When I started watching this drama I had only one reason: Jung Jin Young from B1A4. However right from the beginning of the first episode I was really captivated by the randomness and funniness of the drama. After the first two episodes I thought "Wow, this sure is not your average K-drama".
Then when the story moved along, it started to get a little messed up at some points if you didn't pay attention to what's happening on the screen. I mean you have to look at every little detail in the show to understand its real meaning.
This drama had it all: comedy, romance, family issues, revenge, tragedy and what else?
I liked every little detail of the story and I liked how the side stories and the main story all went to one at the end of the drama. It was nice to see how things changed and how the "puzzle got solved" as the story moved along.
The ending was what I really liked. I mean the very last scenes. Some might think "What was that ending all about? I don't get it." and some might say "Was that supposed to be an ending?". To me it was the perfect ending. A new beginning. There's no other words to describe the ending.
Then, should I talk about acting? I was really mind blown by the fact that this was Jinyoung's first time acting. Okay, at the first episodes he wasn't that good but as the story moved along his acting got better and better all the time.
I really loved the way the cast portrayed their characters really well. It really showed me that they chose the right cast.
About the music... It was really good. I think this was one of the few K-dramas where there isn't any singing in the OST in the insert songs. The opening and ending had. The insert music was really captivating. If anyone has watched Utsukushii Rinjin (Japanese drama) or American show Desperate Housewives you'll know what I mean.
I wouldn't rewatch this because I already know the story. If I am going to rewatch this it would be just the first episodes or then just some random clips from here and there.
I think this is one of the dramas that you need to watch with your brains to understand the real meaning because the plot is made up from so many "pieces". That might be the only problem in the plot... Which is why I gave 8 to a plot instead of 9.
Overall, I really liked this drama. When I was reading the comments I thought "What? How can they say this is boring?". But then again, everyone has their different tastes.
I really recommend this to everyone who needs a break from the usual K-dramas.
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Its in their nature.
I almost didn't watch this. Although many plot threads were left unfinished, I could accept the way they left things for the main protagonists. Why not leave well enough alone? Because I still wanted to know if how things play out with Gu Fengan, Prince Zhao and Xu Changping and who does not want to see more sweet moments between Wenxi and Dingquan?There are some unexplained time gaps but these last 12 episodes are surprisingly well edited and neatly tie up all of the remaining important plot threads. What I like best is that the villain is really good, probably the best one in the entire story and he is taken down by the person he least expects. The plot is also not too convoluted nor overly mired in excessive detail so I found it easier to follow. I am also quite impressed with Zheng Yicheng's portrayal of the more mature Gu Fengan - this promising young actor needs to take on more complicated roles like this.
What remains painful is the relationship between the crown prince and the emperor - it evolves and yet is still the same. Its like watching an unstoppable force meet an immovable object. Neither can help themselves, it is in their nature. The crown prince is an amazing, uncompromising idealist with a big heart and the best of intentions but he is also a most unsuitable person for the job. He is the one person in the entire story with no free will. Everyone, including his soul mate Wenxi tries to force his hand. The outcome is inevitable and frankly, a relief.
I am glad that with this, I watched the show in its entirety. If you have already watched the first 60 episodes, I don't need to remind you that this is a beautifully written but heavy, depressing story. It is a strong finish, I give it a 9.0 although if I have to rate the drama in its entirety it is still an 8.5.
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A sensitive and emotional journey.
Yes, my rating may be high, but I don’t think undeservedly so.It’s hard to know where to start for this review, the film’s cinematography is stunning, attention to detail is just-so, while the characters are realistic and truly embodied by their actors. The soundtrack matched perfectly the events onscreen. When I left the cinema, walking home quietly at night, life felt beautiful. That is the feeling this film left me with.
I also loved the creative decisions made in storytelling, which added major depth and impact to scenes that may have stood out less otherwise. I love the film in a quiet and reflective sense; it doesn’t rush to throw so many things at the viewer at once (with the possible exception of subtitles, being a bilingual film). In that sense the film is much like a journey you go on together with the leads.
The attention to detail with language was not lost on me, as the characters knew each other longer, their language abilities noticeably grew and improved, which may seem small but is of major importance.
I have, at most, one critique for the film; which would relate to it being a bit cliché with one element, but this didn’t take away from my viewing experience, nor that of the friend next to me who didn’t notice it.
If you can watch this in cinemas I absolutely recommend doing so; albeit if you aren’t relatively fluent and literate in Mandarin or Japanese, it may be linguistically tricky. If you’re looking at this sometime in the future and debating if it’s worth your time, please give it a go!
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my brother in christ...
