Reviews

When I watched this I was on a Park Shi Hoo craze and of course i like a good romcom...

Story: The first half of the drama masks itself as an ordinary romcom in a law setting. Its enjoyable but not anything ive never seen before. Now after episode 9 hits you will think your starting to watch a whole new drama. The second half is filled with a revenge plot and also a frustrating angsty romance. I liked that it was a romcom but withan actual plot. I loved the ending!!

Acing/Cast: I already knew PSH is a great actor but I was really surprised by Kim So Yeon. Her character in the beginning can come off as an annoying ditsy and materialistic brat but the writers give her a personality makeover and lots of character growth so bear with her. The leads though were perfectly casted cause their chemistry was HOT! I liked the second lead couple but wished their relationship started a bit earlier in the drama because it was kind of unbelievable how they become a couple by the end. Really liked the supporting cast and cared about their characters.

Music: At first I found 2 of the songs annoying as they played them over and over in the beginning but they matched the theme well enough. I liked the rest of the songs they used throughout enough to put on my ipod.

Rewatch: I can see myself watching this every year just to see the leads together on my screen=)

Overall Prosecutor Princess is not what it seems so give it a chance or you'll be missing out on one of the best romcoms of 2010!

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I like this drama for several reasons:
1. For me this is the first drama where the character of (woman) lead actor is really strong and cool, also what is more imortant writers kept the individuality and speaciality of the character till the end. It was important to me, because in my opinion it is more realistic and people do not change so easily in real life, especialy when their traumatised with something.
2.I started watching it raw, I wanted just to try understand do I like it or not to watch it in the future, but I got addicted to it and even if I know only 3-4 words in korean, actors were playing so well that I didn't have hard time trying to understang what they were talking about. I mean their actions, emotions and face expresions were enough for me.
3.The story is unique and not repetitive even if it is a remake of japanese version. I tried to watch j-version but could not get used to actors.
In short it's definitely worth watching. It is refreshing, funny and wise drama.

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Bamboo Forest was a series of stories that supplements Mr. Queen. It was very enjoyable spin-off made by the production for the fans. It explained the beginning and ending of the main show. Some may not like how they end things on the main show, however this explained 2 things: (1) King likes So Yong even before Bong Hwan. (2) 2 souls were really inside the queen and they can both control the body.

The spinoff also had every character that I enjoyed in the main show had a highlight except probably for the Second Male Lead, which was already explained by the actor why his story is removed. (The pain he caused us is simply enough in the main story.)

All in all, it was an enjoyable very short thank you gift from the production of Mr. Queen. I would really miss the drama. Also, it deserve every praise they're getting because they made a drama that is unique and gave laughs to a lot of viewers. :)

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Know your value. If you don't... then learn.

I learnt a lot from this drama as a woman. Instead of setting standard for a man this drama taught me how to set a standard for myself.
I've never written a review before. And all the dramas I watch are light hearted like the on I'm watching side by side 'You are my lover friend'. But I always found myself waiting only for the episodes of in between. It goes around the stories of different women pursuing different lifestyle. But that doesn't keep us women away from some men.
Which take me to the charachters of this drama and their experience with differnt types of men which only gave one conclusion.. we women don't really need a man to make a living and live a happy life.
I won't write about the acting or music but yessss, this drama goes around different stories which represents the different types things that are happening in this materialistic world. Cheating, harassment, lying, backstabbing, revenge etc. This drama is definetely a good drama if you want something different. And not some honey coated lovestory.

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the writing did not support the interesting premise

Overall: I was super excited for a twisty action thriller but the nonsense/cliche plot turned this into just another teenage GMMTV BL series. Aired on GMMTVs YouTube channel.

