Reviews

I must say that I dont usually watch this kind of dramas. This is pure action/adventure with a bit of mysticism. However I just finished Eternal Love of Dream and I desperately needed to watch another drama by Vengo. I looked up the list in this website and this one was the one that stood out the most. BEST CHOICE EVER!

I watched the 21 episodes in one day. It's not 5:18am and I am writing this review instead of going off to sleep. That's how good this series is. It's a mix of The Mummy and Idiana Jones, but using Chinese mythology. The characters are awesome, both main and second leads. They are fully rounded and each one has a role to play. You will come to love them, hate them or pity them... but they won't leave you indifferent. Nobody is cartoonist or one-dimensional and even the "villains", if you can call them that, are very human and there will be moments when you empathize with them.

The series takes place during the Republican Era. I knew nothing about it but fortunately you don't really need to know anything about that era to understand what's going on. The drama is self-explanatory. Costumes and music are great. The plot is intriguing, it will make you hold your breath in the right moments. It starts slow. In fact, I skipped most of the first and second episodes. But once Vengo's characters joins the main expedition group and they go down the mountain, that's when shits gets real. I wasn't able to stop, I just had to know what happen next!!!

The acting is fantastic. I began to watch it because of Vengo but everyone acts their roles incredible well. Vengo is awesome, though. He is super handsome and his character is so different from DH Dijun, but he nails it in every scene. He looks so tan in this series!!! He was so pale as DH, but here he has a tan and he also has freckles! He is a pleasure to look at, but what really makes him stand out is his acting. I felt his pain and my heart broke for him.

About the ending. If you are like me and love spoilers, I will tell you that it is a sad ending BUT Vengo's character survives. So there is that.

As I said, this is not your typical romance drama. This is full of adventure, mystery, danger, human emotions and a little bit of flirting. It' fairly short, just 21 episodes, so the pace after the first 2 eps is great and you won't get bored. Please, if you love Vengo and enjoy movies like The Mummy, please watch it. You'll love it. It's in YT fully sub in English.

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Good movie, great acting, but it hit too close to home for me. Literally anyone, and that’s pretty much everyone that has been in a serious relationship of any kind that ends, will totally relate to this. Sometime, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t keep that magic. Like any other new relationship at first, it’s exciting, interesting, fun getting to know each other, it has that “feel good” new feeling. After a while, you can’t picture yourself without that other person. Then it starts to feel repetitive , nothing new anymore, and at times boring, the magic gone. Even the desire for intimacy disappears. It’s time to call it quits. That is this movie in a nut shell. It just didn’t feel good after a while as I watched it. BUT, it was good if you can keep your own past relationships and memories at bay. I just couldn’t.

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Give this at least 1 episode

The narrative is fragmented at the beginning and it's also a slow burn but once those interlocking stories connect the drama will become engaging. It has gripping mystery like it will literally suck you in, every time a story connect to another will leave you nodding, it is so satisfying. Aside from the mystery I also like the chilling mood/atmosphere of this drama, it helps to arouse my curiosity. It is well directed drama; it knows how to lay clues and when to build tension.

Theme is revolved around T R U S T like father losing the trust of his daughter, gossiping neighbors , characters committing infidelity, trust leading to bullying, talking behind someone's back in a professional environment, someone who blindly follows others or beliefs, it is everywhere and it is impossible to miss. There is also another underlying layer here which is what people want versus being practical, people always dream, it might fade but another dream will replace it or an imposing parent will kill it.

I will give its music a perfect ten. It plays a huge part on how this drama builds its tension. It is a brilliant piece of music which underlines the mood of this drama. That aerial shot of those houses was brilliant, it seems a small detail but if you think about it deeply, it is the theme this drama wants to convey. Great acting from the cast, from the supporting cast to leads like Odagiri Joe, Risa Naka, Kuroshima Yuina, Anna Yamada, but the best performance should go to Risa Naka. Anna Yamada is a great young actress too. I am excited to see her future roles.

