Reviews

Calm and Good one, definitely worth a watch.

Don't avoid this because of the other reviewer . I'm writing this cause of other reviewer. This drama is really good. There is no stalking or stuff like that, The couple is adorable, FL is the focus here. She is strong one but doesn't come of as overbearing. The interaction between main couple made it really cute. They have a awkward but good chemistry But Romance takes a backseat here. this is more about work and life as an accountant. her job as accountant showed the hurdles that a company goes through and the people who rip off companies funds without much thought. I was continuously reminded that small pennies here and there add to a large amount.

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Excellent story

I feel like I watched a different drama than some of the other reviewers. This story had me involved from episode 1 and that doesn't happen with every drama. It usually takes a couple episodes to decide if I will continue with a story or not.

I like fantasy, parallel universes, timelines, etc. so this didn't throw me. One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Fringe. Both leads were amazing. It was my first time to watch a drama with Lee Min-ho. Some reviewers said his performance was wooden, but isn't that because he plays a king who must not let his emotions betray his thinking? Was his character drinking in information as he was trying to assess the situation and plan his next move? The FL was perfection for sure, strong, confident, just, kind, and a complete bada$$. I loved the minimal dialogue between them at times, yet it conveyed their feelings too. A reviewer had commented that Jeong Tae-Eul turned into basically a wimp as the story progressed, how so? Late in the series after she's already in love, she fights here way out of captivity. That she is soft, emotional, & vulnerable with the man she is deeply in love with is natural. He is the same with her.

Please do ignore the negative reviews for this drama and try it on for yourself.

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Perfect balance of comedy and family drama

What a beautiful and incredibly enjoyable drama. The final ep made me cry a lot. Even though this drama includes many silly and ridiculous moments (in the best way possible), it's amazing how they managed to maintain a sense of relatable realism throughout.

Du Ruyu as a mother feels so familiar. The way she deals with her daughters when they are out of control or comforts them when they are feeling down feels so relatable. The way the sisters treat each other is also something I can deeply relate to. Their interactions are natural and sweet. Even when they bicker or share a laugh, it all feels so authentic.

The finale and how each couple ended totally made sense. I love that they didn’t force anything to make a perfect happy ending, but an ending that actually shows true growth for all the characters the viewers have grown to love.

Even though Guo Zhensheng has always been in love with Du Ruyu, the drama didn’t force a romantic relationship between the two of them. Instead, they treat each other as more like platonic partners. Du Ruyu respects Guo Zhensheng as someone who helped her raise all her daughters and someone she will grow old together with, without necessarily being romantic with him.

Peilan and Buping have the most solid relationship among all the couples, so it was inevitable that they would be the first to marry. I love how they naturally grew closer throughout the course of the drama. Peilan started as someone afraid to leave her family behind, gradually becoming more comfortable expressing her feelings for Buping, and finally being willing to move on to the next stage of her life, creating a new family and home with him.

I appreciate that Shi Zi's father still hasn't fully accepted Jinrong as his future daughter-in-law. It just feels more realistic that way. It's admirable how Jinrong hasn't given up, and I'm sure she will eventually succeed.

A-si and Keling's relationship also makes perfect sense. Keling has been quickly overwhelmed and pressured into accepting his feelings, and she couldn't handle all the baggage that comes with being with someone in A-si's position. This doesn't mean she doesn't have feelings for him, but she still needs to grow before taking on too much responsibility for which she's not yet ready.

Finally, Banxia and Shen Wangyan. Again, I like that they hint more about their future relationship without shoe-horning that they magically end up together in the finale. Shen Wangyan appeared very briefly, but the sparks are flying everywhere, and although it doesn't happen in the last episode, you can already see where their relationship is headed.

It's a 10/10 for me! I’m really hoping for a second season.

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sweet as candy

as one who's a bit picky with jdramas, this one was such a surprise. it's nothing complicated. this drama is an all round fluffy romance involving a marriage contract.

what totally solidifies this drama as a whole for me is the male lead's swoon worthy respect and pure love for the female lead. one aspect in the main leads' relationship that truly caught my attention is how good they communicate their feelings. ami was reluctant about sharing her thoughts at first but she had character development and it was overall nice to see a couple that communicates and no unnecessary misunderstandings happened or dragged.

it was refreshing to see a gentle and caring male lead that respects boundaries and consent, also helps his partner to be more open without being pushy or overboard. a cute ass smile adds to the bonus points.

seeing a character with unrequited love accepting reality and not being petty is honestly so great to watch. the ex girlfriend was seen to be not toxic and supports the characters and gave a heads up to ami about marriage life and how it's different for everyone. these type of characters add depth to the drama despite being a simple fluffy drama.