Content Warnings: murders, attempted murder, beaten up/violence, bullying, blackmail, manipulation, unwanted public outing, drugging, kidnapping

What I Liked
- that the first scene wasn't a flashback or flash forward
- the beginning/first episode hooked me
- Chopper and Ben (Perth did a great job)
- production value (minus my quibbles in Room For Improvement)

Room For Improvement
- there is a lot of nonsense plot things, some of which could have been explained with a few lines or a short scene and that makes it even more ridiculous (one example, a highschooler is a full time fisherman and he happens to fight and shoot a gun really well)
- characters don't feel realistic or have realistic reactions (Palm's interaction with his mother as an example, both of them just chillaxing on their beach vacation instead of how I think most people would be feeling)
- I wanted some plot twists or for this to be different but it's a standard GMMTV romance with window dressing
- the night scenes were too dimly lit, a couple of times the music was too loud over the dialogue
- it dragged in many places, I wanted an action/thriller and this was not it
- Chopper and Ben felt very rushed at the end
- overall I just didn't end up feeling much of anything, scenes that were supposed to make me sad didn't because of the huge plot holes

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I've completely lost faith in humanity after watching this drama. How the absolute fuck does it have an 8.9 rating? Are all the happy reviewers some kind of bots that mass rated it with such a high score and sang hallelujah because after suffering through 30 episodes of this shit, I really am confused.

This drama is a total hypocrite. It tells one thing and shows something entirely different. Supposedly, it tells the viewers that it's against patriarchy with the 'girls can be great at computer science too' bullshit. It preaches 'brains over beauty' and all that spirtual crap however, it 'shows' an entirely different story; for this drama, in its core is wholly patriarchal. The main heroine only truly gets acclaimed for her beauty and even though she is supposed to be this smart person with a trillion scholarships, we don't really see proof of her intellect. Sure, she wins a few games against other weak ass females but the moment she goes against a powerful male opponent, she loses which is why her MegaGenius boyfriend has to sit by her and dictate all the moves and only then, she claims victory. Like okay?

The male character is honestly, so overhyped and again, if we really try to find the heroine's contribution to the plot, you'll find none. She is supposed to be this brilliant computer junky and yet, when she does the internship (in a company filled with men) her sole job is to bring food, drinks and matresses to the guys who work day and night. Like??

So even though, on surface it looks like this unique drama with a never before seen plot, in its core, it is still filled to the brim with superficiality.

Now, lets talk about the cast and characters. The main guy is literally a robot. Like, the kid has no emotional depth whatsoever and so clearly the actor didn't have to tire himself by actually acting because all his role requires is to be a pretty but expressionless face. To make matters worse, he's a chauvinistic a-hole. And not in the 'bad boy' way, where you love and hate them, no, in his case you're just annoyed by him. He is literally so perfect and the only flaw he has is the fact that he can't cook. I mean, come on.

To be honest, between his extra hairy armpits, pre-pubescent face and red ears, he isn't really much. Also, what irked me is the fact that he treats his girlfriend like a pet (dog). (No kidding, she actually herself makes the comparison once.) And he's full of himself, sadly, without much basis.
Like the girl is having a fight with her best friend and instead of really consoling her or saying some meaningful shit he says, "She's a very small part of your life, while I'm your everything. From now on, you're not allowed to shed tears for anyone else." Now this is the exact fucking quote, no lie and the braindead heroine actually feels comforted by this. Deceased.

I mean don't get me wrong, I love his type; the cold, uncaring, perfectionist asshole who eventually thaws towards the heroine. We have Simon Bo, Kang Ma Roo and so on but all these characters have different sides to them and they show complex personalities, Nai is the same from beginning to end and I can't believe I'd tolerate a lifeless and boring as hell person like him in real life.

Now, the heroine: Sure, she's cute, quirky and very gorgeous and unfortunately, the only one acting in the show. But soon, you realize that she's recycling her facial expressions, so much that her acting becomes quite monotonous after a while.

Speaking of monotonous, the whole show is dead asf. Here are so irrelevant scenes that you just stare at the screen trying to comprehend why the hell are you being shown this unnecessary shit. The game scenes are depthless. The fighting scenes lack vigor. And I wanted to bang my head against a cactus, everytime the heroine interacted with her friends because all they did was act like juvenile brats and gushed about the main guy. I mean, you guys are supposed to be these tech savvy college students, the least you can do is show an ounce of maturity, but no. Too much to fucking ask.

Furthermore, I think I froze because of all that ice between the couple, tbh. There is no heat or chemistry whatsoever and they remain awkward and detached throughout. The affection seems forced and their union wasn't natural at all. Atleast the guy has one quality; he's an excellent kisser but the girl literally stands like a dead fish in response. No, even a dead fish has some sort of pucker going on, this girl just has her lips in a straight line and proudly shows that kissing her is akin to that of kissing a cardboard box.

