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愛而不得 "ai er bu de" (Unfulfilled Love)
An unfulfilled love is perhaps the most painful romance there is for a couple in love; it is also one of the seven bitterness in life. The official trailer has prepared the viewers for the ultimate ending of the story, and since episode one, most viewers like myself, brace for a painful and untimely ending in the final episodes. The good news is, this is only perhaps a third of the story told. The rest of the story will be told in modern times, thousands of years later in their next lifetime, and the new drama is currently waiting to be released.This is a touching, beautifully sad story. The female lead and male lead have loved each other so deeply for so many years, and yet they cannot be together. The story revolves around an unstable kingdom with a seemingly weak emperor and a power hungry controlling empress dowager. On top, there are enemies from within and without. No one knows who is foe or friend. Parricides, filicides and fratricides are rampant.
The development of the main couple's relationship from the beginning to the end is sweet and heart wrenching, with both leads mature and somber. As most viewers have already anticipated an ending that is tear jerking, every episode becomes heavy and painful to watch.
Zhou Shengchen (Ren Jialun aka Allen Ren) is an uncle of the then Emperor. To untangle himself from the power struggle within the palace, he changes his family name and barricades himself to guard the western border. He is intelligent, solemn and an incredible fighter. Who is more perfect than Ren Jialun to play this role? Here, Ren Jialun's performance is at his best, with an air of royalty and coldness, yet not lacking his affection for his love and his followers. His styling is also the best of all I have seen of the actor in his historical work. He looks so good and so convincing here. Despite adopting many followers, Cui Shiyi (Bai Lu) is the only one Zhou Shengchen falls in love with romantically, and yet he cannot love her openly and take her as his wife for he has vowed not to be married nor have offspring for life.
Cui Shiyi is the niece of the then Emperor’s teacher and her family holds high status in the society. To protect Cui Shiyi from any danger arises from palace political struggle, she’s sent far away to Zhou Shengchen and becomes his student. Growing up without a father, quickly, Cui Shiyi takes Zhou Shengchen as a fatherly teacher figure and gradually falls in love with him. And yet, fate doesn’t dwell her well.
Like Ren Jialun, Bai Lu’s acting here is also perhaps one of her best. She starts with a very young girl who doesn’t talk, and becomes a fine, mature young lady fit for an empress. Bai Lu has given us a remarkable performance for both her phases as a very young girl and then as a young lady. All the emotions on her face tell the silent sufferings she's going through and the longing for the one she loves.
Ren Jialun’s chemistry with Bai Lu is perhaps the best compared with his other co-stars in other dramas. Both exude the love and longing for each other, and yet they can’t say anything or take any actions. There’re hardly any physical contacts and yet their chemistry is overwhelmingly real that brings tears to the viewers’ eyes.
My Verdict
This is a beautiful romance with a lot of resignations. The characters are intelligent and lovely. The writing is intact and coherent, and the cinematography is good. All the war scenes are well done, in particular, Ren Jialun’s action scenes. Be warned though, the final two or three episodes are painful to watch.
Overall, a wonderful love story not to be missed. Bravo!
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1This review may contain spoilers
Impossibly Disappointing
Sigh. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.I'm not going to explain why this drama failed in detail. Others have already sacrificed many of their brain cells to do so. Instead, I'll give you a short rundown of my thoughts.
Wedding Impossible had potential. It had a bit of a unique premise, a wacky start promising some over-the-top fun, and the opportunity to say something/showcase Queer representation in a mainstream K-Drama. I don't have to tell you that it failed on all counts.
I looked back at my notes and found one I made after the first or second episode: "Here's hoping they can achieve a fun drama while treating the Gay ML's sexuality and coming out with respect."
Oh, poor Noir. You naive, sweet summer child.
As the episodes progressed, it was clear the drama forgot or simply no longer cared about its premise. And rather than focus on what was supposed to be the main point of intrigue/source of hi-jinks and conflicts: Do Han using this sham marriage to hide his sexuality. They leaned into anything BUT that. And whenever the opportunity presented itself to delve into his struggles, how staying in the closet affected his relationship with his family, how the fake marriage was affecting his best friend and brother: They barely touched on it or simply pivoted and went, but what about the car accident from years ago, what about the poorly-built-up main romance, what about company politics and backstabbing, what about whining and complaining?!
And the worst part! The worst part is that this supposedly fun rom-com-style K-Drama not only didn't give the Gay ML a love interest (which is just plain Homophobic if you ask me): IT. WASN'T. FUN.