— i went in blind, & i haven't even read the summary beforehand...i should've. it's confusing at the beginning, but dots start connecting quite nicely somewhere after the first revelation. i don't believe that it could've been confusing to anyone, you just need to pay it minimal attention, at least.— it's strange, & then it's quite horrid but overall it's just heartbreaking. i dislike sibling bonds in movies precisely because it was gut-wrenching to see the dynamic switch between the two brothers after we discover the truth. it's hard to bring your brain out of that illusion once you're convinced that they're blood-related. nonetheless, i liked this movie a lot. my brain glitched for good five minutes after finishing it because you rewind all little details that didn't make sense & you see them in a totally different light.
— i cried, like a lot.
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The ending is what diminished it for me
7,5/10 is my rating. This is a 2019 (Josean era) fictional drama with 16, 60 minute, episodes.Ha-seon (Yeo Jin-goo) leads a relatively care free life traveling around performing comedic skits that primarily make fun of the royalty. Yi Heon, the King (also played by Yeo Jin-goo) was a benign noble as a Crown Prince but became a paranoid, vicious and crazed king. He is bloodthirsty which is driven by opium induced delusions about being killed. When one of his close advisers comes across Ha-seon by a chance encounter, he is stunned to realize the clownish actor looks exactly like the king. The king has become increasingly concerned about assasination attempts and has tasked his close advisers to find a way to get him out of danger. The adviser who encountered the look alike proposes to the king that he be used as a stand in and the King is more than willing to have the doppelgänger stand in for him. Through a combination of coercion and persuasion they talk Ha-seon into playing the greatest role, that of the king, while the real king slips away to a quiet retreat. As Ha-seon becomes acquainted with palace life and gets to know the inhabitants, Queen Yi Kyu (Kim Sang-kyun) quickly steals his reluctant heart and is surprised herself to find that this new side to her husband is stirring romantic feelings for him she did not have before. Nothing could go wrong - right?
spoiler 🚨 I liked the first half of this very well I thought the male lead did an excellent job playing both the clown who was kind and the king who was bloodthirsty and crazy. I like the female lead who played the queen as she was calm and kind. However, the way the king was and all the palace intrigue reminded me of the American show “Game of Thrones“. As is often the case in Royal courts, it seemed as if everyone was out to poison or kill everyone else for the throne. In the middle of the show, there was a part where the Crowned Clown bowed down to one of the evil villains and I wound up fast forwarding because I knew that eventually he would win out and I couldn’t take watching it go on for so long. After that part it got good again and I thought “well there’s just that one part that doesn’t detract from the movie too much.“. At that point, had it ended well, I probably would’ve given it an 8.5 or possibly a 9. The show literally went down in the last episode or so when it seemed like nearly every character I liked had something tragic happen to them or someone they cared about. Then to top it off, the male lead steps down and gives the crown over to someone we were barely introduced to. After everything that he had gone through as well as all the people that supported him it seemed like a waste for him not to reign longer. The Queen also had been made barren and it would’ve been nice if they would’ve found out that wasn’t true after all. Because it felt like Ha-seon did in part step down because she was unable to bear an heir. Then they aren’t done with the tragedy because as he steps down and leaves the palace, one of the last characters that I still liked gets killed as some crazy ninjas say they are avenging the dowager queen who died a year before and we never really got to know these people to know why they would be so loyal to her even a year later. In fact, when the dowager was alive you didn’t really see her do anything all that great nor did they refer to any great things she had done in the past. Then they make you think the male lead is dead and you get to see the queen, who had stepped away from the throne to be with him, grieve for over two years. Then he just suddenly shows up and says he’s been in what would amount to a coma (how they would’ve supported someone in a coma in the Josean era is a bit of a mystery) and they have this long emotional moment. Rather than being heartwarming, their reunion felt a little bit cheesy and over done. It is a shame that it did not end better because it could’ve been a good show. This is the third TV series I’ve seen with this male lead and I have to say all three have not ended as I like them to. It is to the point where if he is in something I will likely read spoilers to make sure it doesn’t have a poor ending. If you don’t mind tragedy and like things that are a bit nebulous, you may like this better than I did. It is worth watching because a lot of the show is quite good and if you’re able to look past that middle part and the end then you may enjoy it.
#TheCrownedClown
#YeoJinGoo
#KimSangKyun
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The series is mostly a murder mystery that intertwines evil spirits and other horrors into its narrative, which is not so different from many other horror-kdrama I’ve watched. The plot builds the tension within the narrative rather well, and each episode usually ends in such a way that you have to see the next one as soon as possible, but it does have a bit of a pacing issue.