For me, romance or basically any sort of relationship can only thrive and grow stronger if two people go through complications and get out of it together. Or if, they do selfless and thoughtful things for each other, no matter how small. Here, everything is rainbow and joy- literally no problems at all- and the best things the characters do for each other is treat each other to meals. That's all. Which is why their relationship is so flat, unrealistic and plagued by stangnancy throughout the show. Tsk, tsk.

The only thing fairly enjoyable was the actions of the hero's friends. Those three made me laugh a bit from their silly antics but that's about it.

Rewatch value? This stuff doesn't even have 'watch it once' value. The drama truly highlights that people will always be attracted to surface beauty no matter how much substance it lacks. This is an absolute fail and I only recommend it for people who want mindless fanservice and zero plot.

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This is my second attempt to write a review, because with time passing, my thoughts and impressions changed a lot.

Let's start with the good things: the chemistry of those two guys is very nice, the production felt high quality despite the choppy editing we got sometimes, the acting was very good from everyone, the music was also great.

Now let's talk about the elephant in the room: Ji Woo's behavior. We learned in s1 that he is an awkward guy, who has some trust issues and likes to put up walls. But he was also adorable, he smiled occasionally, he was pretty lively despite most of the time appearing rather calm and looking gloomy. He had interest in the world around him, and he also was interested in Seo Joon. Seriously, he was cute. Good-looking too, a good cook. And last but not least: he was good at heart. He had a lot to offer, and I could 100% see why Seo Joon felt for him. They both had different personalities, but resonated well together. A match made in heaven. Sure, the viewer could assume they would get some problems in their relationship. Maybe their different personalities would be an issue sooner or later, maybe Seo Joon being an idol/movie star and having a tight schedule would make everything difficult. But still we trusted in that love, and - I'm talking here for myself - I trusted in those two guys because they have a pure heart.

Now we got s2. We learn they broke up. Why? Well, that's the question that wasn't answered for the longest time. We as viewers had to guess what the reason was for Ji Woo suddenly ghosting Seo Joon. He just left him a note and vanished. Is this a mystery series? We then got some flashbacks (we later learn those scenes were from the future too), we get a lot of angst, a lot of drama, in the first two episodes at least we got a bit of humor too. Nothing was explained well. They used their time to introduce new characters with their own storyline. They weren't just there to support the main story. During all that time, we still didn't know what was going on in Ji Woo's head. Instead we had to endure how he treated Seo Joon like sh*t. It was pretty obvious he didn't enjoy it though. It was his way of pushing Seo Joon away. He just put up a big wall like he did in s1 too, but this time it was too much. He just crossed the line. He was cruel. A person that's good at heart, shouldn't be that cruel. He could have behaved differently. People tend to forgive this behavior, because Ji Woo was also suffering. I can't forgive it. From my perspective, being weak and hurt and confused, is no excuse to hurt other people badly, especially the ones you apparently love. He just went too far.

So what happens next? The series is almost over, and we don't even know the full reason for the break-up. Some mysteries were resolved about Ji Woo's parents, and then we FINALLY see that Ji Woo indeed cares for Seo Joon. He decides to not run away any longer, maybe after Seo Joon told him he gave up, and now Ji Woo is running after Seo Joon. Great. Seo Joon pushes him away, once, twice, but then Ji Woo tells him, he will not be able to chase him any longer if he keeps that up, and Seo Joon gives in.

People say this is realistic, relatable, emotional, romantic, complex, mature. Is it really? The core ideas of the series aren't bad. But they just went too far. Ji Woo became a gloomy and unattractive guy who behaved like a baby - he was even crying like on! - that had no real character growth throughout the whole series. At the end he AGAIN had lots of demands, and Seo Joon was the one who now must adjust to him even more, so he won't run away. What's the message here?

The author apparently wanted to show us "that in a relationship, one always loves more and works harder". Is this a good message? One that leaves you with a warm feeling in your heart? Not in my case. It's very questionable and honestly depressing.

To sum my thoughts up: They destroyed the Ji Woo character by taking away his good qualities and emphasizing his weaknesses. They even destroyed the Seo Joon character to a certain point. He obviously loves Ji Woo, but I wonder why at this point. Why does he want to be with him? I never asked myself this question when watching s1. I thought he was attracted to his big heart. He felt safe being with Ji Woo. The writers took that away completely.