AND ANOTHER THING! Is it just me who finally noticed that they rarely used the word "Gay?!" Wtf. Are they scared of it?! If I didn't know the plot/wasn't paying attention, I would have no idea what Do Han's "secret" is when they're talking about it in some scenes!
By the time we got to the last few episodes, I just wanted it to end already. I found myself frustrated, annoyed, and just . . . Annoyed at myself for hoping for better.
If you're like me, a Queer person who, despite the odds, is kind of hopeful for good mainstream LGBT+ representation in your Asian dramas: I'm sorry to myself and you that we stuck this one out. Let's just collectively agree to go rewatch the Queer cuts from Nevertheless and Love with Flaws, drink some wine, and wait for Hwang Da Seul's next masterpiece.
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Dope Web Series - Leaves An Impression
Goosebumps through and through - For anyone who likes noir teen dramas with a dark concept. The story is quite tormenting and not easy to watch - still addicting ...Production / Music >> 9.0
Hope or Dope consists of a heavy and dark plotline that is undermined by a capable filming and editing crew. Several closeups enable the audience to get a set image of emotions and mental states, which are worsening as the story carries on. On one hand, the lighting consists of mostly warm colours during the night and is used as another tool to set the mood which contrasts with the cold and dark vibes, on the other hand, some moments during the daytime are giving off a more cold coloured vibe.
Plot >> 8.5
Generally said, the plot is extremely thrilling and emotional, clarified by how pathetic and miserable each character is and how natural and not exaggerated their situation seems because they almost have no unrealistic turns/ twists. I also found their in-character behaviours quite appealing since they never really acted OOC.
Cast >> 9.0
There is nothing that irritated me while watching, rather the opposite, I kept admiring Wo Ji An for her portrayal of such a complicated and bitter character like Kyung Da Jung. The two brothers Gong Yoon Tak and Gong Yoon Jae, portrayed by Yoon Chan Young and Yoon Hyun Soo, also left a positive impression on me. All appearances in this drama were solid.
Rewatch Value >> 6.0
Eventhough this drama is quite good and I really enjoyed the story and kept admiring the crew and cast behind it, it´s still sometimes heavy to watch. Therefore my second run might take some time but who knows, I´ll eventually be back since 25 - 35 minutes per episode is not dragging to watch.
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This drama is absolutely brilliant! From the first seconds to the last ones. If you try to decide to watch or not to watch this drama after reading the plot you'll be mistaken, as even the best written plot will never prepare you to what you're going to experience during this drama.. it didn't prepare me...
As I wrote in one of my episode reviews, the plot changed with such speed... the characters were full of hope for surviving one moment, and the next they were thrown into the hole of absolute hopelessness... that was making me constantly very worried about the safety of the characters, and I came to fell their pain, loneliness, hopelessness... so naturally... when they were jumping over the canyon I wasn't even breathing... not to miss any rock falling from under their feet, any sigh or deep breath they breathed while jumping... my heart was bout to burst.
This drama had the most unexpected events happen, so I could NEVER ever guess what to expect further... This is the first time I was watching a drama and not expecting the ending even slightly...
The movie has almost no cinematographic value, so if you're looking for beautifully shot drama, this one's not for you.
This drama's highest value bear the dialogues, you should hear the words being said, or being kept silent but at the same time reaching you so clearly...
Definitely one of my favourite dramas from now on...
'Ima wo ikiro!'
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This review may contain spoilers
Too short...
A typical low budget production, at least they improved. They added background noise to the bar, even when we can see it's not a bar. And there is always a flashback of the last episodes evem when the episodes are only 8 minutes long (under 7 for the finale).This is an unagitated series, with a chance meeting of two man in a laundromat. But of course one of them is not just there for reading a book or doing laundry... It tells the story of a university graduate hunting for a job and his uncertainties and struggles. Hyung supports him with tips and with a new suit, because he won't wear it anytime soon. In the end there is a little bit of drama but of course there is a happy end.
What I don't like especially with this series is how short it is. While it tells the story well, it misses some depth. I would like have seen this with 30 minute episodes or a lot more episodes... because the acting was good and the script was good. Not exceptional, but compared all the crap we get served, it's a a change of pace and a change of stupid, senseless stories. So, if you don't know what to watch, binge watch this series on Youtube for around 29 minutes and have a nice experience.
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Hana and Alice is a story about two best friends and their friendship. Though the whole plot while centers around both falling for the same guy, it deals with a lot of other things too. Both girls are very likable but I felt like Alice made more of an impact on me. Some of its scenes were so realistic that I felt like I was actually watching these girls in reality.
