonderful job. It was action-packed and exciting, but was also able to bring out the tears (and honestly, I don't cry much, if ever!). However, don't go into it thinking too much because, after I finished it, I started thinking and then realized that there were so many things that didn't make sense. If you don't mind blood and want to watch something quick and predictable, then would definitely recommend.

Below are my --spoilers-- and the things that I really didn't understand / like about the show:

1) the romance -- okay, I guess almost every k-drama out there has to have a romance line, and while I liked the chemistry between our ML and FL, there was a lot of development that was lacking. considering our FL's backstory, i would assume that she hasn't experienced much romantic love growing up, and so for her to initiate a kiss and then jumping so quickly into sex didn't really make a lot of sense to me. maybe i am overthinking how someone in her situation would react, but i definitely think there were better ways to go about this. also not very happy with the fact that han sohee wasn't even aware of the fact that there was a bed scene before signing on. feel like they added it in to get extra views but it was pretty unnecessary and if determined to be necessary, could have spent a bit more time developing their loveline.
2) the undercover cop storyline -- they spent so much of their time making you hate our FL's father only for us to learn later that this whole time, he was just an undercover gangster. even if FL might have been young when her father went undercover, you would think that she would have been aware of the fact that her dad was a cop. or maybe i just have the timeline wrong? not entirely sure but seems like a lot of things could have been dealt with differently if she had known. i guess then the story wouldn't have come about but it just doesn't really make sense is all.

Anyway, there's probably more but I'll stop for now. I think the drama was short enough that you can get through it without thinking too much about it and still enjoy it but if you're expecting something out of this world and unpredictable, perhaps something else would be better.

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I personally don't like body-swapping tropes, but our two main leads did such a good job of portraying their counterparts' character that I actually had to remind myself while watching that body swapping doesn't exist in real life! I absolutely love how they were able to pick up the minute details to really make it believable that they're in each other's bodies, so a big round of applause to the both of them.

While there are only 26 episodes to the series, there were parts of it that felt a bit dragged out to me. I ended up watching a lot of the drama on 2x speed so managed to finish it rather quickly. It's otherwise easy to watch and the acting is great, so would recommend on those points alone!

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Still thinking about the Qiao family

[ spoilers only at end of post ]

I stumbled upon this drama by chance after seeing it pop up on my Douban app while looking for something new and I am so glad that I did! It's been about a week since I've finished watching this title and I am still thinking about the drama and wishing that it were just a little bit longer (can they please do a sequel of them in 2020 LOL)

Prefacing this by saying that I normally do not seek out dramas that aren't happening in the modern era but thought that this one would only be spending a little time in the 70s and fast forwarding to now but that wasn't the case at all. Within a span of 36 episodes, you really get to grow up with the Qiao siblings, watching them go through each phase of their life. I will say that the timeline of the drama is a bit confusing to me. There were moments where I thought maybe a few months had passed, but it was actually a few years. However, there is no real indication to when certain time skips might happen (particularly when all of the siblings are older and they are no longer being played by a different actor because of the age).

The acting of this drama blew me out of the water as they really brought me into the story that they were living. While I'm not a fluent Chinese speaker and was watching this without subtitles, I was still able to grasp onto most of what was happening simply with just watching the body language and listening to the tone of how they spoke.

My family and I sped through the first few episodes very quickly but my mom was also reading spoilers on Chinese sites while we were watching as we were behind and so she was tempted to stop when people started talking about how the drama was becoming nonsensical and stuff; however, we pressed on and I'm so glad we did. I do think the drama ended a tad bit abruptly as there was a LOT that happened in that last episode, but it at least tied everything together well and wasn't one of those endings that leaves you feeling unsatisfied (even if I do selfishly want more).

The side characters also add a wonderful touch to the storyline and didn't feel overbearing or unnecessary. However, nothing can beat the love and care that these siblings have for one another. An emotional roller coaster but a lot of fuzzy warm feelings that come from witnessing such a bond.

If you haven't watched yet, you might want to skip the below because ~SPOILERS~. And if you have watched it, I would love to know your thoughts on these random thoughts I had while watching the drama!

1) For the longest time, I had no idea what the point of Qi Qi's character was, though, now that I've finished the drama, I can certainly appreciate his character a bit more and the purpose of why he's necessary. However, I honestly still don't understand the plotline of having him knock a girl up and having a baby. Was it to force him to mature quicker? Didn't really understand the point of this but maybe there's a nuance I didn't understand.
2) I would love to better understand how these characters decided to get married because it felt like there was no chemistry that built up between the characters that would make me believe there was love between them. However, perhaps most of it is a marriage of convenience? And also maybe why those marriages ended up in divorce?

