Reviews

All the world's a stage.

The Double is a dark and melodramatic soap opera about revenge and regret. It is a soap opera to end all soap operas in terms of high theatrics, spinning hussies, piercing death glares, shocking twists and the sweet, savage satisfaction of retribution. To best enjoy this, don't look too hard at it as the narrative is littered with logic and plot holes and absurdly dramatic, historically impossible scenes. The male lead Duke Su flirts with breaking the fourth wall repeatedly to urge us to just watch the play, a reminder that all the world's a stage and we should just suspend disbelief.

Xue Fangfei, the most elegant and cultured lady in the capital, is cruelly betrayed and dumped in a shallow grave. She is rescued by Jiang Li, the Chancellor's daughter who is wrongly condemned and banished by her family to a convent. Fangfei assumes Jiang Li's identity and returns to the capital; vowing to clear both their names and make their enemies pay. She is aided by the enigmatic and powerful Duke Su who helps her because she intrigues him and could prove useful to him down the road. The romance that develops between them unfolds at a leisurely pace as they each have high stakes agendas that predictably converge.

Duke Su must be be every scorned woman's ultimate fantasy "consolation" prize. This magnificent specimen of manhood is highly born, tall, dark, handsome, powerful, and with a diabolical mind to match Xue Fangfei's. The icing on the cake is this sexy beast that wields a fan more effectively than a sword does not come saddled with nasty in-laws. Wang Xingyue's potent portrayal of Duke Su is spot on from the tinge of humor that belies his stern expression, his double entendre laced dialogues to how in unguarded moments his eyes devour Xue Fangfei with almost indecent longing. Despite the seductive build up and combustive chemistry between the main leads, the ultimate pay-off to their slow burn courtship falls far short of wild and wicked and only delivers a chaste candle-gate moment.

Even though I shipped Duke Su and Xue Fangfei immediately, I appreciate how Fangfei takes the time to rage, to mourn her loss and to get closure so that she can properly move on. To me, Wu Jinyan obviously looks older than Wang Xingyue, butI think this casting makes sense. Xue Fangfei is a woman who lost everything; her reputation, her lover, her entire family. That kind of shocking devastation would age anyone tremendously and Wu Jinyan's ravaged, strained and wild wide-eyed expression in the early episodes is brilliantly in character. The narrative does not shy away from presenting her marriage as one that had depth and substance. Thus they are still in perfect unison when they play their haunting duet; a song of profound loss, resentment and regret. Wu Jinyan plays the avenging angel so perfectly I got unholy enjoyment out of watching Shen Yurong squirm knowing that Xue Fangfei, who knows him better than he knows himself, is coming for him.

Shen Yurong is a character that I find hard to be that angry with because as it turns out, his perfidy results in such a massive upgrade for Xue Fangfei. Liang Yongqi really slays in this complex role of a promising, rising young official who catches the eye of the wrong woman and ends up betraying his ideals. He is quite a pitiful creature who trades in domestic bliss for living dangerously at the beck and call of an abusive, insecure and bat-shit crazy spinning shrew that his own dear mother pimps him out to. I can't decide if I pity him or despise him more. Because in truth, he already lost the moment he chose to betray his muse and the love of his life. The moment of peak retribution is when it dawns upon him what a prize he lost and is forced to face the limits of his own character. I thoroughly enjoyed how the narrative peels away the many layers of hypocrisy, ambition, sophistry and duplicity to reveal a weak, impotent coward who lacked the courage of his convictions. To me, this is the most complex and best acted role in this drama.

Even though I have high praise for Li Meng's portrayal of the deranged Wanning, I have little sympathy for this character or her shocking villain origin story. Victimhood does not entitle her to help herself to someone else's husband or kill with such impunity. When she had power and free will, she chose to be King Cheng's pawn, no one forced her. Likewise, I have no sympathy for Ji Shuran or her choices. In general, I dislike these attempts to whitewash villains or somehow rationalize their wicked ways. Bad stuff happened to Xue Fangfei and Jiang Li as well. But they looked for justice without turning into monsters as a result. While Xue Fangfei's revenge, if you can even call it that is very satisfying, Jiang Li's left me feeling bereft. Ultimately Xue Fangfei is a character that lost nothing and gained everything. It is Jiang Li who is truly the injured party and even though she is vindicated, all the king's horses and all the king's men can't put her together again.