I have to commend the director because he portrayed some parts beautifully and realistically. The film has impressive cinematography and a great background score. Although it runs longer than required, its artistic shots will keep you well occupied. Also these girls played their parts so well that I can't imagine them not being best friends off screen too.
The overall mood of the film is light and dreamy. It has a poetic feel attached to it and leaves you with a feel good factor. It is relatable in a lot of ways. I am sure most of us have had some problems with our best friends once in a while. I particularly liked the ending scene because it reminds us how much of good friends Hana and Alice are.
While it does have a few boring parts, I'd suggest you skip through them. If ballet suits your taste then it is a treat for you as there is quite of some screen time devoted to it. The film also have some good humourous moments and it will leave you with a smile at the end of the film. Definitely recommended.
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1A blend of comedy and sincerity in tackling unusual cases and escaping an elaborately set trap
I’m going to start with one detail that should be understood but may not be by viewers going in. Ordinarily, pro bono representation simply exists to provide legal services for those who otherwise cannot afford it, plain and simple. There are public defenders for certain kinds of trials, mainly criminal, but if you are sued in a civil trial, most of the time whoever has money to hire legal professionals wins. I mention this because THIS SHOW’s ultra-elite law firm, rather than having younger lawyers across many teams handle a certain number of them every year like most firms, has a highly unusual ragtag set of four-then-five people with wildly different priorities do this as a marketing/public image stunt. Don’t get me wrong; MANY if not most law firms’ free cases are done to tick that social responsibility box in places that don’t require it outright. This one, though, doesn’t even pretend. The cases are not merely helping some people sued from becoming bankrupt. They are odd cases that may gain media traction. You do not often have a courtroom stacked with half a dozen plus lawyers (accounting for both sides) for, oh, a dog custody case (even though that case was far more than the “breakup fight over who takes the dog” sort of battle).Where this shines? Easy, Jung. Kyung. Ho. He is, as Da Wit, the heart and soul of this. As a judge unafraid to deliver justice to both ordinary and extraordinary criminals and regular citizens in turn, in punishing a select few morally bankrupt businessmen severely, he got on many bad sides including within the legal field which he is already an outcast in as he skipped law school and went straight for credentials (almost unheard of which the drama makes clear). Not just a regional “mediocre” law school grad but no law school at all? Color him dispensable to most if not for his brain having some street smarts.
The cases are very much cherry picked for drama viewing, no different from other legal shows, vigilante stories, medical dramas, and so on. Whereas Diary of a Prosecutor is very slice of life and mellow and shows ordinary days for a less common profession with its characters mostly getting along, this has plenty of antagonism from within the team and from the outside, even the owner of the law firm eager to disband them. The lead’s name very intentionally adapts to David in English, and we’re told a few times of him battling Goliaths as an ordinary guy who grew up very poor.
Overall, the cast is quirky and fun to watch most of the time. Some are a bit oversimplified much of the show, particularly our screamer and rather dimwitted opportunist in the team. That I mostly blame on the short length and priorities placed on balancing cases for the team with Da Wit’s bigger case. The main lead’s story is rather complicated, as is his relationship with his team members. He only plans to stay with them a short time at all and barely has time to teach them techniques and strategies through a few cases before his own case comes to light, the motive behind one of the non-legal professionals setting a trap with quite a bit of help, a trap to get him off the bench and ideally punished as he becomes the defendant against a plaintiff whose father died in prison after receiving a seven year sentence which was at the time the maximum allowed but which to viewers shows another case of law too often serving the rich, victims dying and becoming disabled a frequent occurrence in manufacturing in some nations, especially small businesses in places without robust government oversight which is a costly investment to choose for politicians who want “visible” results.
Perhaps my favorite part of this show is that the characters are all imperfect, their trust fragile… maybe it is a little overly obvious at times, but they show the ease with which relatively strong but newly obtained trust and admiration can come tumbling down with a speck of doubt planted. It shows how the team members—who all have very different goals—see this doubt and ultimately handle feeling various degrees of betrayal. We see their changes in behaviors, their growth (sometimes through stumbling around and tripping over their own pride if not their feet, too), and their insecurities on full display. The issues they have at home or had as kids? They are still with them day to day impacting how they evaluate cases and the people in them. They’ve acquired quite a formidable toolkit from their team leader, and with sharper knives and focus alike, they are tasked with representing someone suing him.
The moral ambiguity of so many characters, his ex-girlfriend turned boss very much among them, the total greed of plenty, and the strategies these people, all with very different motivations, employ is interesting and well-contrasted through the pro bono team which is lead by someone who is at times half opportunist, half servant of the people but mostly good. It made it unclear who was or was not on his side until the end—to what extent they were, more specifically. If nothing else, this is a quick way to see how wildly different people might handle some of the same content and even perhaps to see yourself in a few.