The story works more like a mystery than a horror story in my opinion, but the evil spirits and the Korean folklore about such spirits and shamanism is used in an interesting (but perhaps familiar way if you’ve watched many such dramas) as such a tool to communicate moral questions about society, as well as the weaknesses and behavior of the characters to the viewer, like horror stories of this nature do. That’s the purpose of the horror.
For a while it seems like the story goes in a few too many circles with the main characters’ quest to get rid of these evil spirit, and the narrative loses a bit of momentum towards the middle. There is a lot of repetition and too little progress whether it was in the story itself or the characters own personal arcs, even though we are always learning more and more about these evil spirits and the past that explains the present. But towards the end the story does pick up the pace again.
There are plenty of great, interesting characters here, and of course Kim Tae Ri, like the other actors, is doing a great job in their roles but the drama struggles to give all of them time to tell their story while managing to keep a good flow to the story. There were almost too many character and it breaks the flow. The story affects the characters, but the characters don’t affect the story too much. Therefor the story overwhelms the character a little.
In some instances the narrative does seem to drag things out just because they need to fill the time with something. I’ve seen this screenwriter do horror very well before, as well as murder mystery, but mixing the two together seems to have been a struggle at times. Perhaps if the drama had been allowed to be longer, it wouldn’t have felt like it was holding too many balls in the air at once and allowed the story to breath a bit more or add more things in so it felt less repetitive.
An exciting story that allows the story to unfold through the characters and their actions, but ends up dragging them a bit unhesitatingly forward for the sake of the narrative. There is always something hooking you within each episode, but the build up between each cliff-hanger could have been better in some places. It makes the narrative a bit uneven, and I personally would have liked more horror. But overall a very entertaining watch despite the hiccups in the narrative structure.
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So Much Potential...
It started really strong, and I loved the interaction between our leads. However, things got a little draggy in the middle, and it felt like everything just derailed during the last several episodes.I love seeing supportive, trusting relationships, and boy did this drama nail it. Watching the ML and FL work together to face obstacles was so satisfying and heart-warming. Those were my favorite parts. I enjoyed the more mature character for ZLS, and YY was delectable as always.
But boy oh boy... the story... I can't believe I'm saying this, but this drama should've been longer. If you know me, you know I hate long dramas, but I repeat: this drama should've been longer. Or at least paced better. I noticed the pacing was quick in the beginning but didn't mind it much. The first time I was like hol' up was when a certain character went through something emotionally tragic and magically recovered within a few scenes. I initially shrugged it off cause fine whatever.
But as the episodes went on, similar things kept happening. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Well, I refuse to be shamed. However, a fool I am, so I kept watching all the way to very end hoping that maybe the problem would fix itself. "Welp," I said as I watched the story explode with a fiery crash in the distance. The uninspired army battle scenes, untimely time skips, unresolved/rushed plot points, and generally bizarre out of character behaviors transformed the ending into a surreal experience that left me wondering very intelligently, ".......what?"
Don't get me wrong y'all. I had a good time (like... who can resist YY with that ponytail hair?? certainly not me), but the last third of the drama had that "trying to clean up my college dorm before my parents arrive in 10 min so let's just shove all my dirty clothes under the bed and hope they don't notice" vibe.
My advice: watch for the YY and ZLS visuals/romance but turn off your brain for the story.
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Slow-burning, often-overlooked drama of 2020
When My Love Blooms also went under my radar with its melodramatic tone and emphasis on flashbacks. However, WMLB is not so overtly melodramatic, especially in comparison to other kdramas. And, the way flashbacks are incorporated into the story is ambitious and novel. The major weakness of WMLB is that it takes too long to show its main merit and charm.By committing to longer flashbacks, the drama tells two intertwined stories that make it challenging to buy-in to either. In the beginning, it feels as though we are watching two sets of characters, and it takes the better half of the series to believe that they are the same “people”. This drama needs a longer runway to fully capture its audience, so do not judge on the first 2 or 4 episodes.
Story:
With the concurrent telling of past and present, When My Love Bloom’s plot is surprisingly tight. Flashbacks are not shown just to explain a specific present event, rather they are given their own fully fleshed out story. Splitting time between flashbacks and present does take away from the development of the main plotline, especially because it is hard to believe, at first, that the past and present characters are really one another.
Acting:
Lee Bo Young and Yoo Ji Tae are what I first noticed from their respective 2013 and 2014 hits. I Hear Your Voice and Healer are both considered kdrama classics, and seeing the two leads in 2020 is a treat. No more needs to be said.
Their past counterparts Jeon So Nee and Park Jin Young also deserve praise. Within their storyline, their chemistry and performance are strong. The only minor criticism is that the two pairs could have better aligned their mannerisms because it may have helped bridge the disconnect between them. Still, I prefer the way the past and present are shown in WMLB over the usual where one pair of actors pretends to be 20 in one scene and 40 in another.