Overall it is great mystery drama, if you think of mystery dramas, this is I think the best you can get this year and it can compete to the best of the best mystery dramas/movies around. My only complaint is its ending; it is underwhelming and feels a bit rushed. I was expecting a huge climax but didn't get what I want. Also, the reveal is predictable or maybe it's just me because I've already seen lot mystery dramas. Lastly, thanks to HPriest for subbing this drama.

Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/

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"Before you start complaining, why not start practicing?"

Yu Yu Hakusho had considerable story to tell with numerous characters in a very short amount of time. For the most part, and for someone completely unfamiliar with the source material, it succeeded.

The story was streamlined and relatively cohesive. The main characters and their characteristics were fired out with the speed of a 22. Yusuke was the tough rebellious teenager who helped out those in distress but didn’t want anyone to know it. Keiko had been friends with Yusuke since childhood and knew all of his foibles and strengths. Kuwabara was Kusuke's rival who couldn’t help but respect the opponent he desperately wanted to beat. After the accident that transformed Kusuke’s life, a plethora of Yokai and supernatural beings were brought in as well as the requisite human baddies.

YYH covered enemies to friends, training sessions, coming of age, and the old end of the world ploy. I enjoyed the enemies to friends and strangers to friends storylines. There were backstories and characters given short shrift, but in a 5 episode drama they did a fairly good job of forming the characters. The hair and costume colors were bold. I have found it helpful when watching dramas or movies based on anime to think of them like Western superhero movies. The flamboyant hairstyles and costumes make much more sense to me now. At least no one was wearing yellow spandex, although Koenma’s pacifier was truly bizarre. One of those things that might work better in animation than live action. The CGI was well done for a drama and there was plenty of it. The episodes kept things moving with fights using supernatural weapons and abilities. The battles pulled double duty by covering up a basic story. If there was a drawback to the fights, a few of them went on too long. The acting was all over the place, from competent to-adequate, completely over-the-top, and barely registering a pulse.

Yu Yu Hakusho felt more like a long movie in some ways rather than a very short drama. As in a movie, characters were given just enough development to differentiate them and understand their motivations. With a myriad of characters involved, both good and evil, the writers managed to wedge in as much backstory and world building as they could. Overall, I found this supernatural fantasy to be comprehensible and entertaining with the forged friendships and creative fights being the highlights.

27 Dec 2023

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What do you think is more important, the story or the story teller?

What do you think is more important, the story or the story teller? I think it's the story teller and this drama is the proof, this story of this drama for me is nothing new, from plots to overthrow the crowned prince to the crowned prince falling in love with a lowly palace maid, if you've been watching k-dramas for a while now then this drama doesn't offer much difference in terms of the story BUT it REALLY excels at the story telling. The entire cast of the drama have created this which is nothing short of a mesmerizing gem. Everyone, the actors, the directors, the producers, the camera crew, the editors, etc. have all contributed greatly and it shows. Their work demands attention of the viewers and as one of the viewers I couldn't help but appreciate their efforts. I have really enjoyed my time with this drama, hope you will too!

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Unexpectedly Good!!

I would have to say for a short web drama, I didn't expect I would love this drama so much!! It is really like a chinese ancient remake of Mr&Mrs Smith. Although I binged and waited for this drama (even watched it raw), I will remove my rose-tinted glasses to give an objective review.

This drama is hilarious, it knows how to push my humor buttons, but soon it loses the novelty and comedy effect as the jokes become a little repetive. The drama also does a good job in balancing humor and seriousness, the first few episodes leading up focused on it being funny, but after the climax, it tones that down.

As it is a 10-15min drama for each episode, the story is jam packed without any dull moments.
***SPOILER***
However, I do think the part on politics and motivations for their mission could be written better, it seems a little underwhelming and weird to me (or it could be that I didn't understand the politics part using my limited chinese vocabulary).
***END SPOILER***

The chemistry between the two leads was amazing, I hope we can see them paired up in another drama. And their kissess oh gosh!!
***SPOILER***
Their kisses were unlike 2 wooden sticks, it was deep and intense, they didn't shy away!
***END SPOILER***

All the characters even supporting characters like the aunty who sells kite were very lovable except for wen fang. I have this love hate relationship towards him. I think its the way that he was written as a dumb but also very pure character so can't really blame him. So just be warned that he can be annoying, but also cute at times.