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I had originally showed the teaser of this drama to my parents to get them to watch it, but they were completely uninterested. It was only after a series of failed attempts at other dramas did they finally agree to give it a try. I would say that they liked aspects of it, but they were also fine missing large chunks of the drama which my sister and I sometimes just watched on our own. My personal agenda in watching this was because I really wanted to watch another Kim Bum drama, and I thought he did a great job in his role! The cast as a whole were really great, and it's also so fun to see their dynamics off-screen as well. The plot line isn't always the most exciting, as things can get a little technical with the law and all, but I did enjoy seeing them in action in the courtroom. There were at times that I thought the writing felt a little all over the place (trying to shove in sub-plots that diverged from the main plot), but everything thankfully ties together well in the end.

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I read the positive reviews and heard about how popular this drama was getting that I decided to see for myself what the fuss was all about. The storyline was intriguing enough, and so I began. I was hooked for much of the first half, but by the second half (as the drama and angst kicked in), it started feeling a bit repetitive. By the last third of the drama, I was skipping through many of the scenes or watching it on 3x speed. There was too much unnecessary drama added in and the ending felt so rushed. I felt like there were better ways it could have ended - it almost ended in a way that felt like it could lead in to a second season though I hardly believe that were the intention. All in all, the acting was excellent, and the characters were generally likeable. I just felt like there was something more that I was wanting that I just didn't get from the second half of the drama. All in all, still a good watch, but not one that I'd necessarily need to watch again.

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Wanted to Like the Drama More

I originally picked out this drama for Wang Anyu as I really liked him in Romance in the Alley. However, after a few episodes, I ended up dropping it. I picked it up again when I decided I wanted to try to continue practicing my Chinese and thought that this would be an easy watch to keep in the background and just get used to listening to them speak.

This drama was very surface-level, and despite certain tensions / issues that the characters had to deal with, all the problems seemed to be resolved fairly quickly and easily (or perhaps just left unresolved and not dealt with properly). The middle episodes didn't seem to provide much in terms of development, and I really struggled to get through them. I don't really think things started getting all that interesting again until the last three episodes and then it just kind of came to an end.

I've read many reviews about issues with the fact that Liu Haocun doesn't really do kissing scenes. I don't personally find fault with that as not every drama needs that but this drama did end up coming off as more of a slice of life, coming of age drama than a romance drama with a name that seems to highlight the passion between the two leads. It did leave the drama feeling much more cutesy than passionate, which is fine if that was the intention of the drama. However, for much of the drama, it didn't even feel like FL even liked ML.

Again, I have no background on what this drama was adapted on but just based purely on entertainment value, I was left wishing for more.

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I honestly picked this drama up because I wanted to practice my Chinese listening skills. I've generally liked Tan Song Yun's dramas, so I figured I'd give this a go.

The storyline revolving around a female pilot trying to make her way in the aviation industry was incredibly intriguing and not one that I've seen before. There's something about seeing a workplace setting portrayed in detail in a drama that adds additional interest for me. Both leads (Tan Song Yun and Wang Kai) do an excellent job in their roles. I'm also a Liu Chang fan so quite enjoyed having him on the screen as well.

At some point, the story did start to drag a bit, which I find to happen quite often in Chinese dramas. It probably could have finished in fewer episodes, but won't complain about the great actors on the screen.

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Mouse came highly recommended to me after I had finished Beyond Evil. Perhaps because of this (and its stellar cast), I had incredibly high expectations for this drama. Unfortunately, the drama failed to meet those expectations.

The premise of the drama is incredibly unique, and the acting throughout is absolutely stellar. However, there was just way too much going on and too many twists it tried to take that it ended up becoming tiring. My parents, who have a hard time keeping track of characters as it was, got even more lost than I did. I think the drama could have done just as well even if it had been simplified, but instead, the second half of the drama seemed extremely dragged out and almost boring. Honestly, the last episode was stellar and they probably could have cut out 5 episodes before it and just gone there (okay, not actually, but you get the point). There are also certain cuts that are really sudden, and I kept thinking there was something wrong with my stream but it seems like that's just how it's cut.

It's a drama that started off well and ended up well, but the middle was a bit of a mish mosh to me. I'm still giving it a decent star rating because the acting really was magnificent, but unfortunately, it won't be a drama that I immediately think to recommend to others.

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What a heartwarming drama! I'd passed by this drama on Netflix many times but seeing the high reviews on MDL made me decide to give it a go. The cast did such a wonderful job in portraying their characters, especially Park In Hwan (the scenes in which he forgets who he is are so believable that I had to remind myself he was acting!). I do wish they had Chaerok work on his anger management though. Even though he does usually mean well, his attitude would totally be unacceptable in my eyes, especially towards someone so much older. Overall, I loved the development of the plot and the characters, and appreciated that the ending really tied everything together rather than leaving things feel like they were unfinished.