I think the director has a talent to make everything artistic, cryptic, complicated, emotional and beautiful. It's an EXPERIENCE watching her work. So she fools the viewers in thinking it's "deep". Indeed it was pretty shallow at the end of the day. Minor issues were blown out of proportions, and where we expected some big revelations for example regarding Ji Woo's parents or Seo Joon's trauma, everything felt trivial.

I still rate this series rather high, because I was glued to the screen the whole time. They did something right if people talk about it so much, discuss it so much, and in general are so deeply affected by this story. That sure is an accomplishment by itself.

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Another one of the manga adaptions movie, this one I didn't know what to expect when I deiced to watch it, although I did expect something seeing the strong casts they have assembled for this.

I have not expect to be able to see this soon, so I was quite surprised when I found this movie among the flight entertainment during my journey back from Tokyo. There was where I watched it, on the flight, and seriously, in public is possible the worst time for one to watch this movie. I was so close to tears, I actually have some leaking out the corner of my eyes and I tried so hard to hide it, OMG.

STORY 10/10
Let's move into break down before I went on rambling, seeing how I was saying that I was close to tears above, it is hard not to rate this story 10/10. I have not read the manga, so I do not know how close is it to the original storyline. But if a lot are cut out from the original itself, well you should know this movie only last an hour and 45 mins (about there), and you really have to give credit to the screen writer to still manage to create an impact within this short time.

I do not want to touch too much on the story, I am just very glad to see there are gems like these among the shoujo manga too, something that isn't just all bright and bubbly love story where the dump girl going after the guy and getting the guy at the end, if you think Orange would be light and easy to watch, I think you need to read the synopsis again.

CASTS 10/10
As I said I have high expectations from the cast, I've seen Tsuchiya Tao and Yamazaki Kento acts in other shows before, I certainly know they can act if given the right role, and I was not disappointed. Kento stolen the show with his acting there, those time when you look at his character and you just feel like wrapping an arm around Kakeru, to tell him everything are alright, that he has friends now and things don't have to be as hard as he thinks it should be. I am glad the other character did those in my place.

The emotions these actors and actresses managed to deliver on screen, making it an amazing movie. You can tell the struggles they going through are very real, and every bit of tears shed makes you wants to cry along. T_T

MUSIC 9.5/10
Good, the songs are good, the theme song is very fitting to the storyline, the tune and everything. I think I do need to rewatch this to judge the rest of the songs. I do not really remembering them throughout the movie, so I will be updating about this.

The theme song though, is very very beautiful.

REWATCH VALUE 9.5/10
I will definitely rewatch this again, with a box of tissue readied at my side. XD This beautiful movie, even though it hurts you on the inside. It is not entirely sad, more like a bittersweet, and with that slice of harsh reality making me wants to go back to it.

OVERALL 9.5/10
Perhaps it is just me who like those storyline that packed with a bunch of feels, I have to be honest and say this, I love any movie that makes me cry (though nothing too dark and too heavy, something like Orange packed with just the right amount of sadness and seriousness) so I am most possibly bias with my rating. This is not an easy movie to spend your afternoon, so be warned. Get readied with a pack of tissue when you start this. :)

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unfortunately pretty much a failure

I went in this with not much expectation with that kind of plot and it ended being worst than expected.

So, let starts with some positive points before my rant :
- I actually like a lot the costumes and styling
- acting was okay
- music was okay
- not really good, but still a happy ending
- the friendship between the ladies and the guys
- side couple : this romance was pretty good, I liked the flow of it, but not enough scenes in my opinion. they sometimes disappeared for episodes and they were some of the only interesting parts. How it started as arranged marriage, but affection, trust and love gradually came
- I like ML’s mom relationship with him and FL

