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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Started great and then fizzled out
It started out strong. Smart and independent FL. Powerful but not overbearing and super BF material. Their chemistry was good and the balance between romance and other genres was great. Somewhere after ep. 20ish it lost its original spark and FL started becoming too emotional. ML was awesome all the way through- the character was written well and the actor did fantastic!The story really fell apart during the last 2-3 episodes. All reasoning fell out the window and things felt clumsily wrapped up. The investigations always required some suspension of disbelief with the flimsy “evidence” and leaps of logic but I was willing to let it slide. The big climax and ending was just too cringe though. I am still sitting here and asking how no one else suspected the antagonist when he was so not low key about his attempts at influencing the court and the young puppet king. So much eye roll. Ultimately I started this as a 9, it dropped to 8.5 midway and by the end, we’re at 7/7.5.
The only thing I’m walking away from this drama with is that I’m glad to be introduced to a great new actor and I’m excited to see what he does in the future.
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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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The romance was my favourite thing which almost never happens. But Bai Qi and Lin Xia were so cute and adorable that I easily fell in love with them. I absolutely loved the progression of their relationship, which felt very natural. Bai Yu and Zhen Qui Hong had an amazing chemistry and if they get cast again, I would watch the production for sure! Their hugs, kisses, the funny scenes between them gave me butterflies. Overall, their characters were very well-written and intriguing. They suit each other well qne the actors did a brilliant job portraying their characters.
The second couple was also very charming. I wasn't the biggest fan of Xiao Xiao at first, but with the time I got used to her behaviour and maybe because I like the actress, I began to like her character, too. Yang Jian was indisputably the best character in the drama! His reactions were always the most interesting and unexpected, I loved his interactions with Bai Qi. He and Xiao Xiao were very loveable couple which, even though not as good as the main one, had their amazing moments.
A Li was a cutie! I kinda wish they explored his character more -- I wanted to learn more about him and I wanted to see more of his funny reactions!
The strongest part of the drama are its characters for sure, but the plot was sometimes lacking. The first half was amazing -- I loved literally every episode and I was always super excited for new episodes! The second half, on the other hand, had some good moments, but also okay-ish and boring ones. I believe it got a little bit too draggy towards the end. But overall, the atmosphere was really nice and the pace was okay most of the time. The cinematography was insanely beautiful, too!
Overall, ''Fairyland Lovers'' is a light, fluffy drama that never gets tooo dramatic and it's perfect if you want to watch something to make you happy. I'm really glad that I watched it and I recommend it to everyone!~
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Rape ignored - Script Writer's shame.
The story is oppressive in its execution, storyboard, and editing. It isn't a romance; it is a reaffirmation of the stereotyping of women and the financially disadvantaged of any gender in society. Meant as provocative entertainment, and not as social commentary. Note: Production missed that mark, too.By episode six social stereotyping begins to irritate and becomes maddening because the story fails to acknowledge rape, assault, and kidnapping in a criminal way (Two of the main leads, are lawyers). Every gender is a target and women are getting the brunt of it. Men's brutality is portrayed as a given. While women are always jealous and the enemies of other females.
This repetitive; out-dated; poorly scripted; decades-old morality play has no purpose and no entertainment value. Even subject matter, couldn't keep the boredom away. The finale, a karmic joke. I blame the writer. I don't recommend it.
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"Before you start complaining, why not start practicing?"
Yu Yu Hakusho had considerable story to tell with numerous characters in a very short amount of time. For the most part, and for someone completely unfamiliar with the source material, it succeeded.The story was streamlined and relatively cohesive. The main characters and their characteristics were fired out with the speed of a 22. Yusuke was the tough rebellious teenager who helped out those in distress but didn’t want anyone to know it. Keiko had been friends with Yusuke since childhood and knew all of his foibles and strengths. Kuwabara was Kusuke's rival who couldn’t help but respect the opponent he desperately wanted to beat. After the accident that transformed Kusuke’s life, a plethora of Yokai and supernatural beings were brought in as well as the requisite human baddies.