Is this drama perfect? Not at all. It sometimes circles around its main lead’s overarching storyline like a vulture without chomping down as effectively as it could. It is very hard to integrate that story into the day to day casework, yes, and they mostly did pretty well with it even if 75% of the credit goes to JKH, something I doubt any viewer who doesn’t have ties to the staff for the show will disagree with. Where they sometimes had a bit of disconnect was covered well enough to not pay it much mind until settling down to write this.
The show was lively, the dialogue SMART for a change (in the native language, subtitles obviously always lacking some of the charm of the original, especially for this streaming service), and, as usual, JKH mastered this role and stopped, during those hours, being the actor and just became Kang Da Wit whether using his immense range of vocal styles with that iconic voice of his I can hear just thinking about this or that character in a scene, body language including some physical comedy he is top notch at delivering, or simply (especially in court) communicating with his ultra flexible face and its thirty two million ways of bending, twitching, and otherwise expressing the full range of thoughts and emotions without a word.
Not everyone will like this, naturally. Some hate workplace-centered dramas, legal not often a preference; others will be annoyed with the eccentric blend of characters. Some won’t be able to get past some of the set up feeling too elaborate to buy into (current overlapping title The Judge Returns is thus far more “subdued” [well, after the initial event that sets it off] and less comedic than this with only a slight bit of physical comedy… it is also darker feeling, though).
If you want pretty high energy characters with quirks abounding and some touching backstories brought to light if not in extreme depth (just enough to understand them), this fits that bill. It shows places where the law is clearly just not enough and is pretty brutally honest in depicting how greed can also make skilled lawyers tools for making the world genuinely worse just as a less greedy set of skilled lawyers can make the world so much better though there are far too few of those around to handle all the world’s injustice, especially for people with few financial resources.
It was a really fun diversion for 5 weeks for me! It paired nicely during my weekends with Taxi Driver, too, both ending this weekend. It feels far too short, though, a good thing in one sense—I couldn’t believe it went by so quickly! THAT sure hasn’t been typical of most dramas lately! 🤔
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Superb Chemistry!!
Right from the start, I was indulged in the story til the end. I like the chemistry between the main leads, especially when the male lead projects his love and adoration for the female lead. Weir oh my God, this is my first time watching his lakorn. I've seen his name in the comment sections before, and some thai lakorns even refer him as the "Dark, Tall and Handsome" kind of guy, now I know why. But it's not just his look, his acting is great, and it feels REAL. Now I know why he always collects Best Actor awards, this lakorn proves it. Usually when I watch thai lakorns, I tend to skip a lot of unnecessary scenes, but oddly for this one, I didn't fast forward any scene. What I like the most is the ending. It's worthy, and superrrrrrr sincerely sweet. For those who want to watch dramas with a great ending, this is it.Acting :
Weir and Thisa really own their characters. I like Thisa's portrayal in this one, she's mature and rational, while weir's portrayal of Naboon is great. His topless scenes are Wow hehehe <3
Music :
Good musics with great lyrics. I think of the lyrics "Thank you for coming into my life..." really captures my heart.
Rewatch value :
I would rewatch this lakorn for the great chemistry. I love Naboon and Rattawan. Definitely one of the best on-screen couples, there I said it.
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"Even where the evil has been buried, flowers can still bloom" Writer Yoo Jung Hee
One thing I love about this drama is the pace. Up to episode 11, I was so shook all the things I predicted that will happen has already happened, and as I watched more episodes, I realised how they didn't seem to drag a single thing! And I feel like that's really different to other kdramas. After episode 11, all the emotions just began piling up together. The audience felt, nervous, thrilled, angry, shocked, sad and happy. I remember how many times I started to cry at this point and I don't even remember the last time I cred to a drama too!I also keep saying this numerous times but this drama is just phenomenal. It's so unique. So beautiful. A masterpiece. There is so much good content yet they structured everything so neatly! Just perfect! I love every single character, even the guy who played as the villain. I gotta say, they have the most admirable female lead ever - she shows professionalism, care, patience, love, compassion, embracement. And the male lead! Initially, he's so complicating to understand but over time, we realise how special and genuine of a person he is. He doesn't understand feelings but he can still feel them. Feelings play a big role in his character. Together, they make a beautiful and extraordinary couple.
Oh and it gets better.
The actors/actresses portrayed their character soooo well, it's crazy how talent everyone is. I always thought Lee Joon Gi (hyunso/heesung) was amazing but this drama just made me realize that all over again. Also, I never really noticed Moon Chae Won (jiwon) but here, she did exceptionally well. I could feel the motherliness in her.