overall, this drama is so soft and light hearted which will make you pinch your cheeks to stop you from smiling too hard.
p.s. the intro song is a bop and the choreo somehow lowkey reminds me of the pick me up song lol

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I loved it. The cast and writers did a awesome job It was a little confusing at first and you really needed to pay attention to what happens in both world of 2019/2020 and it all came together.
It start 1994 with li gon watching his father being murdered by his brother/uncle yi rim/Lee seong jae and then he try to kill his nephew, but is interrupted by someone helping him. It turns out the uncle wanted magic flute that could open up to paraell worlds. Li rim escapes with only half the flute and while running in the bamboo tree he open a door to a paraell country call the republic of Korea. Then 25yrs goes bye a blimk

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I've read three novels written by Dostoyevsky (Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot). The Brothers Karamazov I've read awhile ago but I think I can recall enough to say that adaptation from novel to drama was very good. Even the shift from 19th century Russia to modern Japan was executed flawlessly.
Drama story focuses more on struggle between good and evil inside characters and their relationships, primarily between the Kurosawa brothers.
Dostoyevsky's crucial questions that he asked in his other novels too, were also the main theme here. Does human have the right to take another's life? If someone think so, what are the consequences?

First thing that you notice when you start watching Karamazov no Kyodai is that it is dark, both in story and cinematography. But don't give up on this drama because of that even if this is out of your comfort zone.
It is not a light watch and if you are not used to that I don't recommend marathoning it.
But I think that once in awhile we all need a deep drama, movie or a book to make us question things we haven't questioned before.

Music and cinematography are linked in various ways. Rolling Stones song Paint It Black (yes, you will hear that song too) is most obvious link. It's upbeat rhythm and dark lyrics are much like contrast between other similar songs played and the dark atmosphere and suspense that make your heart beat faster in anticipation of what is coming. And then there is a loud sound (like door opening or closing), music stops and silence. Your heart skips a beat... At least it was like that for me.
There were only two or three instances when I thought that something was off with the sound. It was when they overlapped surrounding music for example piano Ryo was playing and soundtrack music. But I've noticed that other dramas do that too. So maybe it's a trend thing. Either way I didn't like it.

But overall this is the first drama I watched that used the music so well to enhance atmosphere. Where music isn't barley-heard companion that tries not to ruin the mood but an entity that pulls you for your sleeve if you dare to look away.


I left cast and acting at the end because I think it's outstanding. All the characters are believable and nobody overacted. From corrupted Kurosawa Bunzo played by Yoshida Kotaro, sweet Ryo (Hayashi Kento), rebellious Mitsuru (Saito Takumi), torn and complex Isao (Ichihara Hayato) and all the supporting characters (that I'm lazy to name) not one of them disappointed. Their acting pulls you in and make you glued to the screen anticipating their reactions and words. But one of them still manage to arise on the top and amaze me even more.
It may be because the character is so layered and intriguing that Ichihara Hayato's acting leaves you speechless. But also if he weren't amazing actor he wouldn't have been able to pull it off. I'm really not sure how to rate his performance because I haven't experience before that someone's acting could pull me in so much.
If he doesn't get award for this role then those awards aren't merit for talent and effort.


So all in all this drama has 11 episodes and each of them is 36 minutes long so it won't take too much of your time therefor give it a chance.
If you don't like that it is dark, heavy and psychological, regardless give it a chance.
Why? - you ask.
Because you will see something different that will maybe inspire you to read a book or you will hate it but you'll know why you hate it.

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I know that there are already a lot of reviews written to this drama.
Still, I thought I'll share my opinion about this as I have slightly different thoughts on it than the ones that already wrote a review.

Despite the quite bad reviews from most of the others, I really enjoyed watching this drama.
I have seen quite a lot of promotions for this drama in which Jun always said that this is a drama that will warm your heart and I cannot but agree with him on that.
It might be not such an inventive storyline, but how the problems of the main roles are written and portrayed makes it very believable to me.
You cannot but feel the grieve of Taiga, who struggles to become a successful actor as his father was. Also, he's so deeply in love with Shiori, the single mother, that is nearly breaks him every time she rejects him and you just want to comfort him.
However, Shiori's role of the single mother that tries to find a way of living with her daughter peacefully is portrayed very wonderful. Takeuchi shows us all the emotions a mother has when she falls in love with a "new" man after raising her death husband's child.
Also, the supporting characters were nicely written. Each of them had a little story around its own that were shown in the drama as well which made them not plain supporting roles, but gave all of them a feeling of authenticity.
The whole cast did an amazing job and it is a pleasure to watch them all.

The music fits nicely into the drama and I am still humming some melodies along with me and I will listen to the sountrack happily as soon as I get it.

