Daisuke

OK but confusing and difficult to sustain interest

my first impression of this drama is first two episodes very unpleasant〜 even when you get the back story so can understand more the students I still find it swings between very unpleasant and hopelessly sentimental。the sensei: this woman should play a saint。for me it was difficult to warm to any of the characters。 I had this on hold quite long before trying to finish it〜 it did gain momentum again but confusingly in last episodes moved focus to one character's story [admittedly lead character in early episodes] but with the effect it seemed like two separate dramas in some respects。I feel this is a drama that tries hard to get over a message and develop characters but goes in different directions and does not know what message or messages it stands for、except we have another great sensei dying for her kids that is totally not of this world、 while the characters do not really develop but just change overnight from very unreasonable to reasonable to fit in with where it is in the fixed number of episodes。 in summary nothing great but ok so a generous ーas always for me ー 7/10

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not comedy as expected

I was surprised by this movie。 I expected a light-hearted comedy but it was really a serious look at the problems gay people have in being ’’out’’ and living together and being accepted by parents in a very conservative Chinese society。I was very surprised the Chinese censors would allow movies that deal with this topic although sexual contact between the partners was not at all explicitー then I saw this was actually a Taiwanese movie so it gave a false impression attitudes in China could be changed。obviously that remains untrue、 so it was rather misleading in that way。 as to the movie itself、 I did not think the acting or direction was very good unfortunately。 for me the actors were rather unconvincing in their roles and the acting was wooden。 the production values were low。 however it must be praised for being very brave in tackling a serious topic。it is just a pity that this is gives a very false impression that attitudes are being or can be changed in China〜 it is more like the Taiwanese or western world hope China will change its attitude to homosexuality but there is very little evidence of this in real life、 although it is not illegal as such and there was a long history of same sex relationships in China before attitudes changed in Twentieth Century. unfortunately the same thing happened in Japan after introduction of western attitudes in Nineteenth Century、although now it is improving。 the attitudes here and in China have just try to ignore reality。

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Intro credits nearly put me off watching this but I like it for its happiness and how the characters develop. I put off watching the final episode partly because I was enjoying it so much I did not want it to end but partly because I was fearing a good drama series would end slushy and unbelievable. For me a good drama is where characters develop and hard choices need to be faced for you to grow as human being. I will not go into detail but by this test this drama was not finally truly successful. I feel the drama was great until towards the end. I give it 10/10 for the excellent episodes. Would re-watch except ending.

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Weird mix of light and dark

This drama is weird mix with bomb attack with real casualties mixed with comedy. I really liked it in parts but in all for me the combination of "goofy humor" ・bokutachi airheads with serious message does not work。I mean there is really serious stuff here and the next minute they are acting like airhead bokutachi。 Just when they get me to laugh five minutes later I feel like crying。 It is one extreme to the other。Giving me identity crisis　ଽ (৺ੋ ௦ ৺ੋ )৴ but at the end I know who the real * of this show was: the guy with the conscience, you will see what I mean if you watch.

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Very touching drama, nice male and female leads and interesting other characters, especially Mr Oh the teacher - why do we never get teachers like this in real life? Covers many teen problems, not just romance, various sub-plots keep interest going. I thought it dragged in the middle, with lot of unoriginal school tropes. Can get too heavy, especially with male lead's struggles, one after another, but glad I stayed with it. Start of last episode I thought it had a credible conclusion but of course it then drowned in "corn" and tears, helped by the soulful music . This romantic type of drama, it seems this is inevitable. Need to be in sentimental mood for tears.

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Mixed feeling about this. I liked the Se Gi parts best. Why is it so many Korean dramas start so good then go on and on and cram a quick resolution into the final episode? [though to be fair often Japanese of some types are the same]. The idea and storyline was very good but be warned from about episode 15 dragged and faded as the syrupy romance and backstory took over. I struggled to make it to the final episode, must be a stubborn streak. [me??]. It is the kind of drama if you watch while it airs you tune out before you get to the end and never finish it. The final episode was good but everything was so rushed and crammed into one episode〜〜why ? weak end to good drama.　Acting/caste very good if you like those looks. Music. I dislike rap music but on this show it is even more intrusive 〜〜gives me headache((((*｡_｡)_ Re-watch? Not for me. Was 10/10 for first half but a generous 7/10 by the end.

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I was expecting a comedy. How wrong could I be? But over the whole series there was in fact quite a lot of comedy mixed in. The huge contrast of comic and tragic in the same drama seems quite strong feature in Korean dramas like this. The plot of corruption in high places was not original: the idea of mom becoming a student is ridiculous but to my knowledge is original. Both heroes ・heroines and villains played well, with special mention for Kim Hee Sun with stand-out performance as mom and the dastardly villain Park Young Kyoo as Chairman Hong Sang Bok~~ almost a caricature villain ~~ who kept up the shouting to the end and came to a fitting end. Go Soo Hee as Han Gong Joo and her cross-dressing minions were hilarious right to the end. Really there was not one character who did not act well. One very interesting theme I noticed in this drama was the transformation of "nasty" characters to good ones as the story developed. I am thinking especially of the students Go Bok Dong and Hong Sang Tae ~~ which I found very hard to believe. Bad characters do not suddenly change to saints in real life. Applies to some adult villains too. But the villains who stayed villains were far more convincing [especially Hong San Bok]. There was great suspense and I watched last 5 episodes in one go, which is a first, so it must have been good. Not so happy with the music which I found too hyper emotional and intrusive, except the music for the comic parts was good. Knowing the story, not one I would watch again but highly recommended.