The production also seem high for a 180min drama. This drama seemed to have a variety of costumes, pretty good soundtracks and I also do like how the scriptwriter uses the fl occupation to discuss about certain topics. The camera language and editing was decent except for this one / two scenes which the episode ending scene and beginning scene didn't connect, it really takes people out of the story... Apart from that I think the production team did a good job in producing this drama.

Nonetheless, this drama really has exceeded my expectations, I laughed a lot and I recommend watching it after a stressful day, super enjoyable! Its really a hidden gem and should deserve more hype, sometimes all you need is a simple and light hearted story. Definitely recommend! Overall, I would rate it 8.3, so rounding it up would be an 8.5!

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This series is literally one of the BEST BL drama's I've seen in a long time. It has an amazing cast, amazing writing, and each episode deals with really profound issues that I have never seen discussed in any Asian BL TV series I've watched in the past Here's the break down:

 STORY: 9/10
The story revolves around 6 gay men, with the main characters being Arm and Pom, two best friends who room together. Their lives, and the lives of the other characters, connect through a series of events that take place throughout the show. The writing and development for each character is well thought out and I grew attached to each character very quickly, despite it being a 5 episode series with each episode clocking in at around 29 minutes. What's really great about this show is the issues that it deals with are so taboo but yet eye opening and  it was handled in such a smart and educational. As a gay man in my 20's I really appreciate this sort of series. It's all very realistic, maybe too realistic for those expecting a fluffy BL drama... this show is definitely not for kids and not for the close-minded. The romantic and kissing scenes are so on point. I don't know if the cast is LGBT+ in real life but they sure had me fooled.

ACTING: 9/10
The actors in this series are phenomenal. They truly were invested in their characters and each actor gave their respective role layers and depth. Highlight actors for me are the ones that play Arm and Nat, but every actor in Gay Ok Bangkok really gave Oscar worthy performances, in my personal opinion. Very raw and realistic performances.

MUSIC: 9/10
The sound track was super good and changed in each episode, but it still managed to maintain overall tone throughout. Fantastic!

REWATCH VALUE: 9/10
I would say this is an easy rewtach for me. Everything about this series impressed me and I did not want it to end OVERALL: 9/10 Excellent! The only reason I did not give this drama a 10 out of 10 is because it's only five episodes and I felt as though the last episode was a bit choppy, the way it ended. But they make all that up with season 2, which you should all watch if you have not!

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My Cuter than Cute School Band and their President

This drama had me smiling from ear to ear while covering/faning my face with my hands from all the cuteness/cringe/fluff.
The story itself is neither new nor revolutionary and there are even a few highly annoying elements that had me rolling my ayes and complaining about them getting in the way of my fluff but they are so few that the overall fluffiness takes over.

This drama is packed with well written PPL, it is in your face ant there is no way one earth you can miss it it and while being completely misplaced it still mangas to add to the story, the humour and the fluff that it practically stole my heart.

The next great thing this drama has to offer is flirting done well. the flirting in this is playful, creative age appropriate and does not seem to cross others boundaries or make anyone uncomfortable. Offering a nice dare I say wholesome feel to it as well as a process to the development of romance not only between the leads but also between the other characters.

The friendships, the ups and downs and the very human reactions to different situations are also well written and fun. and while I will admit that some of the turns of events where more interesting than others, the less interesting parts took little screen time so I am willing to overlook them. At times it can be hard to distinguish between fantasy/dreams and drama plot letting us not only hear the inner thoughts of the lead but also showing us a bunch of different scenarios. This adds a little bit of spice as well as kept me from trusting what I saw on screen. It also made way for even more fluff... and cuteness. It also nuanced the story, showing that life and fantasy can be both near and far apart... Basically saying reach for your dreams while acknowledging the work and people behind it... thee is also a really good depiction of falling down and getting back up again done slightly annoying but also done right.