The most beautiful yet unique love story I've ever encountered out of my 5 years watching kdrama . Even if you don't like romantic or crime stories, I bet you'll get touched by this one.
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Tell, why show?
Unfortunately, Rugal is a drama that demands you turn off your brain and just go with the flow. I only finished this one because of the world pandemic (unable to go out) coupled with the convenience of airing on Netflix. Unless you're looking for a mindless action-fest, you'd be better off moving to better things.PLOT: A Plot Hole Fest Served with Bad Writing
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The drama started with some promise, if not originality, but went downhill fast when it began to rely too much on action, eye candy, and special effects to make up for the writer's lack of experience and painfully simplistic narrative. The story really makes no sense and left no impression. Things happened because "reasons", twists were added because "why not?" and characters acted and reacting according to the "rule of cool" rather than logic.
If you are looking for a well-thought-out, or at the very least decent story, this is certainly not it.
CHARACTERS: Simplistic, Inconsistent and Unrelatable
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Rather than go through each character individually, I'll talk about them in general since none of them really stood out. One of the show's biggest flaw is the writer's inability to create complex characters. Consequently, they all feel borderline cartoony. Think shonen anime where the only focus of the writer is to pile love and adoration onto Gang Gi Bum (ML), who I'm almost certain became Do Hyun's (the writer's) self-insert (aka Gary Sue).
Gang Gi Bum quickly becomes the sole focus of the story, the strongest among all the Rugal members, adored by both allies and enemies... he is a walking plot-line -- or rather, a stumbling one. You can connect every story to him in an egotistical way which not only grew old fast, but allowed no room to develop any other characters.
Perhaps the biggest aggrievance of all was the disservice rendered towards the four female characters who appear on more than one episode of this drama --none of which were unfortunately fleshed out or given agency.
The two female "antagonists", for example, were useless. Argo's chairman's treatment was especially jarring. We were often told by other characters that she was cool, that she shouldn't be underestimated, that "you don't know what she's capable of" only to be shown... absolutely nothing. Again, the writer wanted to claim she's strong/cool/influential without actually giving her agency to show those things. And it's the same thing with Susan, the female scientist of the show. Where we're told by other characters all these things about her personality because she doesn't even have enough air time to develop her...
Of course, the most inconsistent was poor Song Mi Na, the lone female member of Rugal. She went from being the second-best of the team to become the weakest link; complete with a few badass in distress scenes --which were promptly excused by the writer though characters exchanging comments regarding "how strong she is" and how "impressed they were with her". In so doing, the Do Hyun created a laughable cop-out for only showing her distress and having all her badassery apparently happen off-screen...
At the end of the day, the lack of depth the entire cast of characters was riddled with meant I couldn't connect, relate, or even care for any of them. I was never rooting for them to succeed. I was also unconcern whenever they were "in danger". They were wrapped in such a thick layer of plot armor, that it stood to reason they would come out victorious in the end. Heck, even the characters seem keenly aware of their plot armor (especially the ML) because they never displayed an ounce of fear, which marks an author as lacking experience and the confidence of putting his beloved characters through the grinder.
Which leads us to the next point.
WRITING: Amature. Tell, why show?
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I could tell right away the writer didn't have experience because he relied a lot on exposition. Meaning he spoon-fed the audience the story through character dialogues rather than having us reach the conclusion he wanted through scene development.
A good writer will show, rather than tell. If he wants us to feel bad for a character, he'll dedicate time to showing how the character suffers rather than having him say "I'm so sad" in a short conversation. Although the process of showing will be longer, the result will be more powerful.
Simply put, if the audience is not moved to tears when a character cries on the screen... then the emotional buildup wasn't done correctly. In this case, telling us what the characters were feeling through dialogues resulted in a sense of disbelief and disconnect, which made me unable to empathize with any of them.
OVERALL [TL;DR]
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Learn from my painful experience and skip this one if you're looking for a good show. The writing is atrocious, the fights grew old fast, the plot is messy and inconsistent, the characters lack complexity... In fact, the only thing Rugal has going for it was the eye candy, which suffered when they went full emo style with the ML. But even these leather-clad men aren't worth muscling through the diary of a fourteen-year-old who self-inserted into a fantasy where he's the center of the universe; men want to be his sidekicks, women want to bed him, enemies fall in love with him and everything happens based only on the "rule of cool".