so now the rant :
- SML and « Love triangle » : what a pain to watch and it lasted for more than 30 eps. SML was the literal third wheel and the leech that you can’t get ride off. he was the kind guy, but why did he had so many screentime and always appearing. At time, I was like finally a scene with the leads, but didn’t last long before he appeared. Don’t get the people who wanted FL to end up with him, she never liked him, she rejected him and he still wanted to try ? and he wasn’t minding his business. Him confronting ML and that like deal they made, so weird. ML accepting that was weird too. But no wonder some liked him better, he had a lot of screentime with FL and they made so little importance on the leads for a while. I was happy when he said to his aunt that it was a misunderstanding (the edict for marriage) and that he wanted to annul it, but the next scene of him talking to FL, after she said it wasn’t possible with ML, he started talking about her giving him a chance, etc… (I honestly fast-forwarded, don’t know what happened after). Can’t believe this guy🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. even if ML didn’t existed, she wouldn’t like you. when she had no memories, she wasn’t attracted to him or feeling, it was only friendship. he didn’t had much to the story at all, his only purpose was what, helping FL ? Something he did to help could have been done by someone else, like saving ML in prison, in the end the dad acted.
- The amnesia lasted way too long, more than 30 eps. And after that, the leads broke up and it was just annoying. I can understand a bit FL, but she was still annoying. I thought after knowing she wasn’t his sister the story would progress more, but not really
- way too long, this didn’t need to be 40 eps. Boring and not interesting for most of the drama. Feel like nothing was happening, filler and boring side plot to the detriment of the relationship between the leads that wasn’t well written and not enough scenes or whatever. They were playing brother and sister for too long and not enough build up for a good romance, just like The Rise of Ning in which the romance was disappointing. Should have cut out that whole love triangle with ML’s mom or the third couple who in the end gave nothing interesting. It was only kinda weird that whole thing with his mother, they even edited out their kissing scene. and some side plot along the way and SML. Feel like maybe not enough focus on the case of ML's mentor or FL's family massacrer in general
- feel like they could have had good chemistry, but it couldn’t shine brightly. Kissing scenes were okay at best. they got back together end of ep 37. so they were together for max 5 eps ? I skipped some parts, don’t remember but dating era was short lived before the breakup. they had some few scenes that succeeded at making me smiles and that weren’t too bad. Another drama marked as romance that has almost no romance
- the last few eps with the revenge, the prince trying to take the throne, etc… were nothing exciting
- Poor choices from the director. I read scenes between the leads were cut and even the side couple. Saw a picture with their son, we never saw that. Just like in the last episode. FL « the bride » is here to snatch ML, but they edited it out??? ML is talking to that guy and next is them in the bridal chamber after the wedding that was never shown. What a big disappointment. And then, they talk and she’s like someone is missing, your sister. That was unnecessary dialogue

the leads character were okay to me. Never really disliked the ML like some comments I saw.

this drama is one of the worst drama I watched this year. This is not a drama to binge watch, watching it while it was airing everyday and watching at 2x made it more watchable

anyway, don’t watch this if you are a romance lover and you plan to watch this for the romance

the thriller part and revenge wasn’t much better

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office romance, age gap, employee/boss, food is the love language, coming of age late in life

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits for episode one. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said man with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful.

It utilizes hand-held and super close camerawork, long shots, dirty framing, and marvelous acting (stagecraft) from everyone. The directing style it subtle but very precise and tailored dirty framing (AKA lots of objects and other people’s bodies interrupting shots.) Notice the frame is only direct and uncluttered when they are eating or being extremely intimate with each other?

This show manages to make things that shouldn't be sexy so very sexy (like Togawa’s hamster cheeks - boy just wants to gorge himself, and not on food). It's truly art.

But there is so much more going on here.

Japan has a long tradition of using food, both the preparation and consumption, as an allegory for intimacy... ALL KINDS of intimacy (give Tampopo a shot, it’s a remarkable movie). And in this show the discovery of desserts, and the enjoyment of the experience of indulging, is explicitly both sexual seduction and emotional tethering. This is not just an exploration of youth for Nozue it is an exploration of desire and identity.

On the other hand, the want drips off of Togawa at all times, like true starvation. It’s epic levels of pining we are looking at and not just love but pure lust. It’s actually quite remarkable to see this done with Japan’s signature reserve, because the through line of the filming style and food allegory dictates they will simply have to show physical intimacy at soem point. But not of the explicit kind we get in the darker BLs from Japan (although they could easily go there), but of a truly sexualized romantic passionate kind that we don’t normally get from Japan in their softer BLs.