I would wathc the drama again one day, just because the emotions were so nicely shown that I could feel them in my own heart. Also, Jun has a pretty cute role here, so if you fancy him, you might just fall in love deeper with him^^

I think that this is a really nice drama andI recommend it to those that like to watch romance and children as well as struggling with real life problems between two people that actually love each other but need time to finally find each other.

And to say it with Jun's words "This drama really warms your heart!"

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Lost and Found.

Set in the 1990s, this is a riveting suspense thriller about three teenage boys who go missing on a dark and stormy night. Three years later, Xiao Qi, a pick-pocket is caught and identified as one of the missing boys. He is reunited with his grateful family but he does not seem quite the same and claims to have little memory of what transpired three years ago. This revives the investigation of the old case, with Wang Shitu leading the investigation. His investigation shines a spotlight on human trafficking rings. His search is painful and personal as his son has been lost for more than a decade. As the investigation advances, he gets to know Xiao Qi and the Jin family and more questions emerge as to what really happened that fateful night.

This drama does a terrific job building suspense, planting the seeds of many credible explanations with each frightening new reveal. Mystery buffs will enjoy trying sorting through all the lies to pull all the pieces together. The first villain's confession however was not convincingly obtained and that case is too hastily tied up to focus on the final villain. There are too many confessions obtained using this same threat of shaky evidence against a loved one. Even though a shadowy image of the main villain and what must have happened emerges early on, the cat and mouse of pinning them down is riveting. This is one of the most layered, selfish, manipulative and just plain evil sociopaths I have seen in a long time. What is truly scary is their motive is vile but understandable; that this is easily something someone, anyone is capable of doing simply because they want what they want badly enough. The final solution however is somewhat anti-climatic; there are many more interesting ways this could have played out. There are also a fair number of plot holes and loose ends.

The strongest and most moving aspect of this narrative is not the mystery but the relationships that evolve around it. The mother and the father who lost a child and the unimaginable and continuing pain that they endure. And the lonely boy that was lost and found, and how through all this mess they somehow manage to heal a small part of each other. With this kind of cast, I don't have to praise the acting. Zhang Songwen and Rong Zishan's chemistry is well established and as expected, they deliver in spades and make me root for them every step of the way. But the most surprising and distressing performance is Guo Keyu's portrayal of Bian Meizhen's confused longing for her lost child and her devastating moments of awareness.

Overall, the mystery plot is good but does not live up to its early promise and is not as tight as could be. But the character arcs are superbly done and the ending is perfect and brilliant in the most realistic of ways. This is a highly recommended 8.5/10.0.






ENDING SPOILER COMMENTS





Doudou was a red herring from the start and considering the theme of this story is lost children, it is no surprise that there is no fairytale ending. Nonetheless, Wang Shitu does not give up and continues to look. This kind of story is not easy to write or to end in a way that acknowledges and respects the suffering of victims of child trafficking. Jin Manfu is the manifestation of what must be every parent with a lost child's worst nightmare. But this story also reminds us that there are Wang Shitus and Bian Meizhens in this world who can still open a corner of their hearts. And that maybe they can also find some solace by opening a small part of their hearts. The only small bone the drama throws the audience is Doudou probably ended up in a family with a dog and where he is much loved and may one day still be found.








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Exceptional, Unforgettable

Previously when this movie haven't been listed on MDL, and when I was really affected by this movie and needed somewhere to vent my thoughts, I ended up writing a review on the Korean movie 'Silenced', which had a strikingly similar premise as this movie. In my previous review, I wrote about the comparison of 'Silenced' and 'The Silent Forest', by listing some aspects that were done differently and similarly between these 2 movies. I just felt that these 2 movies really complemented each other really well and they're so so so worth watching despite the emotional trauma that they'll leave us viewers with.

If you're thinking about whether to give this a watch, my answer to you is: This is a NECESSARY watch.

There's just so much I can talk about in regards to this movie; I don't even know where to start and how to start breaching this topic. All I can say is that this is a masterpiece. It's so rare for a movie to affect me so much that I'm just grabbing fistfuls of hair in the cinema and feeling so much anger and despair at the same time that I don't even know my tears were because of the anger or the despair that I'd felt.

Just to list some things off my head about this movie:
(note: possible spoilers ahead, i tried to refrain from revealing too many details about the plot)

[Villain]

One striking aspect of this movie was the concept of villains. The main antagonist of this movie isn't a conventional 'true' villain. He's what I would call an anti-villain. His character caused me so much dilemma throughout the entire movie, my heart hurts for him. I wouldn't say that Xiao Guang (Kim Hyun Bin) has notable redeeming qualities that made me feel that he shouldn't be punished for his misdeeds, but my heart also ached so much for him that I don't want him to receive a harsh punishment, because ultimately, he is still a broken child. This movie made me ponder about the concept of what really makes up an 'evil' person? There's so many cases of portrayals in dramas and movies that villains are just psychopaths that are born with the inherent desire to harm others. There's not enough exploration into the backstories of antagonists in the majority of dramas and movies in general, and thus I'm really grateful that the producing team wasn't afraid of taking on the challenge of exploring more about Xiao Guang's past. I loved how throughout the movie, Xiao Guang's dark past was slowly being uncovered and viewers were able to follow through that process and were given time to internalize his story and weigh our judgement towards the character. I really love a movie that explores about human nature and how one's experiences can shape a person and influence his behaviour. (!character development!).