The parent-child relationship in this drama make way for quite a bit of food for thought giving us both the fluffy side of parents who love and support their kid no matter what... the whole I love you no matter who you love yada yada.. do not bully your kid... if the world is against them make sure to be their happy place nice to see and indeed the way I hope and wish all parents would be....

The show also makes way to acknowledge the society we live in without letting take over from the fluff.


So basically this is 85% fluff, 10% real and important scenes, 5% annoying highly bingeable 99% lovable. But it will have you cringe and thing oh how cute so many times your cheeks may hurt from all the smiling.


I also want to add a few more lines about the parents, however this may be a spoiler for some, it should not be but just in case it is I decided to add it at the bottom so feel free to not read it.

What got to me the most and probably pushed me to overlook all the annoying elements of the show was a particular scene in this drama that was extremely powerful to me where a parent read the room took a step back with the words. "I was going to ask but I have never seen him look this terrified". Being able to take that step back as a parent, to self reflect and try to figure out how to create an environment where your child is comfortable to open up to you about their sexuality, is a way to show viewers not only what they should do but also a how to change and create a more open environment. Parents are human too and part of the society we live in, but a good parent is willing to be part of the change and so on.

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The synopsis , although not exactly inaccurate, doesn't do justice to Anone and probably isn't the most enticing thing ever. However, any possible advantage from correcting it is (in my opinion) inferior to the pleasure of figuring things out on your own, guessing how will the plot flow, how are all those people connected and what makes their wheels spinning. Long story short: Anone is so much more than two women of different age finding each other and healing their wounds. It weaves an intricate network of people crossing paths and trying to achieve their goals (or just living their ordinary lives). It is a drama about people and living in a society, which may sound banal on paper, but never is. It's about a warmth and comfort of a makeshift family (nothing short of a miracle), brutally contrasted with inhuman coldness, lack of regard for others, narrowness of horizons forced on the weakest and most impressionable ones and scarring them for life. You will see 'villains' more bloodcurdling than the most grotesque psychokillers populating your usual crime shows, but they will be completely commonday and manipulating people with little tidbits they have on their loved ones. Not that it strictly divides characters on good and bad, at least not those that stay longer.
It's about dreams, too (another banality on paper). And counterfeiting money. The better part of the plot could belong to an action movie, but the drama approaches it in a casual, slice-of-lifey manner. One arc turns very brothers Coen.
It's fun! In a quirky, gloomy way, with plenty of situational and visual humour stuffed in between tender moments. Beautifully written and directed, playing with conventions, often showing-not-telling and fully using the potential of each episode being a complete entity that can tell a story from a certain point. Highly recommended.

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I started on this drama mainly because of Song Joong Ki since I've been a big fan of him ever since Sungkyunkwan Scandal. And I'm mighty glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised to find that without adhering to cliched Kdrama machinations or plot developments it was able to keep the viewer entertained throughout. The acting by the entire cast is honest and mind-blowingly good especially the 3 leads. The stories of the patients, their suffering and human moments moved me to tears at times. Although I feel a few of the guest stars or patients over-acted at times but that doesn't undermine the overall seriousness of the drama. Coming to the romance part, it was delicately portrayed. The development of the relationship between the leads and Hye Young's friendship with Jae Suk give the viewers some truly memorable moments.

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Beautiful piece of art. Highly recommended for the feels.

If you're into a deep discussion of what family, friendship, and relationships mean, and a lot of human observation
then works by Sakamoto Yuji (the screenwriter) are for you.

I've been a huge fan of the way he works his careful observations about humans and about how we interact as in a society into his *very relatable* and *very quotable* script.

Yes, this is a story about a woman and a "harem" of 3 ex-husbands, but the way they discuss this weird "family dynamics" is different from your typical rom com (let's be real, this isn't even a rom com... just a family comedy). It's super refreshing, and will give you vibes of some of his previous works, like Saikou no Rikon (a story about a divorced couple) and Quartet (also starring the same female lead and one of the male leads -- the first ex-husband). It's a drama I would never want to fast forward, because everything happens for a reason, and every character that comes and goes contributes to the main characters' development and growth. While the topics explored can get heavy at times, the way he handles it is light and unexpectedly funny.