You see, there comes a point, when the food allegory has gone as far as it can, and Nozue recognizes that in episode 3, even as he doesn’t recognize Togawa’s desire. Because for him the desire has been made manifest though the medium of desserts... and now that sensation has been satisfied, he feels like that’s good enough.

But when Nozue shuts down the eating intimacy, Togawa was always destined to break open into into sexual need, just the way the egg yolk is broken open in the credits.
What is truly genius about this show is that when this finally happens at the end of episode 4, the camera switches to one long hand held shot. This kind of stage-craft reliant shooting is the ultimate form of filming intimacy - it is the camera’s form of trust:

The directer is trusting the cameraperson not to waiver,
the camera is trusting the actors to pull through for the entirety of the shot (no forgetting your lines on a long take, no missing your marks, no slipping out of character),
the actors are trusting the crew to capture it in that one moment when they give it their all.
This is the kind of theatrically-based close work is as near to sexual intimacy as actors and crew can get.

Thus the shooting style is, itself, a reflection of Togawa’s needs, of Nozue’s shock and realization and crumbling, of the levels of trust between them that are fracturing and reforming. It’s absolutely brilliant.

All that said I did find the final episode bit of a let down. Narratively it reverted back to pretty standard light Japanese live action yaoi, of the style I talk about here. I did expect a little bit more intimacy from this specific narrative even with Japan at the helm, at least showing the two of them cuddling in bed together or something very domestic if not kissing. I’m not surprised or upset that they returned to status quo, and this is still an amazing comforting unexpected gem of a show, but it’s not the 10/10 I thought it was going to be at the end of 4.

Still, solid and watchable and

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED

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Good Visuals , Somewhat Entertaining but.....

i have never written a review on mdl but for this I had to write one because of the wasted potential. The first half of this show was fine and and not that great on which they could have build something. But soemthing was wrong from the beginning. This series is heavily plagued from bad writing which made the show from great to okayish.
Now I will break it down into what was good and what was bad.

The Good :-
1) The cast - The cast is of superior quality and they all have done a fabulous job of what they were given.
2) The basic premise - The premise from the beginning was interesting and worth exploring . It was rich and it really fascinated me what could be done from it.
3) The characters chemistry - The characters were setup great and their interactions were enjoyable and their dynamic was great.
4) The location and Visuals - The place it is set in is really breathtakingly beautiful and the level of CGI they were able to do is unseen in kdrama. Some set pieces were really too good to be true.

So All in all it had the right ingredients for it to be a great kdrama so where did it fail.

The Bad :-
1)The pacing - The pacing was all over the place and I don't know what was happening sometimes . Some moments the story was moving too fast and other times it crawled to move.
2) The action - I don't know whose idea it was to do action in this way but everything was filmed in jump cuts and we could barely see characters fight. Somebody would make a move and the opposing thing would have a reaction and thus it continued . It was so jarring and was really laugh worthy.
4) The Characters Motivation was barely explored on what made them tick. Why they continued to fight and what kept them going.
3) The execution - This really takes the cake on what made it "not great" . They could have done so much with the interesting premise but they squandered it . The scriptwriter had no idea how to write such a epic and often times scenes that played were predictable or illogical. You knew while watching it that it could have been much more grand and of the potential it had. It shows that how difficult it is to write a epic story.
for e.g.. They did not explore the lore in enough detail to make us understand the details behind the power of characters such as Yohan and how he gained sudden powers unexplained before.

So all in all a great story squandered. And honestly after the scriptwriters last drama (Jinxed at First) I was sceptical for Island but I held on to hope. I really wish it could have become the grand story I anted it to be.

Disclaimer :- They review is based on the knowledge of the author and what he felt while watching the drama. He does not claim of being a expert on anything.

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It's certainly the best drama I've watched this month. I'm a little sad to bid it adieu--it had everything you could want from a drama: amazing actors, heartwarming moments, an adorable little kid, and a BEAUTIFUL love story that immersed you completely in the lives of these characters. Everything they felt, you felt. This drama grasped onto my heart and refused to let go. These actors really did a phenomenal job; I definitely want to check out some of their other dramas.

I think whether you are a fan of melodramas or not, this is definitely worth your time. While the subject matter of having a terminal illness is sad, rather than being this forlorn, sappy pit of one depressing scene after the other, it instead had a nostalgic, hopeful, and just plain beautiful feel to it. <33

It was about family and friendships--the important people in our lives and what we're willing to do for them. Appreciating them full-heartily and embracing our present happy moments. The OST is stunning, SO SO beautiful. It really added to all the moments in this drama.