YYH covered enemies to friends, training sessions, coming of age, and the old end of the world ploy. I enjoyed the enemies to friends and strangers to friends storylines. There were backstories and characters given short shrift, but in a 5 episode drama they did a fairly good job of forming the characters. The hair and costume colors were bold. I have found it helpful when watching dramas or movies based on anime to think of them like Western superhero movies. The flamboyant hairstyles and costumes make much more sense to me now. At least no one was wearing yellow spandex, although Koenma’s pacifier was truly bizarre. One of those things that might work better in animation than live action. The CGI was well done for a drama and there was plenty of it. The episodes kept things moving with fights using supernatural weapons and abilities. The battles pulled double duty by covering up a basic story. If there was a drawback to the fights, a few of them went on too long. The acting was all over the place, from competent to-adequate, completely over-the-top, and barely registering a pulse.
Yu Yu Hakusho felt more like a long movie in some ways rather than a very short drama. As in a movie, characters were given just enough development to differentiate them and understand their motivations. With a myriad of characters involved, both good and evil, the writers managed to wedge in as much backstory and world building as they could. Overall, I found this supernatural fantasy to be comprehensible and entertaining with the forged friendships and creative fights being the highlights.
27 Dec 2023
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It's not a unique story to say the obvious. It's very cliche, but it's a guilty pleasure of mine to re-watch different versions of this cute story. I've watched the Korean and Japanese version, but I have to say, I think out of all the remakes, I like this one the most. I felt that the other versions lacked something that this one had, and that's individuality. While the others felt like just another cliche, Miss In Kiss acknowledged that it was a story that's been done before and added it's own tune. The vibe this drama gave off was very cute and light hearted; it was easy to watch, especially with the short episodes. No sub plots were dragged out and the pacing this drama had felt right. I actually don't think there's anything I dislike about this drama other than the fact that I thought a few scenes and reactions could have been done a bit differently.
Acting/Cast: I felt that the characters in this version was the most believable. Zhi Shu didn't act like a cold emotionless psychopath like the other versions portrayed him to be, and I was glad to actually see him smile and cry whenever he needed to. He was much more human and realistic while still keeping the stereotype of an intellectual yet cold guy, I really enjoyed Lee Dino's take on this character. I loved Yue Qin in this as well, she wasn't as obsessed like in the Japanese version. She was just a normal girl who had a crush on a guy, but just couldn't let go. She was a very cute character.
Yue Qin and Zhi Shu's relationship was well developed, in no way did I feel their progress was rushed or could have been done better. I liked Ah Jin and Zi Yu in this version the most as well, they had much more character and I didn't feel that they were just getting in the way of the two leads.
Music: The OST was very cute and matched the vibe of the drama perfectly. I usually don't focus too much on the music in a show unless it really stands out, I found the soundtrack quite catchy and original.
Re-watch Value: If I'm ever in the mood for a light hearted and fluffy story, I might consider watching certain episodes than the whole thing, but I wouldn't mind watching the whole thing again either.
Overall: I feel that this drama did a great job in making it's own version of the story. It didn't feel like just another re-make, it felt original and stood out from the rest. I look forward to a possible season 2.
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Beautiful and heartbreaking story
This show was amazingly beautiful to watch especially for the first time. It has a great storyline and great actors.I really loved the second lead couple. I think they 100% outshined the main couple. I did not really enjoy the main couple in this show. I thought that the female lead being a highschool student was kind of weird. The ending was also unsatisfying to me as a person who cannot stand bad endings and usually tries to avoid them. The ending was not the worst possible as it is seen that the second lead couple do meet in their next life.
The drama was visually very satisfying and the music was amazing. I love all the soundtracks in this series. Also I enjoyed the comedy in this drama especially scenes between Deokhwa and the two male leads were absolutely hilarious. Overall its a very beautiful classic Korean drama.
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Unexpectedly Good!!
I would have to say for a short web drama, I didn't expect I would love this drama so much!! It is really like a chinese ancient remake of Mr&Mrs Smith. Although I binged and waited for this drama (even watched it raw), I will remove my rose-tinted glasses to give an objective review.This drama is hilarious, it knows how to push my humor buttons, but soon it loses the novelty and comedy effect as the jokes become a little repetive. The drama also does a good job in balancing humor and seriousness, the first few episodes leading up focused on it being funny, but after the climax, it tones that down.
As it is a 10-15min drama for each episode, the story is jam packed without any dull moments.