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This review may contain spoilers
Despite the odd title (I have no idea what "Dark Blue Kiss" is even supposed to mean, or how it relates to the story), DBK is one of my top two favorite BLs for 2019! (The other: He's Coming To Me.) Here's why:1) A very realistic view of what a young gay couple goes through. Not all shows have to be realistic for me -- I appreciate a good fantasy, as long as that's what it's intended to be. But if I'm being given a plot line that I'm supposed to take seriously, I want to believe it. DBK does this for me, unlike the large majority of BLs (which can still have good entertainment value).
2) Supportive parents and friends. Pete's dad, Kao's mom, and Rain were the heroes of this series.
3) The acting from the leads. Loved Tay (Pete) in this, and especially AJ (Non), who pretty much stole the show with his smarmy unlikeability. New (Kao) got a lot of flack from viewers for being too passive, but I thought he was just fine. As for the second couple, Podd (Sun) was a creditable actor (although I found his character a bit uninteresting) and Fluke (Mork) shows some great skills for a newbie.
4) The music. I loved the music for the opening credits! The OST sung by Fluke shows him to be a really talented singer, and another OST with Tay and New really shows off Tay's singing ability as well.
5) The story. From week to week, I found myself looking forward to what was coming next.
Highly recommended! (I only gave the "Rewatch Value" a lower rating because I rarely rewatch series.)
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This review may contain spoilers
frustration at its finest
tw// mention of rapethe trailer made me go, "oh! this doesn't look so bad! it looks cute and light! let's go for it!". well... the drama in its entirety is a hot mess. no, it's not the spicy good kind of mess that makes me look forward for more episodes. it's the mess that makes you wonder what went through the heads of the writers.
one thing that made me hooked into wanting to watch this is the actors from past dramas i watched. i honestly kinda feel bad for the the actors because it feels like they were trying their best to make up to portray their characters. sadly, there's literally no depth to the characters despite ton's dad brainwashing his son with such nonsense and misogynistic beliefs. the writers had the chance to give depth to ton's character and show his side of the story but we got absoluTeLy nothing! so, the whole time i couldn't help but detest ton because he was honestly being such an ass and made chon uncomfortable in the early episodes pressuring him about banging a girl to prove his masculinity.
three years with ai and ni.... not once did ton suspect anything going on???? i may be a clown but i haven't reached this level of clownery yet. i also couldn't find myself rooting for ai and ni when they forced chon to come out to them. another character that grinded my butters was nueng... what was the writers thinking making a rape victim attempt to rape someone????? honestly.... in each episode, i felt like i'd end up hating every single character. thankfully, characters like chon's mom, na, the nail lady and miriam exist.
the chemistry between chon and ton is not bad... but it's quite plain. the way their relationship developed itself is questionable. dude legit banged chon after confessing and chon, one who's known to always be the frantic type in such situations didn't flinch one bit. i honestly found ton unlikable and his possessiveness didn't appeal to me at all.
if there's another bl drama that features a revenge driven ex girlfriend after this, i'm officially teleporting to space because i'm so done with it.
overall, this is a drama that isn't anything new that does have a few charming points (comedic scenes and few likable supporting characters) but completely fails to keep my interest to the end.
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The characters are quite unusual, but in a refreshing and realistic way. Every one of them has a unique perspective on life and can teach you a few important lessons. Watching them interact and see them conquer their fears, accepted failures and move on to happiness is quite therapeutic.
All the characters have some kind of struggles they are facing, and all of them deal with them in a different way. We can relate to some and learn from others. Each presents a specific approach to life and striving for happiness.
It shows how people deal differently with pain: some pretend to be strong, some crumble, others live in denial and some chase after the lost happiness even when it's impossible to get it back. In a surprisingly heartwarming way, it shows the various sides of depression that does not leave the viewer drained of life, but rather hopeful.
The directing and editing has this dreamlike feel to it, which makes the drama even more appealing. Some might say it was too slow paced, too confusing, but for me it was pure perfection. Usually I dislike dramas that are this slow. I feel like they just try to be artistic for no reason. Somehow, the slower pace added a whole new level of charm that made me love A Piece Of Your Mind even more.
Any flaws? The device itself. While I can accept its existence, how it was made cannot be explained no matter how far-fetched sci-fi approach you take. Did it bother me while watching? No, since the device itself was never the focus point of the plot. It was always about the people and their relationships and how they can affect each other, not the electronics that made the connection happen in the first place.
Overall, it’s a healing story that will make you feel like you have dreamed it.