Despite the addictive start, this drama loses momentum by episode 30. The storytelling lingers too long on weakest Jiang family plots arcs. They are boring and unoriginal, borrowing heavily from what were also weak arcs in Princess Weiyoung. Jiang Li's cousins are archetypal characters that were not complicit in Jiang Shuran's treachery. I find it unfathomable the drama chose to focus on their tawdry squabble over a callow rogue instead of uncovering the many layers of the far more fascinating Duke Su. As a result, this character with so much early promise ends up not as well developed as Shen Yurong and Wanning. To add insult to the injury, almost as an after thought, he is featured front and center in a baffling truncated half episode final arc that serves up gratuitous angst and some unearned and unjustified pin-cushioning of good characters. It is nothing short of a grift to squeeze money from viewers for a mundane glimpse of domestic bliss. As far as I am concerned this drama ends where it should a bit past the halfway point of the final episode. All the rest is dross.

This is a super addictive soap opera that doesn't hold up under close scrutiny. Where it excels is in serving up high drama and angst with super cool and satisfying but absurd vignettes that don't necessarily advance the plot. Nonetheless I was happy to rate this better than 8.5 until it started to sag and waffled into a lame and wishy washy ending that leaves me no choice but to call it an 8.0/10.0.

Read More

the first half of this drama was amazing. it was unique and unpredictable - rare to find in kdramas, especially school ones. it quickly became the only drama i was looking forward to every week. i loved everything about it from the plot to the characters. seriously the characters are so good and funny. i grew to love them all (epsically do hwa) my expectations for extraordinary you kept going up and up, and every week it passed those expectations and kept giving me more of what i wanted. and about half way through it became a typical school romance and didn’t have any of the uniqueness to it that it once had. it became repetitive and i found myself not looking forward to it as much.

the acting is really good. considering it’s a high school romance, the acting is good. i actually love hyeyoon’s quirky acting and found it made the show better. the drama wouldn’t have been what it is without her acting.
i never knew rowoon was such a good actor. i usually don’t pay attention to idol actors but he’s one of the ones who can actually act. i really felt his emotions throughout the drama.

i also have to give it to the supporting characters: jaewook did an amazing job too and portrayed his role to the best of his ability and brought out its full potential. he managed to make people really hate his character, and if an actor can do that then in my opinion they’re a great actor. everyone else did an amazing job; i really can’t fault any of their acting.

the osts were really good too and really fit with the theme of the drama. the first half had more of an upbeat ost whereas the second half had a sadder, deeper ost (still upbeat tho) which really reflected the drama itself as the first half was more comedic and light and the second half became more dramatic and tense.

i don’t wanna give anything away so i’m gonna end this right here. but overall this drama is still one of the best kdramas of the year and best school romance drama altogether. if the first half hadn’t been so good and set my expectations so high i probably wouldn’t have thought the second half was lacking. but the hype for this drama is real. even if you don’t like school dramas, this is a must. yes it gets draggy towards the end but it’s still worth it. even just watching it for the danharu moments is worth it. and seeing dohwa always smiling and brightening up the mood. if you’re sick and tired of cold abusive bad boys as leads then watch this. haru and dohwa are the best boys.

Read More

A Blossoming Love that’s sweeter than Cherry !!

Lovely story and adaptation!

CBAW is a famous BL Manhwa with a cute high school love story. Even though I was having some higher expectations, I am glad it could prove its worth to me and hopefully other viewers too. One can definitely see the improvement in the idea of the adaptions and stories, as well as the growing attention for Korean BLs. I would recommend “Cherry Blossoms After Winter" when one strives for a cute LGBTQ+ series.


Production / Music 6.5 >> 7.5

PASSABLE - Same as "Oh! Boarding House" the series is not extra outstanding nor is there something they failed in. The story feels less forced and rushed than the older gay romance series we got from Korea, and I am sure we can expect similar dramas to be produced soon. However, what is to criticise is the choice of airing only one episode per week. Even though their general duration of episodes increased compared to the Korean LGBTQ+ shows we know from the past, with all the other series airing (Cutie Pie, You´re My Sky, ...), 25 minutes a week is not enough to keep their watchers attention. It may look like a minor problem at first but it can negatively affect the entire rating of a series that could have gotten more attention if it aired 2 episodes a week. A bit of wasted potential, not by the actors or the production, but by those who made the decision to air only one episode a week. Nevertheless, I like the implementation of the music! It matches the overall mood of the series.

Plot / Story 8.5 >> 8.0

REMARKABLE - The plot of the Manhwa got implemented very well, with no major criticism from my side. It is not easy to produce an adaption that doesn´t offend the original fans but I see no problem with this cute series. Both the characters and the actors are a visual match and the story is catchy, exciting and emotional. The story revolves around the fact that Tae Sung and Hae Bom, for the first time ever, got into the same class, despite sharing the same roof for ages. This reveals a secret that causes their relationship to flourish. I can´t get enough of high school dramas and youth romances even if they are that cringe!