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The drama started off strong and intriguing, but by the mid-10's, it started to drag. Honestly, was considering dropping it around then but other viewers noted that it got better as it continued on. As a whole, I think this drama could have finished in 20-25 episodes but at 41 episodes, it was way too long. I continued pushing through it because, well, I needed to see how it ended but also I won't complain about having Zhang Xincheng on my screen. Overall, the acting of most of the cast was absolutely superb (the acting by Gu Zi Cheng and Mao Yi were a bit questionable but unsure if it was because of the characters or the acting) and there was a lot of potential, but it fell flat for me. Also, didn't understand why there was a need for a narrator in the drama. He seemed to appear less frequently as the episodes continued on (thank goodness), but I would think that if a storyline progresses well, there's no need to have some sort of omniscient character speaking about things that can be interpreted by the acting.

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I will start off by saying that I typically do not opt to watch dramas with fantasy elements, yet despite the fact that the whole premise of the drama is our ML, Woo Yeo, trying to become a human, it surprisingly didn't bother me too much. I think it helped that our two leads are so pretty and had such wonderful chemistry on screen. I was instantly hooked from the start! Hyeri also does such a good job of evoking cuteness through her character that you can't help but love Lee Dam and want her to become your friend. However, my interest started fading a bit midway through the drama, and there were some elements of the main relationship that made me not necessarily want to root for them anymore. The ending did tie things up nicely, but overall felt that the second half lacked in comparison to the first half. However, overall a very cute and easy to watch drama!

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My family and I have been watching a lot more Chinese dramas lately as I've found them to be more interested in them since it is their native language and it's easier for them to watch than to watch with English subtitles. My dad originally started this one and didn't like it, mostly finding it to be too childish for his taste. However, as we continued on, it became a family favorite, an enjoyable nightly pastime to end the day with.

For me, the drama was highly entertaining, and I found a lot of comedic relief through a lot of it. With a good-looking (and talented) cast and a cute plot, I knew that it wouldn't be too much of a difficult drama to get through. I also liked that the premise of the drama focused on ice sports and didn't completely just focus on romance or university life. The music was also amazing and had me singing the OST for quite some time after finishing the drama!!!

[ spoilers below ]

However, there were, of course, things that I didn't think were necessary. The side couples seemed to start stealing the focus away from the main couple (particularly between Huan Huan and Liao Zhen Yu) and the dreaded "second lead" became also a "third lead", neither of whom seemed like even a potentially viable option for our main female. The dramatic fall of Yu Yan was dragged out for much too long, and it was a bit strange that suddenly, her spending time with him resolved all of his mental health issues. Finally, I had high expectations for the final time-skip, but that really failed to meet expectations! There was so much potential in a great wrap, but they really failed to conclude it well, in my opinion.

[ spoilers end ]

Overall, I truly did enjoy this drama and it's why I still give it a fairly high score despite the issues that I had with it!

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The simple spoiler-free version of this review: Great cast, cute storyline. It's shorter than a typical 16-episode drama, which I actually thought was a good idea overall since it could definitely feel like things would drag if continued on.

Adding a small spoiler warning for the below!

I'd tried to give this drama a go a while back but somehow never got past the second episode. However, I love the entire cast so in hunting for a new drama, I decided to give this another chance. I thought the premise to be interesting (love an exes back to lover storyline ... I suppose you don't know when you start if they'll get back together, but honestly, when do they not?) and I really enjoyed how they shared snippets of what really happened in the past compared to what happened in the new version of the past.

While I don't know if such revelations about a relationship are as 'easy' in real life ( AKA if we were to go back in time, would we be able to see how we missed certain things in our relationships? Would redoing that past really be able to tie together a relationship again? ), it was nice to be able to see the main couple realize the circumstances that separated them and helped to make their relationship stronger the second time around. I would have liked to see more than just a half episode of their new present, but I guess that's not the point of the drama. Could easily make for a cute short series on what happens next, but I doubt that that'll happen.

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I hesitated in starting this drama for the longest time since I found the animation aspect of it to be a bit odd, but I actually didn't mind that bit too much and it was quite interesting to really get into the mindset of the characters. However, even watching it in 2x speed, I got pretty bored midway through and was fast forwarding 10 seconds quite often. I'm not sure why but Yumi's character just bothered me. I understand that her past brings along some emotional baggage, but she acted really childish whenever there was some conflict. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure why I ended up finishing this (I guess I wanted to know how it ended), but sadly did not love it as I expected from the raving reviews I've seen.

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