Music:
Music is a key point throughout the drama, from the use of 90’s music to the Female Lead’s piano background. The blend of oldies and classical with the more familiar sounds of kdrama ballad/OST is appreciated. But like the story, When My Love Bloom’s novel approach does not quite break away from the typical kdrama mold.
Rewatch Value:
Even though the drama exceeds expectations, it is hard to promise a rewatch. I hesitate to call it slow paced. It is more that there are two stories that could each be a standalone show. By the time the two “stories” fully connect, When My Love Bloom is already at its end. The finale’s lasting impression is that WMLB fails to stand out even with its novel storytelling and directing.
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1This review may contain spoilers
Moral Bankruptcy, Bad Wigs, and Surprisingly Good Chemistry
Alright, gather round, chaos enthusiasts. This drama is not for the faint of heart or those who enjoy neatly wrapped moral lessons. The ethics in here are wobbly at best—like a toddler on roller skates—but that’s part of the fun. Each 10-minute episode feels like someone tried to condense three emotional breakdowns and one questionable life choice into a single espresso shot. And you know what? It works. I was hooked, blinking in disbelief but unable to look away.Now, let’s talk production. The budget? Missing, presumed dead. The emperor’s acting was serving “community theatre villain with unpaid bills.” The OST has been reincarnated more times than the leads, and the wigs… spiritual experience of their own. Yet, somehow, none of this ruins the fun—it just adds flavor.
The leads are a special breed of unhinged. Their dynamic starts off as “toxic fumes and trauma bonding,” then slides into “kinda hot, actually.” The reincarnation twist adds spice: the FL remembers the first life, the ML does not, and together they prove that hate and love are basically just different toppings on the same emotional pizza. Both of them are morally carbonated, fizzing with chaos and guilt, but balanced enough to make you root for them anyway.
By the end, the FL does what most characters in revenge plots forget to do—she heals. She drops the hate, forgives the man who probably deserved to be set on fire at least once, and becomes his biggest cheerleader. Growth, baby. Toxic but touching.
And bro—if these two needed three lifetimes to get it right, how am I supposed to find my happiness in just one?!
In conclusion: it’s a short, chaotic, ethically grey pit stop between your prestige dramas. Expect messy emotions, shaky wigs, and a surprisingly wholesome aftertaste. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Would I question your sanity if you liked it too much? Also yes.
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Weak start, getting better with every episode...
While we are flooded with short KBL mini-series, this is a serious TV production. And it shows. The main actors are already established and even the best friend is a character we have seen in other series as supporting role.I like scifi and time travel always but I would lie if I would say the script does not have it's flaws. Sadly it has. Especially the color-blindness was not explained at all. Especially WHEN does he have it, is it just an after-effect due to his time travelling or did he had it all the time or did it develop gradually. It has such a prominent role in the story that I don't know WHY it was there. So it irks me still, why it wasn't explained at all. Also the fight between Woojin and his best friend was overly fast resolved without the proper appology. Teajun had the vibe of jealousy which was not done right. It gave me first the impression he is also interested in Woojin in a romantic way but that was just a fleeting moment and imho not necessary.
The cinematography was top notch giving the past and the "now" a different vibe - which it should. Also they did an amazing OST. The only gripe is the overly blurness of their first kiss in the beginning, this was a bit over the top. I disagree with some reviews here saying the did not have chemistry, I think they did. The glances and micro expressions did it for me, without the face to face aural confessions we are so used to. They don't need words to convey their feelings. In the finale Woojin said his smile had a sadness to it and yes, that's what was intended. This was a much more mature storyline compared to most school/university BLs we get to see nowadays which I appreciated.
Regardless of the flaws of the script, I enjoyed the series. It took almost a year after "Ball Boy Tactics" to get a proper KBL on the screen and I appreciated it. So while not perfect, it's worth the watch.
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1
1Very niche, but my favourite show EVER!
"Two men talking in a room" is what you'll get in 60% of this show. 25% of the show has more than two but no more than ten men, or a man and a woman, talking in a room. And another 10% is two or more men talking outdoors... yup, you get the idea. Superficially, that's most of what you'll see in The Wind Blows From Longxi. And it’s also part of the show's very niche appeal.Longxi checks all my personal boxes for a favourite drama— great acting, real historical events, tight plot, treacherous politics, and zero distracting romance. It’s one of my favourite shows of all time, if not my favourite show ever. In a nutshell, Longxi is about spies during the Three Kingdoms period. Chen Gong is a veteran Shu field agent embedded in Wei. A critical military campaign against Wei goes horribly awry due to wrong intel provided by Chen Gong. How did that happen? Where do Chen Gong's loyalties truly lie? These are the questions that Chen Gong’s sworn brother and in-law, Xun Xu (also an intel veteran), is brought in to investigate. If you’ve read The Tao of Spycraft or any of Ralph Sawyer’s other books on ancient Chinese warfare, many of the spy methods and tactics in this show will be familiar. Since defection and double agents are normal in spycraft, one question is whether the defection is genuine or just a ruse to gain the enemy’s trust. That’s the central issue in this show, which the poster caption 谋中谋 计中计 (“the scheme within the scheme; the plan within the plan”) encapsulates.