Cast 8.5

SATISFACTORY - Ok Jin Uk and Kang Hui did not disappoint. They executed their roles well and captivated me with their chemistry. So cute! The Supporting Cast also showed an admirable performance. I´m at a loss for words for their performance this time, because I don´t have much to criticize.


Rewatch Value/ Overall 8.0 >> 7.5

"Cherry Blossoms After Winter" offers some incredibly cute scenes and is light to watch.
Therefore I would recommend this show to anyone who likes high school romances with a little bit of drama.

Read More

Going back in the past, to some it might hurt but the past before our present made us the great person we are right now.

I liked watching Reply 1994 because of the great acting of the casts, and the OSTs. WOW. Totally great. I downloaded the OSTs of this drama and the songs are really good to listen especially if you're having stress or doing something. Besides the OSTs, you can feel the "freshness", and the feeling of "youth" in the drama.

As usual, we have the "Love Triangle". That's what the story is all about. Finding out the "who" in the end. But, the story-line is somehow special, connecting the past to the present. The wonderful memories of the freshness of the youth.

Go Ara's character is a strong yet sweet girl, and she really portrayed it well. She had a loyal heart who only sought one man in her heart, which made it unfair for the second man involved in the Love Triangle.

But what's more amazing in this drama is the creativity of the director. There are three stuff toys that shows in almost every episode, notice their positions, and you'll see that they are sort of like weather forecasts on what will happen next.



Overall, this is a good drama and I recommend it to you.

Read More

Just..... No.

Straight to the point "Review" ---- I thought this show had some slight potential to be a somewhat okay show, plot wise. Sure the acting isn't fantastic, it's both a little stiff and overdramatic at times, but they're all somewhat newbies so we'll let that slide.....

But then the end of episode 3 happened - and after doing a little reseach and realising that it's an 9NAA production... it explains everything to me 😐

They did a good job at hiding the fact it was a 9NAA production (i only ever saw posters with Viu on it) otherwise I wouldn't have started it as I had vowed not to watch any 9NAA productions after the stuff that happened with Checkout the series and with Best and Cheque - and after checking out the bts vid for this episode it just confirmed my feelings for me, because they *once again* didn't seem to have any intimacy coordination prior to their NC scenes (it happened with Checkout too) and the crew seemed to be joking about the fact they should just get naked too so the actors would feel comfortable.

Also, I can handle some weird stuff, but the fact that they made ACTUAL twins lick each others nipples was weird af to me. Why not just hire actors that look similar to play the twins? I could then *maybe* deal with it that way but not when I know that they are actual twins.

Definitely dropping this one. Will be continuing my stance on not supporting 9NAA shows in the future because they do not seem like a company who has their actors welfare as a top priority. No wonder other companies have pulled out of collabs with them and all their actors leave the second their contractually allowed too.

Read More

STORY:
Okay i really love these kind of dramas with such amazing cast! I for YEARS tried to find some drama with action/spy AND powerful romance! The romance is very innocent, passionate and deep so if u want to see very deep emotional moments go for it! The action scenes were done also very good and kept the drama in a good flow. For me i did marathon and i NEVER found any moment boring. I know everyone has different opinion but this was....really wonderful. After year and half i finally watched drama guys and i enjoyed it so so much! The plot is very interesting and i never saw such plot so this was something very new and fresh! Keeps ur mind busy and trust me...you will lose your sleep XD

ACTING:
Okay I watched dramas with JCHW before and i knew he had talent but this like...smacked me straight in head and woke me up! I can tell he is a top actor and i don't care what others say. He seemed like he was really the character he was playing. From the first ep his face started to change with emotions..Nothing was too much and nothing was missing. It was perfect! Main lead girl is also great actor and i know her and i can tell this is her best role. I love that in this drama she is also the brave girl who will stand in front and fight for justice ^^

MUSIC:
Honestly the main song '' Eternal Love'' is downloaded on my phone and i listen to it all over again. It's too good. And did u read the lyrics? No? Okay than go and do it! It's so sweet and so real and it fits the main couple!

REWATCH VALUE :
To tell you the truth i started to watch it all over again right now XD It's too good to just watch it once...So right now i'm going at it once again! ^^

This drama is filled with emotions so enjoy it and give it a try i can tell u..that you WON'T regret it :)

Read More

Temptation is a strange story. It isn't necessarily about an affair. It is the story of a couple in a desperate situation that make desperate decisions which changes their lives forever. One woman turns from sweet to bitter while the other turns from cold to caring. The men's characters pretty much stay the same. I'm confused as to why I watched this and found it interesting. I found that my opinion on the characters of this drama is very different from the opinions of other people.