[Hearing Impaired in Society]

This movie wasn't afraid of showcasing how the hearing impaired can be disadvantageously treated when they're out and about in society. There were several instances whereby the children spent some days outside of their boarding school, and the experiences they've went through were, well, ugly and heartbreaking. It pains when I'd realized that those children still considered the school as their safe haven despite all the horrendous things that have been happening there, because once they've spent time outside of their school, they realize that they are not 'normal' and struggle to fit into society in general. And society is unforgiving and cold towards them. Personally I've always thought that people in general in this day and age are more inclusive and welcoming in general towards persons with disabilities as compared to the past, but I realized that we are still far far away from being truly inclusive towards this group of people. Something said or done consciously or unconsciously that we might believe is a small, harmless action might have a huge impact on others, and this was brilliantly showcased in this movie.

[Systemic Abuse]

What I believe this movie was trying to convey was the fact that bullying/abuse is systemic and exists in a vicious cycle. Eliminating such a problem is so much more than just removing the one person who's causing all the trouble, or who had started all this trouble, and then expect everything to return to normal again. It's easy to take the convenient way out by just pushing all the blame and punishment to one single person, but when the bullying has spread exponentially to many other people, just like in a pyramid scheme, where there's much more victims than expected; the situation becomes ugly and goes almost beyond salvation. By this stage, it takes a whole lot of resilience and perseverance from someone, or a group of people, to uncover the whole issue and restore justice. Also, often in cases of bullying, the line between the perpetrator and victim is often blurred. After all, most bullies become bullies because they used to be a victim of bullying themselves. In such cases as presented in the movie, where there are so many victims and when the victims themselves become perpetrators, there exists so much resentment, anger, despair, hopelessness and guilt at the same time, and by the time when intervention is provided, who should be held responsible for all this then, when this is just a never ending cycle? This is what this movie leaves us with, and this is a question that we need to ponder about and find a solution to.

There's many more things I can explore and write about regarding this movie, and this review is just a small portion of what had been filling up my head ever since I've watched this movie. All in all, I believe the biggest takeaway for us viewers is to be more observant and aware of what's going on in our surroundings, because what is seen as peaceful on the surface might hide something dark that we can never imagine.

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Watch, Pause, Think and Savor It.

“An Ancient Love Song” shows you that you don’t need a lot of money to produce a drama that moves the audience. Inspired by a fan-made video, this low-budget passion project is able to deliver a well and creatively told story of two star-crossed lovers.

The reverse timelines really took me a while to think, pause and then realize what just happened. I have to be honest, I was a little confused in the beginning when ML first met FL. I even felt that the romance was off, because of how it all started. But after I got my bearings, I really appreciated this unique way of storytelling. It reminded me of the Japanese movie “Tomorrow I will Date with Yesterday’s You”, but way better. As the story progresses, each flashback sequence helps fill in the blanks of what actually happened, and the story touches me a little bit more each time.

Zhang Ya Qin (FL) has come a long way. I wasn’t super impressed with her acting in “Love in Between” but here, she did a good job in playing an 18-year old innocent girl all the way to the 36-year Empress. Guo Jia Nan (ML) took a few episodes to get in the groove, but he found his groove and his character grew on me. Zhuang Han might have stolen Guo Jia Nan’s thunder a little and has a stronger screen presence. The rest of the supporting cast did fine but not outstanding.

Since this is a short 14-episode drama, the pacing is good and there are no fillers. I actually would have loved to see a few more episodes, or longer episodes, as I think there’s enough material to dive deeper into each timeline and background stories.

This is a quick and easy-to-binge watch. If you are usually scared of long Chinese period dramas, this is a perfect length to start. You will be greeted by a touching romance told creatively with reverse timelines. Watch, pause, think and savor it.


Completed: 7/18/2023 - Review #332

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This was a slightly weird drama, and only certain people would enjoy watching it. Some of my friends couldn't stand the basic plotline (one brother giving another his cornea-this is in the description so read that first), but once you get past that, the mystery element is excellent. Each story builds on the previous episode. For once, you aren't trying to figure out who the criminal is, you just want to stop him. It is a fascinating twist on the traditional mystery storyline, and throws in more than enough intrigue and excitement to keep you interested the whole way through. Plus, kudos to the authors for coming up with the unique idea:)

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