Plot: A very twisty plot that doesn’t strain credibility. The least headache-inducing way to follow the plot of this show is to ask whose interests are currently aligned with whose. Without saying too much about what happens (because that would really ruin everything), the whole plot turns on the constantly shifting allegiances of various players, at the highest and lowest levels of society, in the conflict between Shu and Wei. The plot is complicated but doesn’t tie your brain in a knot until the episodes hit the late teens. Thankfully, ep. 21 onwards provide the clarification you need. If you get lost, there is a 5 minute “Cliff’s Notes” recap at the end of every episode that summarises the key developments. However, you’re very much on your own when it comes to the finer plot points, which the recap doesn’t cover. The final resolution is elegant and gut-wrenching, and I am glad the team did not go for a happier ending. That would have been far less satisfying.
Script: The script doesn't waste any time getting the show off the ground, even if it seems that little goes on in the first episode (it's important background context and sets the scene for everything else). Overall, it's just the right length at 24 episodes. Since this is a hardcore spy-plus-politics drama, most of the real action takes place behind closed doors, with bearded, middle-aged men plotting and scheming over cups of tea. The dialogue is exquisitely political and worth following closely. We are treated to scene after scene of various players abandoning old allegiances and cementing new ones, and having those allegiances tested by their new masters. One such scene is the one where Feng Ying (Shu spymaster) seeks out Li Yan (Shu general), formerly from an internal “enemy” faction, to declare his allegiance to Li Yan. Feng Ying tries to get on Li Yan’s good side to protect himself from Li Miao (Shu interim mid-level "civil servant"), who also works for Li Yan, but wants to turn Feng Ying into a scapegoat for his own political purposes. Li Yan appears to believe this is a ruse by Feng Ying and tests him, but goes along with it as it benefits him in the short term. I also liked how there were relatively few flashbacks. The ones in Longxi are short and moving without being too sentimental; I especially loved the one where a ball lying by the door causes a very miserable Guo Gang to reminisce about playing cuju (蹴鞠?) with Chen Gong in the rain. Another striking thing is the judicious use of action scenes. Since Longxi is about politics and intel, there are only a handful of brief action scenes (mostly military skirmishes). Then in ep 23, the viewer is treated to the show's only extended sword-fighting sequence with Chen Gong. The burst of pure violence and pent-up rage in this sequence arguably makes this scene the emotional climax of Longxi. Chen Gong, like any good field agent, has iron self-control. At worst, he has quiet breakdowns in private, then quickly gets his act together again. But in the swordfight scene, he lets it all out. It's moment of pure catharsis for the character that sets the stage for the final episode. Definitely one of the finest moments in an already amazing show.
Themes: The 2 main themes of Longxi are (1) the moral neutrality of politics, and (2) that human relationships are a double-edged sword. The life-and-death political struggle between Zhuge Liang and Li Yan is not a matter of good versus evil (even if Li Yan does some truly terrible things), but down to a difference in opinion as to how Shu should ensure its medium-term survival. And at the end, it’s Chen Gong’s feelings for Di Yue (his wife) and Xun Xu that threaten his allies’ best-laid plans, even as his allies exhort him to continue making enormous personal sacrifices for Shu. For both Xun Xu and Chen Gong, what ultimately gives them moral closure and defines their biggest decisions is not self-interest or patriotism, but staying true to their loved ones. Powerful stuff.
Acting: Everyone put in an A+ performance here, except Angelababy. I have nothing against that lady, but she was pretty wooden in this show and looked so airbrushed. She also didn't quite click with Bai Yu on screen. (I don’t watch enough shows to comment on whether this is better or worse than AB’s usual...) Chen Kun was of course brilliant as Chen Gong, but I was equally (if not more) impressed by Bai Yu’s low-key but completely spot-on performance as the dangerously sentimental Xun Xu. Xun Xu has the smarts and EQ to be a great intel guy, but he's too emotional and high-minded for his line of work. He's terrible at lying and makes a few wrong calls that have serious consequences. One gets the sense that he has only survived this long due his kicked puppy expression that tugs at everyone's heartstrings, a good brain, and sheer luck. Bai Yu perfectly captured this precarious balance of vulnerability, world-weariness and cunning at the core of Xun Xu. His final exchange with Chen Gong, especially the delivery of「我看透了你的心」(“I’ve seen through your heart”) in ep. 24 was also a total tear-jerker. With a lesser script and actor, Xun Xu would have been a character whose naivete makes the viewer question how his head has managed to remain on his shoulders. But through the combination of great script characterisation and Bai Yu's acting, Xun Xu becomes a convincing example of the idealistic survivor who manages to keep going even after all the dust has settled. I also really enjoyed Edward Zhang’s performance as the Wuxian cult leader Huang Yu. He fully conveyed his character’s megalomania and cruelty with what little screen-time he was given. The actors playing Feng Ying, Guo Gang and Mi Chong were also absolutely brilliant. I loved them all!