***SPOILER***
However, I do think the part on politics and motivations for their mission could be written better, it seems a little underwhelming and weird to me (or it could be that I didn't understand the politics part using my limited chinese vocabulary).
***END SPOILER***
The chemistry between the two leads was amazing, I hope we can see them paired up in another drama. And their kissess oh gosh!!
***SPOILER***
Their kisses were unlike 2 wooden sticks, it was deep and intense, they didn't shy away!
***END SPOILER***
All the characters even supporting characters like the aunty who sells kite were very lovable except for wen fang. I have this love hate relationship towards him. I think its the way that he was written as a dumb but also very pure character so can't really blame him. So just be warned that he can be annoying, but also cute at times.
The production also seem high for a 180min drama. This drama seemed to have a variety of costumes, pretty good soundtracks and I also do like how the scriptwriter uses the fl occupation to discuss about certain topics. The camera language and editing was decent except for this one / two scenes which the episode ending scene and beginning scene didn't connect, it really takes people out of the story... Apart from that I think the production team did a good job in producing this drama.
Nonetheless, this drama really has exceeded my expectations, I laughed a lot and I recommend watching it after a stressful day, super enjoyable! Its really a hidden gem and should deserve more hype, sometimes all you need is a simple and light hearted story. Definitely recommend! Overall, I would rate it 8.3, so rounding it up would be an 8.5!
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My Cuter than Cute School Band and their President
This drama had me smiling from ear to ear while covering/faning my face with my hands from all the cuteness/cringe/fluff.The story itself is neither new nor revolutionary and there are even a few highly annoying elements that had me rolling my ayes and complaining about them getting in the way of my fluff but they are so few that the overall fluffiness takes over.
This drama is packed with well written PPL, it is in your face ant there is no way one earth you can miss it it and while being completely misplaced it still mangas to add to the story, the humour and the fluff that it practically stole my heart.
The next great thing this drama has to offer is flirting done well. the flirting in this is playful, creative age appropriate and does not seem to cross others boundaries or make anyone uncomfortable. Offering a nice dare I say wholesome feel to it as well as a process to the development of romance not only between the leads but also between the other characters.
The friendships, the ups and downs and the very human reactions to different situations are also well written and fun. and while I will admit that some of the turns of events where more interesting than others, the less interesting parts took little screen time so I am willing to overlook them. At times it can be hard to distinguish between fantasy/dreams and drama plot letting us not only hear the inner thoughts of the lead but also showing us a bunch of different scenarios. This adds a little bit of spice as well as kept me from trusting what I saw on screen. It also made way for even more fluff... and cuteness. It also nuanced the story, showing that life and fantasy can be both near and far apart... Basically saying reach for your dreams while acknowledging the work and people behind it... thee is also a really good depiction of falling down and getting back up again done slightly annoying but also done right.
The parent-child relationship in this drama make way for quite a bit of food for thought giving us both the fluffy side of parents who love and support their kid no matter what... the whole I love you no matter who you love yada yada.. do not bully your kid... if the world is against them make sure to be their happy place nice to see and indeed the way I hope and wish all parents would be....
The show also makes way to acknowledge the society we live in without letting take over from the fluff.
So basically this is 85% fluff, 10% real and important scenes, 5% annoying highly bingeable 99% lovable. But it will have you cringe and thing oh how cute so many times your cheeks may hurt from all the smiling.
I also want to add a few more lines about the parents, however this may be a spoiler for some, it should not be but just in case it is I decided to add it at the bottom so feel free to not read it.
What got to me the most and probably pushed me to overlook all the annoying elements of the show was a particular scene in this drama that was extremely powerful to me where a parent read the room took a step back with the words. "I was going to ask but I have never seen him look this terrified". Being able to take that step back as a parent, to self reflect and try to figure out how to create an environment where your child is comfortable to open up to you about their sexuality, is a way to show viewers not only what they should do but also a how to change and create a more open environment. Parents are human too and part of the society we live in, but a good parent is willing to be part of the change and so on.