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I cannot praise this highly enough, it's great. It has sci-fi, medical, saeguk intrigue and plotting, adventure and memorable characters all in one. All good-looking leads to sweeten the eye. Song Seung Heon still looks very young and handsome here considering he was in his thirties and comparing his still good but more rugged look in Black only 5 years later. The only (slight) disappointment was the Joseon ending, which left the story hanging in the air. The attempt to tidy it up through Prince Heung Soon's appearance (those who watch will know what I mean) for me was unsatisfactory. Apart from that I am really sorry to have finished it. Will almost certainly re-watch, like Black, with Song Seung Heon, one of the few I have re-watched with equal pleasure as first time round. I cannot understand the low rating on this series. Lack of good taste I assume.

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Excellent. Stylised Samurai epic ~~ crisis of end of Tokugawa era crossed with crisis in lives of warriors and tragic resolution. Typically this presents series of images with limited action including shots of flower representing beauty in transience, like human lives ~~ especially those bound by code of honour. May be difficult for non-Japanese to appreciate, but similar to Greek classical tragedy. This is NOT in tradition of "action" samurai movies. The actors are good here, though the relations between characters could be made clearer, story of individuals quite difficult to follow. Not great, but still cathartic.

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Watching for second time and 5 episodes in one week, this covers some serious issues facing young adults in school in a convincing way, with a different one in every episode focusing on each character but there is also a running mystery theme about a girl who took her own life and the waves she left behind. It's well acted, I like Hong Jong Hyun's serious, taciturn character as a good guy but some may find his character a bit too forbidding. All the actors portray their different characters very well I feel. Like others I feel it is SERIOUSLY UNDERRATED, maybe because it is such a "hard-hitting drama", with little or no comedy to relieve the tension. My only regret is that the series is so short.

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Episode 1 violent intro but this grew into something of an epic. Wonderful martial arts - historical with plenty of memorable characters. I found Sword Saint more convincing as a martial arts master. The contrast of light-dark with Heuksa Chorong was well done. Excellent political intrigue woven throughout with Hong Dae Joo a memorable villain and built up the tension to spectacular finish. I am not a great lover of "epilogues" but it was well written, allowing for the fact that they are always somewhat predictable. It's a mighty effort to make and a mighty effort to watch, so I am sure I will come back to it again in time but not for a while. It's a commitment to watch but one I always looked forward to daily. The only drawback for me was that the music got very repetitious and intrusive sometimes. Otherwise brilliant all round. 11/10

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Nice old-fashioned school/mystery story for teens and "teen adults". The idea of a 15 year old graduating from MIT and going back to school in Japan is of course crazy i.e. pure manga~~~but I like Nakamura Aoi, though he really needed a hair styling makeover when he did this (or perhaps that was part of the old-fashioned setting). If I was him I might feel the urge to kick her ankle now and then, but it was an endearing show, it really felt like a school story, though a really old-fashioned school, the clothes were pretty awful. I loved the end music. I especially liked the episode with time travel. I may well watch again in future.

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Near perfect

As near perfect of its type as you can get, this drama. It certainly grabbed my interest, with good mystery and acting from the start, although I really do not like dramas with psychopathic characters~~they cause huge damage, not just at the extreme end of murderers, but to other human beings in day to day life. Seo in Guk in character totally different from King of Hi School and works brilliantly. Also Jang Na Ra, I did not at first associate the teacher in School 2013 with her in this setting, though the character is similar. There are lots of comic interludes between the murder and mystery and the support characters of the crime team are good fun. I like the "team leader", with his self-confident bravado and his mournful look when things do not go quite according to plan but his character also developed in the course of the series. My only reservation was how the romance "on-off" worked and the end, which did not seem realistic to me. Apart from this, the plot was worked out at the end in a very accomplished and masterful way. The music was very moving. I do not usually re-watch, but putting this at 9 as this may be an exception in the future. Congratulations to actors, producer, director but above all the brilliant writer.

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Brilliant historical/sci-fi mystery drama

Brilliant. Very intriguing drama, but some violence~~ primitive period. You get enough hints to relate it to scientific developments of advanced civilisations without losing the period atmosphere. Sort of historical X files. Oh, and the romance is slight, with a nice twist at the end, assuming I am right in how I interpret it. Would a woman be in that position in Joseon period, though? Ah, but there's the twist at the end again that explains it. I do not know much about Korean history but as the Joseon dynasty lasted 500 years, which period is this? Never dull, plenty of different story-lines and characters you can identify with. The stories are only around 40/45 minutes but seem to pack in more than hour long shows with slow patches. For anyone who likes a mix of drama, sci-fi, supernatural, mystery in historical setting this is highly recommended. Even if you do not like historical, still worth watching, it converted me to looking at historical shows.

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