Music: This was okay. It was composed by Kawai Kenji, but I was hoping for thematic music that was less Western in flavour. It was also disappointingly run-of-the-mill "epic"-sounding stuff. But it's not a deal-breaker for me.
All in all, 10/10, A++++ from this very satisfied viewer! For me, I’m not sure if any other mainstream period drama can compare with this show.
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I liked it less than Season 1, but I still appreciated the new season!
I was literally in the middle of randomly rewatching season 1 of Yumi's cells when season 2 finally appeared! Yay!!! If you were a fan of season 1 then season 2 tries hard to recapture that magic and continue Yumi's story right from where the last episode ended. I was glad to see all of the old characters and cells return, but I will also confess that I am unapologetically team Wung, and was rooting for him more than Yumi at the end of season 1. I say that so that my bias is clear, although I will try to not let that cloud my review too much.I think the main issue I had with this season is that unlike season 1, which was a clear linear plot about the evolution of Yumi & Wung's love story, season 2 tries to possibly do too much. Yes, as you can see from the poster art, Yumi has a new main love interest, Yoo Babi from season 1. We do get to see their relationship turn romantic and get introduced to Babi's cute and festive cells, but a lot of time is also spent on Yumi's writing career, some new characters, and an appreciated update on Wung too. I didn't read the webtoon, so maybe they just tried to fit as much of the original content as they could into the story. Sadly, although Yumi's emotions and the storytelling overall is still super creative and often relatable, the actual plot starts to drag and get repetitive about halfway through. And although watching season 1 first makes the most sense, there are plenty of flashbacks for context just in case you skip to this season for Park Jin Young as the male lead.
He may not have been the ship I wanted to sail but he is cute, so I understand.
Speaking of Park Jin Young as Babi, I do think he played his role pretty well, but once Babi became the center of the story he also became super boring. He and Kim Go Eun do have some cute chemistry moments in the first episodes but there are also quite a few cringy-trying-too-hard-cute moments too. Their cells often have to save the day to keep the story fun, or make their fights much more engaging. Watching Yumi become super jealous and distrustful on loop was already annoying in season 1, but Babi always being even-keeled with the same bland smile or sad expression just made it worse. If you are a Park Jin Young fan I'm sure he will be sufficiently cute for you to enjoy but compared to the chemistry in season1 I was kinda disappointed. Side couples were often much more interesting than the leads were. Wung's character having a decent amount of guest star screen time helped a lot too, but he always wore a shirt this time : ( #imissedhisabs
The rest of the cast were the same quirky characters I liked in the first season with some good new editions. My favorite of the new characters hands down was illustrator Control Z. ("Zeeeeeeee" lol ). He was another character that saved me from wanting to drop the tedious love story parts. I was hoping Da Eun would be as involved in the story as Sae Yi was, but I feel like she was underutilized. I think because of the self-centered nature of the Yumi character some great performances are more like guest appearances than the feel of an ensemble cast. There were some literal good guest star moments too. Park Jin Joo's cameo was really funny.
And all of the voice actors were amazing once again! I truly missed their antics!
Another plot issue was, as inspiring as Yumi's writing pursuit was, without the cell's POV, that was boring to watch as well, and definitely started to feel like filler in the last episodes.
Kim Go Eun as Yumi grew on me too and had a little more life in her performance this time. Or maybe that's just compared to boring Babi. Bland Babi's character was never allowed to evolve much past pursuing Yumi. Or was the lined black and white version of Babi also a metaphor for his lack of a personality? Apparently, in the original story he's the fan favorite, but I had a hard time seeing his appeal in the show. Their relationship was shady from the start, which was also pretty hard for me to look past after liking Wung so much!
Would I watch this again? Sure. I would definitely skip past a lot of scenes but the same charm of the cells and getting frustrated at Yumi makes even this messy plot still fun to watch. The Cells are everything, and along with favorites (like naughty) they really got creative with some of these new cells... like the hilarious "hand"!