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A Very Satisfying and Full of Fluff Drama
This drama is without doubt the best romance drama in my book. Full of fluffs, hilarious & crazy chemistry is the 3 things to describe The Eternal Love series. I love how the love story of Lian Cheng & Tan'er are told without any pettiness or games, with a lot of hugs & kisses and most of all, they genuinely look and act like a true married couple in love. If you are looking for a great romance drama with a fun storyline, then this drama is for you.While I love the 1st season, this 2nd season is without doubt miles better than the first one in term of everything. It got better budget, better script, better plots, better acting, better styling, better costumes -- basically better than the 1st season in term of everything while still maintaining the same heart & soul of the 1st season that we all love. I loved the plots involving 2 Mo Lian Chengs, the confusion it caused Tan'er and the hilarity it caused, the butterfly effects, the fight for the throne, basically everything from beginning to end. The plot is very simple but at the same time very fun and interesting.
Lian Cheng is without doubt one of my very favorite drama characters ever. Can you resist his charms? The man is literally perfect! Like the 1st season, he is King of Teasing and in this season, he didn't disappoint either and I personally think he upped his game even more despite being gentler and sweeter. I cant believe how Xing Zhaolin's acting has improved so much than the 1st season in a matter of a year. He acted the 2 Mo Lian Cheng with very subtle differences since they are supposed to be the same person. I can recognize Lian Cheng and the 8th Prince as early as Episode 6 despite both of them wearing the same clothes and donned the same hair styles. Lian Cheng has this gentle and relax look on him all the time while the 8th Prince's expressions are stoic and colder like the old Mo Lian Cheng from the 1st season.
Liang Jie as Tan'er / Xiao Tan is still as awesome as ever. She can definitely survive anywhere and of course where she is, trouble will follow her. Her out of the world thinking and bravery are definitely one of the reasons why both Lian Cheng and the 8th Prince can't resist her. And the 'English' letter he wrote to Mo Yihuai is definitely hilarious -- I'm in stiches while watching the whole scene. When you have this kind of character in a drama, surely, the drama wouldn't be boring and stagnant.
And the ending is literally the best ending for a drama! They dedicated the whole episode solely for the ending. It didn't feel rushed like other Chinese dramas and they gave us enough time and closure for our lovely couple and their happiness. The ending scene is truly perfect! The conversation they had at the lake is literally their relationship in a nutshell. From Lian Cheng brilliant teasing to Tan'er loves for money -- I love the dynamics of their relationship. They are definitely a relationship goal.
'No matter when or where,
Whatever person we become,
I will find you,
Fall in love with you,
Marry you a thousand of times,
For lifetimes, for generations,
Never separating....'
This drama is one of dramas where promises are fulfilled instead of broken. Thus as I stress again and again, a perfect romance drama in my book.
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Gay subtext meets historical drama
"She already knows how to make women fall for her without consciously thinking about it ..." (episode 6, 17:43)"I never knew those two [women] could have such chemistry, they are bringing out the best in each other" (episode 6, 51:47)
The stage of "Jeong Nyeon" is no common theatre. A theatre it is where women reign supreme and assume a duality. In their duality, they are both the subject and object of romantic contemplation, the wooer and the wooed, the pursuer and the prize pursued, the lover and the beloved. They circle one another, and, unawares, trace the contours of homoerotic tension that hums under the mask of their performance
The removal of Kwon Bu Yong and the life she shared with Jeong Nyeon is a cowardly bow to societal prejudice. Nevertheless, the adaptation is worthy of acclaim for its deliberate construction of a homosocial sphere, in which same-sex longings find fertile ground to flourish
"The stars that once graced the [female] gukgeuk stage went on to continue their paths as artists, pansori singers, outdoor theatre performers, or even film actors. They have merely dispersed, not disappeared, and they will shine on in the vast night" (episode 12, 1:14:12)
The legacy of female gukgeuk slumbers in silence and neglect, awaiting but the breath of fresh voices to bid forth anew its sovereign might and elegance
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I can only continue walking forward
Yes it was Great watching it specially the story building and and character building was so good accurate and every single thing in this drama was super good. It make me more sure that one should never think about committing crimes such as killing or suicide. Both can be very dangerous. But the fact they all somehow resolved there 1000 year old beef and tried to be together is so cute. They didn't only focus on main lead but also support lead. I also wanted to see dok hwa getting married or having rebirth with them too. I didn't expected to have such a plot like i was thinking dok hwa is going to be someone bad but it turns out he was not. It was so cute and lovely to have them see together again.Was this review helpful to you?