You'll find easter eggs in later episodes referencing earlier happenings and how the characters have changed. And if you've watched previous works by this screenwriter (you should!), you will find that he's writing a love letter to his previous characters using his current ones. While this drama can of course be viewed as a stand-alone of its own, I especially love the continuity in his writing.

If this is your first Sakamoto Yuji drama, then be ready for a huge feels ride. This might be one of the best works I've seen of his. Grab a glass of water, sit down, relax, and get your screenshot hot keys ready. There are *so many* dialogues in this drama that are worth revisiting over and over again.

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Overall - Tumbling was the Drama that got my current j-drama obsession started - that's not to say that it was my first drama though. This only makes it more spectacular in my eyes since I had little interest in Drama and only watched a few to understand what a few friends were talking about - until I stumbled upon this beauty.
This drama actually got me into the manga, which is rather backwards...

Story - Each character has a backstory and /grows/ throughout the series (except the background characters that only have 7 lines in the entire drama) in a way that reminds me of a novel, almost. It shows that they were developed, 3-dimentional characters that seem all the more real because of those facts. This is major kudos to the writers and original mangaka.

Music - I never focus much on the background music in movies or dramas unless it sticks me as wrong for that moment. I do know that they used the theme song throughout the story, which was interesting because it fit in every moment they used it in, even though they were vastly different. this part comes with a warning; you WILL have the song stuck in your head for a good while if you watch the episodes in a few (1-3) sittings. However it's a good song, so I didn't really mind.

Rewatch Value - I've already rewatched this drama once, my favorite parts about a million times, and created stories in my head for when I'm bored and want to play with ready-made characters. (Can't tell I'm a writer, huh?)

Acting/Cast - Yamamoto Yusuke is really just the cherry on top, in my opinion. His acting skills are so great, and he covers so many different rolls so efficiently and /well/ in different dramas that its just inspiring. He became an actor I follow after Tumbling and, after a few more of his dramas, he became my favorite actor. He's just amazing.
I feel I have to mention the others (that way it doesn't become another of my Yamamoto-ramblings). They cast this very well and everyone fit the part and acted their rolls naturally. Some of the actors were better than others (the Mizusawa character faded into the background too well and was rather emotionless unless the situation called for extreme emotion) but none of them were 'bad' actors, just differing styles.

Really, really worth the time to watch, rewatch, think about, and drive that damn song out of your head until the next watching!

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Interesting to Speculate on

I love reading peoples thoughts and saw some here, speculating on what Sung Kyu (the adopted brother) felt especially during the ending scene where his smile disappears. So I decided to give my own two cents. In the beginning it felt like it was already shown to me that Sung Kyu was pretty apathetic and didn't necessarily feel strongly towards acting a specific way to be liked. Barely being able to choke out the words 'it's delicious......... mom'. He wasn't shown trying to connect with Sung woo other than randomly picking him up at school once either.
The first time Sung Kyu shows assertiveness is when the shower scene happens. Because of this detail I didn't feel like he tried to appease Sung woo like someone else did. (which is why I like seeing other peoples perspective since it can be so different!)
I also don't think it was suppose to be about sexuality at all and whether or not Sung Kyu is attracted to men in general. For me this was more an exploration on how Sung Kyu didn't really feel anything and therefore tried to fill the emptiness within him with a new family and the shower scene mostly to me looked like 2 very empty and emotionally tired people that desperately needed to feel 'something', just anything. But just like most one night stands, it didn't fix the initial problem, that Sung Kyu felt a loss of identity and therefore remained apathetic after not being able to find it with his new family either.

Thinking back, Everyone in this movie seemed to fill up the emptiness with something, The mother keeps filling the emptiness the loss of her son caused her, by adopting multiple people. Sung Woo seems to fill up his emptiness coming from a broken home with physical affection from a significant other. And Sung Kyu as a grown man being adopted into a new family with a new identity because he feels like a nobody.

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