And yes, I still love the OST and the new song editions. I was very glad to hear certain songs again.
Overall, it's super hard to recapture the energy of a successful first season, which the writer even blatantly has Yumi stressed over during the show's last episode (very meta). What Yumi's Cells 2 does well is stick to what worked in season 1 without trying to repeat it exactly. I still never cried, but I LOLed often. It's still the perfect length to binge and re-binge, even if the story drags at times. I got some character updates that I needed. I still wished for more growth from Yumi, but through her chasing her dream I saw some. I was also satisfied with everything ending as it did, and how they implied what was next in Yumi's love life without me needing to see it all played out, but if they do decide to actually go for a season 3, count me in... again!
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Fumo Chitai is an unusual Japanese drama (19 episodes length) but I believe that goes back to the fact that this was made to celebrate Fuji TV’s 50 years’ anniversary. Whatever the reason was, this drama was pretty well-made. This drama tells the story of man who was a leader tactician for the Japanese Imperial army during World War II but when Japan surrendered, he was considered a war criminal and had to go through a hellish trouble to go back to his country. After war, when Japan was devastated by loss and had to find a way to survive, Iki Tadashi has to live a life where he can use his brilliant mind to set the future of his country. He practically exchanged military war with economic war.
Of course, the journey isn’t easy at all and Iki has to face many ordeals to accomplish good deeds for his society. Moreover, he was confronted by greedy politicians, influential figures, people with tricky minds and others who use unethical methods while he had to keep his principles and beliefs to achieve greater good.
The reason why I became surer about my tendencies to Business dramas through Fumo Chitai is the screenwriting, there’s more wittiness in business dramas’ scripts. The screenwriter has to be very capable to keep the thrills and make the audience always interested in what will happen next using the complicated business theme. This drama’s screenwriter was pretty successful at keeping the drama captivating from the beginning until the very last end. He used “arcs” where the main character had to overcome an issue and straightly move to the next one. Certainly, all of the arcs were business themed like the defense ministry’s plane choice, the automobiles contracts, oil exploiting and so on. Without any exception, all the arcs of this drama were stimulating and fun to follow.
However, the reason that forbids me from giving the storyline and the drama a perfect score is the romantic part. It annoyed me and I am not saying that because of my general dislike for the genre but it was unbalanced. I know that a serious heavy drama like this needs a light side to it but that wasn’t cool at all, I am sure if they just focused on the family part then everything would’ve been great.
The acting was absorbing, I know Karasawa Toshiaki from a very long time ago but this is practically the first time that I considered him a high-class actor. I only thought that he was a good actor before but his performance here just engraved his skills in my mind. He was also accompanied by other amazing actors that made the acting department feel so high.
The characters were pretty well written for a business drama and their interactions were also appreciated. And let’s not forget that many foreign characters took part in this drama. However, the only spot-light character during the whole drama was without doubt Iki Tadashi, one heck of a smart male lead who always knows how to get out of troubles and bring profits for his society, company and colleagues. He’s simply a splendid man.
The drama was set from 1945-1970 or so. Thus, you can expect time jumps and somewhat old visuals to fit the drama’s setting.
Watch if:
-You like business dramas.
-You like intense twisty dramas.
-You like brilliantly intelligent main characters.
Do not watch if:
-You dislike business dramas. Seriously this is the perfect definition of how a business drama should be like.
-You’re looking for something fluffy or light.
Fumo Chitai is a glorious story of a man who reformed himself from dust in order to build his country while protecting his noble beliefs. It’s absolutely recommendable for the fans of intense, heavy and entertaining productions.
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This review may contain spoilers
Slow steps with questionable pacing and timeline. Also, let me just add I love Chot.
It's started off great but it fell flat towards the end. From time to time the plot and the timeline feels off and hard to progress. The plot is not consistent at all. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it feels like it's all over the place and honestly I can't quite grasp the time skip. I don't even know what the screenplay writers were thinking like where is the whole in between story, especially of Jaab and Jen??Also Pat and Jeng, they both have one hell of a chemistry but their storyline is seriously slow, like it can not even be called a slow burn. It leaps from 0 to 1000 and then the next moment they are back to 0. What I am trying to say is the pacing is a mess. This series could have turned out to be so much better. It had so much potential but it couldn't live up to it.However, hear me out, it's not the best but not the worst either; it's worth a try, especially the first half of the series.