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One of the best enemies to lovers drama of all time!✨️
I have been eagerly anticipating this masterpiece for a long time. It captivates, fascinates, engages and enchants the audiences with its extraordinary and unique top notch plot. Even though I have read the novel, it has been impossible to tell what would happen next as the story is very cleverly adapted to include core events and the main story of the novel yet many things are seemlessly changed and integrated perfectly to improve the experience which keeps the novel readers at the edge of their seats at all times. 💯First of all, I have to give my highest commendation for the actor/actresses choices for this drama, from the main characters to their companion beast characters to the supporting characters to the villians, they all have served incredibly well. This drama is studded with exteremely handsome actors and beautiful actresses. HMH is my most favourite actor who with his phenominal talent, hard work and commitment, always delivers his awe-inspiringly complex and supremely versatile roles spectularly, immaculately and impeccably well. He always leaves the audience charmed and enchanted with unforgettable performances. It's my first time watching LYX, I'm thoroughly impressed with her extremely remarkable, stunning, dazzling, astonishing and impressive acting, she has gone straight to my top 5 actresses list. Both main leads nailed the complexity of the characters they have portrayed to the finest details 👌. All the others actors also entranced me with their brilliant, dynamic and captivating acting. They have displayed their deep emotions, passion, feelings flawlessly and their stories unfolded magnificently and seamlessly well with good pacing. Their dynamic and smooth chemistry with each other and the main characters brought this masterpiece to life.
💫HMH has portrayed the complex character of JBZ incredibly well. JBZ is very powerful and majestic warrior who has grand ambitions and hidden goals. He is a mysterious character who clawed his way out of horrible and brutal prison to the heights of honorable and respectable warrior in his realm. JBZ is incredibly smart, cunning, calculating, cautious, decisive, manupilative, and talented person in general. Although he is good, kind, caring and righteous person at heart, he carries the weight of deep emotional scars he was left with due to being abandoned by his parents, enduring unbearable painful suffering in the prison and betrayal of people he reluctantly trusted . At times these scars resurface and cloud his decisions, judgments and actions but thankfully and luckily he meets people who show him sincerity, love and care. So he becomes open to change, learns to overcome his fears, dares to love wholeheartedly, care and trust and be sincere and forgiving. I love his calm, witty, elegant, graceful, funny, determined and loving side yet I am also blown away by his incredibly powerful and skillful warrior side too.
💫LYX also nailed her intricate and sophisticated character as MY/MX. MX is undefeated God of war for 7 consecutive years. This warrior is also crown prince of his realm. Although this warrior's life looks glamorous, glorious and worthy of envy, MY is pitiful person who can't even declare her real gender to the world. Her parents drilled it into her that loosing is not an option. Yet after giving her all to win everytime for the sake her parents and people of her kingdom, she has never got genuine love, respect or rewards. When she lost for the first time due to being poisoned, no one hesitated to point fingers at her, throwing accusations at her or prosecuting her. Hiding her identity and lying to protect it has become second nature to her since childhood. With luck she does meet some sincere, caring and protective people too. Like JBZ she retains her kind, sincere and righteous nature underneath the cloak of false identity she has had to maintain for life. However, her traumatic struggles didn't leave her untainted either she yearns for unconditional love, care, happy and carefree life yet she has been trained to think and act for the kingdom/others, so she seldom puts herself first. She always readily puts her health, dreams, happiness and even her life on the line when she decides someone is important to her.
💫The chemistry between the main leads is off the charts❤️🔥!! Whether they are playing humorous cat and mouse games pretenting to fall for each other, or dangerous games of deception to use each other or sincere attempt to help/protect the other or when actually genuinely fallen in love trying to confirm/hide their feelings, they never fail to captivate the audience with their electrifying, exotic, charming, heart-warming and alluring chemistry. Being with each other both show sides to each other which they never have shown to anyone. They are funny, bubbly, adorable, flirtious, playful and love to tease each other. They are always ready to protect each other at the cost of their lives. They learn to see, feel and understand each other's heartwrentching painful pasts, other's prespective and current struggles, and try their best to heal each other physically and emotionally. Through ardouse journey together both learn to love and trust each other wholeheartedly while facing their fears, childhood traumas, ambitions, identity, goals and status differences head on. Due to their past pain both had to put extra effort into being more transparent with each other and use effective communication to fix many misunderstandings and uncover hidden truths between them.