If you're on the fence about whether to start this drama, I say barrel through that fence and just take a chance. It really doesn't disappoint: it's about life, family, love, and happiness. It's just so dang beautiful. I applaud everyone involved in it making it. <333

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Better off as a non fantasy family makjang

Before saying I hated the reborn part -which technically should be reawaken cuz he was 10 :) - I'll mention the good parts

I love love love sungminie ahjussi's acting, and I loved his character. Maybe he looked like a villain, but he was just a business man starting from scratch and also a head of a kiss*ss family. The poor guy had to deal with new business ideas in a time it was thought crazy and risky while also having money hungry family that only wanted to please him for his inheritance.
But, lol that was a long introduction, but he once he found his "reawakened" grandson, he found his match, his partner in crazy ideas and that was the most beautiful part for me
Also sungminie ahjussi's acting was 100000000x on point
That elevator scene and his fully devastated face will hunt me forever ♡
From what I gathered, he didn't have dementia in the novel, and this is the 3rd time sungminie ahjussi does it, so I think they hit the jackpot cuz each time is different yet still heartbreaking


Another good thing for me was the 80s/90s business vibe, everyone looked great but also the theme and history really enhanced the story rather than say, him awaking as a 10 year old in 2000 and being becomong an adult in 2010s and fighting his family in 2020s


I also actually really loved Sung joon and hyun min's toxic angsty relationship and I'd have loved this more from their POV, a bit like Secret makjang which is one of my favs (tho don't make me watch it with 2020s eyes)



Anyway the bad. I hated the rebornness, cuz as I said it was more like being possessed, then made complicated by double songs cuz it didn't make sense unless both hyunwoo and dojoon switched places, which might've become even more like golden spoon


I also hated the flat romance. Cuz technically reawakened dude is 30+19(?) When they 1st met and so he's a 50/60 year old going after a 20/30 year old no matter their past connection. I actually hate going back to change the past romances for this reason

The ending.. "it was all a dream" is such a old time cliche, I always remember twilight breaking dawn saying the fight between the oldie vamps and collin family was filmed and my 1st thought was ofc it's all a vision..
It's basically a cheap bow out from cleaning up the mess one makes. Ie making two Songs and making one come after the other (which were said to not be in the novel) then not having the courage to continue...
One could say he projected himself trying to remember, analyze and amend. But would one really dream of 20 years of life, remember every single detail and basically playing SIMS with a stranger? Atleast they could've hinted it with weird time skips or foggy memories xD

So basically, a normal family makjang where he would've wanted revenge for how his grandparents disowned his parents would've been enough. Like sure we needed him to know certain time stamps and events but he could've still been like his grandpa good at and even bad at business and we could've had stronger bonds between them
Also this drama got real boring once grandpa died Y_T

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This drama is one of my favs. I came to watch it because of some gifs I saw on Tumblr. I recommend this to everyone. However, this drama is pretty heavy. I cried several times. It was a mystery thriller romance done right. It's nothing comedic and the romantic moments are true / realistic. The drama feels real because it could happen to anyone. At the same time, you'd hate to think that this could be happening to anyone around you.

The scenery was beautiful. Long shots of the entire setting allows us to feel like we're watching things happen from a far. Although the shots seem 3rd person point of view, you are still connected to each character. They are all encouraging characters with clear motives. Each one is given a good amount of time in every episode to tell their side of the story. You may grow to hate a character but also understand why a character would do such a thing. It makes you really think not just of the mystery, but what it's like to be human. You grow as the characters grow.

The story / events aren't shown in chronological order. It jumps from time to time - but it was a perfect way to transition into things. The soundtrack is just beautiful! When you listen to certain songs you can definitely link it to a precise moment in the drama. They are also played at the perfect moments.

When you complete the drama you'll feel like you've witnessed someone's entire life and that kind of made me feel complete. What made me love the drama even more was how it presented hints to the mystery all along but I didn't find them until my second time watching. On my second watching, it felt familiar but also shocking. I was baffled by how subjective I was. It amused me to see how arrogant I could be just like some of the characters.

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