The characters are lovable but then again sometimes a little annoying and even rash. Starting with Jeng, his character is most of the times calm, composed, reasonable, a little controlling and hands down his visuals. Also, it was kind of cute how he was so bothered about the manager performance appraisal review from Pat. And Pat is cute especially when he is drunk. He worries a lot and even messes things up but sooner or later he rectifies it too, of course after the damage is done though. Also, he cried a lot, more so, in the second half of the story and I wasn't quite a fan of it. I do get it that the writers wanted to portray him as a pure, upright and innocent person but he came off to be irritating at times. His actions were questionable and his reasonings didn't quite make sense.
The most disappointing part of the series for me was the story of Jaab and Jen. Damn!! Jaab and Jen , in the starting, the tension between them was so clearly evident. I was actually more interested in their story than the main couple's storyline even though I did love the main leads. I was manifesting them and somehow it worked. They ended up kissing and it left me in total awe - I was like 'WOW' but then at the same time 'What just happened?!' Right after that kiss, it just turned into ghosting and then out of nowhere there is Paint. Also, two years gap. Their story is officially a mess.
What I really really adore in this series is the bond between the two brothers: Jeng and Jaab, it's heartwarming. They bond and blend so well. They are effortlessly funny in the right amount and supportive too. Further, the friend circle of Pat is hilarious and also extremely supportive in whatever he does which is both good and bad but I love them especially Chot. Touchwood to the bond that Pat and Chot share.
Chot really is the MVP of this series. He is sassy, confident, funny in the right amount, a reliable friend, an understanding lover and a heart stealer. Also, the office plot in the starting is so on point from the part of not getting the credit for the work one has done to the gossiping colleagues and this kind of really riled me up.
The series is not the best but it's still worth a try.
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This review may contain spoilers
I have many thoughts about this drama. First the good: it is one of the most atmospheric and beautiful ones I've seen in a while, on par with the quality of Sword and Flower in its cinematic-like portrayal. The framework of certain scenes was just breathtaking. (Changing the aspect ratio at the end as well — just… outstanding). Also, it was very good at building up historical events, like the heart-wrenching fight of the Joseon people, the dread of being colonized by Japan, etc. The latter especially, every time a scene was characterizing that, the camera work paired with the ominous music portrayed the doom-and-gloom perfectly, enough to send chills down your spine. Its action scenes were a work of art as well, with the fast-paced sword work and quickness of biting bullets. When the drama focused on action, it was a joy to watch. If this had been the majority of the drama, I would’ve given it a higher score for sure.Another praise I want to give the drama is its realistic sets and costumes. I loved the mix of traditional and modern clothes, the slow-yet-rapid advancement of technology, etc. It really felt like we were given a glimpse of living in those “turbulent times,” as Ae-shin says at the beginning.
Which leads me to second, the cons. The elements of this drama that made me not rush to watch it, that always had me on the verge of feeling utterly unabsorbed and frustrated at times. The pace is just too slow at times; there are one too many longing looks between the two leads and lingering goodbye scenes. While it could be argued that the pace of the drama matches its tone and atmosphere, that it builds slowly because it’s reflecting how historical events slowly build up with tension until they explode, there’s a balance that unfortunately was mostly not reached. It leaned too heavily into following the slow precession of the hour hand instead of the quick ticking of the second hand on a clock (throwback to Hui-Seong). Those slow scenes lost the tension that is essential for a drama like this. I was reluctantly uninterested in many character-to-character moments when those should’ve been the spine of the plot. Instead, it was the political backdrop and those types of events that held the story together rather than the original story-beats of the drama itself.
Finally, that leads me to the characters. I liked them overall, but I never fell in love with any of them. They had good character arcs (for the most part. Looking at you, Gu Dong-Mae, the man with a million lives) and the actors played them excellently, But there was just something missing, like a disconnect between the characters, their motivations, and the overall story. The characters felt more like an afterthought, a throwaway the director can rely on when they need the story to go forward, but couldn’t use a historical event yet, so they have the characters muse and muddle about in the same problems they’ve had since the beginning. I guess I felt like they weren’t fleshed out enough and didn’t feel like they were an essential enough part of the story, which seems weird because they are the main characters, and they’re /in/ every scene. They just didn’t feel… real enough? I don’t know. My favorites were Hina Kudo, Go Sa-Hong, and Kyle Moore. The other four were lost in their convoluted love-square and unrelenting, stubborn pursuit of a single passion, with the exception of Hui-Seong, who weaved in and out of the story seemingly uselessly until the very end. I liked his final resolution, at least.
I’ll leave it at that. Obviously I had a lot to say, so this drama is memorable in that way. I think it’s overall worth watching, but I would recommend it to people who are most plot-focused than character-driven, and even then to expect some meandering scenes. It was well-acted and brilliantly shot, and it does have many redeeming factors (those last three episodes even got a few tears out of me, which is rare). It’s a decent drama, it just has some outstanding flaws that unfortunately keep it from reaching its best potential.
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