This couple gives us everything whether there is extreme tension of them being nemesis warriors, or intellectuals who solve cases together for the good of people or fight villians trusting relying on each other putting their lives on the line, or make us ride the turbulent waves of push and pull between them, or whether one is decisively pushing other away and other is possessively chasing. The development of love between them is very brilliantly executed, viewers can feel from their actions and emotions displayed that how their fake love turned into genuine deep love over the course of time. They are so brilliantly campatible with each that it feels they were made for each other. 💕
💫The love and hate story between YX and Princess is extremely entertaining and captivating as well. I am very impressed by Princess's strength, wisdom and fighting spirit to protect her kingdom's people in the face of male dominating realms. Seeing MY always being confident, brave, resourceful and courageous and also seeing that being female she can fight really well, I love that the princess gets inspired and opens up paths for women to be allowed to be warriors. One of the main themes of the novel was women winning their rights and respectable places amongst the powerful male led six realms, I'm glad that the drama retained this theme. Other characters that have my heart are MY's and JBZ's companion beasts. Like their masters they are extremely cute, kind, smart, caring and fun. It really hurts to see them hurt. They love their masters dearly and always ready to give their lives to protect them or carry out any order from them. The interactions between the pets and their friendship is very endearing and precious as well.
💫The CGI, FX and cenimatrography of this drama is fire🔥!
The attention to detail, photorealism, seamless integrations, lighting and texturing makes the six realms of story enchanting and magical. The CGI in this drama not only gave us compelling visual experience in the action scenes but it effectively communicated the stories and emotions of the characters too. It successfully engages the viewers and leaving an everlasting impression. The gorgeous costumes, stunning hairstyles and mesmerising make up for the casts is breathtaking making the drama very enticing and inviting visual feast. But it's not just the visuals that stand out, all the OSTs especially the opening OST 'love in the clouds', 'If your World had no sunshine' and 'pretending it's nothing' are extremely beautiful. They have emotional resonance, clear production, and originality. All OSTs give emotional and atmosphereic depth to the scenes and events. They complement the on-screen action and match the tone of the production. Everytime they are played I was captivated, immersed and impacted pleasently by the beautiful melodies, rhythms and very moving and meaningful lyrics.
I absolutely fell in love with this enchanting and stunning couple, I don't think I will ever be able to move on from this drop-dead gorgeous, very dramatic, unashamedly flirtious and unapologetically very intimate couple. Together they have created top most heart warming, touching, emotional, magical, romantic and unforgettable Xuanhuan ever for me.
💫Ending:
I absolutely loved the most satisfying ending ever. Its really frustrating when either ml or fl have to sacrifice themselves to save the people/world from vilians, I really loved the fact that both main leads learned to face such choices together by coming up with ulternatives that would help both of them survive and solve the ultimate desparate and imminent dilemma they face. The ending was very sweet happily ever after with all the beloved characters safe and sound and no unnecessary slaughter of supporting characters, so mostly villains died. ZT and princess Tianji got their most dreamy ending too. I'm extremely impressed by bestest end for our perfect and majestic main couple that they absolutely deserve!!! 😍 ✨️ 💖ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊
💫I really need them in a new modern drama. I just can't get enough of them. Everyday I waited with excitement for next episode and I hoped that this drama would never ever end and I was not ready to say good bye to such eathereal, talented and dreamy cast. I have thoroughly enjoyed every second of this drama and I very highly recommend it to anyone who loves romance, fantasy, suspense, and wuxia. It's 10/10 for me in every aspect. (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
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This review may contain spoilers
We love a future without cancer
The actors did a great job! And i don't regret watching. But this ending was lazy.If you just watched the movie and thought:
"This was so smart because after the credits scene you realize that the wicked one woke up faster than the lead's mom, so ended up killing her and kept the lead a prisoner for 20 years, mirroring the start of the movie."
This was exactly what the screenwriter tried to convey, but the timeline doesn't add up.
The movie only presents a new future, when things are set and done (for the time being). immediately after someone survives or dies the future adapts afterwards. Meanwhile on this brand new future before the credits, the lead had enough time to search for her mom at the hospital (idk why... cause this whole going back cured her cancer in every alternative future LMAO), at the police station and also had time to run to the cemetery and meet her mom there. So this new future was somehow set. Going "back" to hear that phone call that was made before the cop and the mom arrived, warning the wicked that she would die doesn't make much sense. Unless for the FIRST time in this movie, the writer suddendly makes it possible for temporary futures to be presented to the viewers. So the wicked didn't die and woke up before the mom and killed her and made the lead a prisoner (mirroring herself when she was younger). ok, that's cool, but that never happened before though. The future was always showed after the past scene was dealt with. The lead had some solid 30/45min in this new future though, since she runs everywhere she goes... doesn't make sense.
So to me this was lazy. They had a 3 star movie if they ended with a happy ending, so they created this poorly written new ending so that they can keep people talking about the possibilities of the ending credits, and end with an 4 star movie. And that's lazy. It works for the majority of people, but the truth it's the timelines don't always match.
Also can't someone just call 911. ffs.
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