I have read countless comments of symathy for Na Hong Joo played by Park Ha Sun. I'm probably the only person that finds her character to be at first fake, then bitter and hateful. I don't for a minute buy into the thought that she was ever sweet and innocent. She forgets that she started the chain of events with her desperate action. What did she think her husband would do knowing that he caused her to take that desperate act over money? She made Cha Seok Hoon played by Kwon Sang Woo do something that he would have never thought of doing except that he knew it would save his family monitarily. Then when he tried to make it up to her and prove his love, she turned away from him. To top it off she goes on to blame him for the misery she creates herself and becomes a bitter bitch that I just can't stand. Now, I don't for one minute believe that Yoo Se Young played by Choi Ji Woo is blameless. However, I don't think she is the evil crazy bitch that everyone seems to think that she is. I think she was lonely and bored. She says she was testing them, but I believe she just wanted what they had for even a minute. However, the writer turning her into a victim is stupid and doesn't fit her character as a strong successful woman. Now, for Kang Min Woo played by Lee Jung Jin. I find no redeaming characteristics in this narcissistic jerk who treats women like objects and has no respect for people in general. I can't stand him. The other actors are fine. If you like C.N.Blue, then you will enjoy Lee Jong Shin's part as Hong Joo's brother.

The music is excellent.

I probably won't rewatch this.

I'm not sure if I recommend this drama. Watch it at your own discression.

Read More

So, honestly speaking, I had a really good feeling towards this drama. I was almost excited to start watching it. I was looking for something soft, to watch when I had a little bit of free time and wanted to distract myself.
I really had high expectations.
Unfortunately I couldn't avoid to notice that something was wrong...

The plot. It didn't exist.
I really mean it. There's literally nothing.
Around ep. 18 I started questioning myself: "Why am I watching this?" or "What is the purpose of all this?".
It's not a good sign. It means that the story leads nowhere. It's really pointless.

Anyway, if you're really looking for something that doesn't require too much commitment, all the monologue that I wrote above will be meaningless for you.

Oh, there's also another thing: Useless scenes.
Tons of useless scenes, as much as you want.

And this is all... It wasn't that bad but not even THAT GOOD.

Read More

Action thriller + Comedy feat. Tragic ending

D. P. (Deserter Pursuit) is a short Netflix Korean Drama which basically is a action thriller accompanied by comedy and shades of military life, which illustrates truth and tragedy. With 6 episodes of 50 minutes, this drama surely creates some impact on millions of hearts by making us think again about the harsh reality that negligibly changes.

STORY & PLOT:
The drama is about D. P. Officers who are a group of specific personnels in the army assigned to go out of the bases to catch soldiers who have deserted or escaped from the training camps for various reasons.

The drama involves Ahn Joon Ho, a newly enlisted guy, serving his 2 years mandatory military service, who is appointed as a DP officer to replace someone and is then accompanied by Han Ho Yul, who partner each other to hunt down the absconding military personnels. Sergent Park Bum Goo is the section chief for DP dept. Captain Im Ji Sup is newly transfered trainer for the base.

Given that the drama is of only 6 episodes with short duration, it's difficult to narrate even the gist but I will try. So In the drama, Ahn Jun Ho and Han Ho Yul can be seen going out to catch deserting officers. They have to investigate and look for traces by of the soldiers by different means, even so they had to spend money. And after catching them, they come back to the base.

Along with it, their is a main plotline that continues simultaneously which is about Private Cho Suk Bong, who escapes more than once and even commits criminal offence. The drama ends with his case which was a tragic one.

CAST & ACTING:
Well, our favourite oppa Jung Hae In plays Ahn Jun Ho and obviously he's an great actor who did his job right. This character of him also similar to what he had played in Prison Playbook, to a great extent. He never responded to violence and injustice but is passionate about whatever he's given to do. With a bad relationship with his family, he thrives to live well.

Koo Kyo Hwan plays Han Ho Yul and I honestly fell in love with his acting and how he looked in here, especially his hairstyle and accent of dialogue delivery. He's someone who can't stand injustice either but since he can't directly object it, he tries to prevent things in his own way.

Sergent Park Bum Goo is played by Kim Sung Kyun, my personal favourite and a great actor. I usually prefer him in comedy roles but he can ace any character given. His character is a morally upright man who can go to lengths to do his job, but anyways in the right way. He might be strict with his underlings at workplaces, he cares for them to a great deal.

DIRECTION & WRITING:
Direction is cool. Everything has been well executed. They did a good job in organizing and synchronization of events. There is not much to sound editing as they go bland mostly, but those subtle thriller editings and upbeat background scores at suitable places were good enough to keep the thrill going.

Writing is nice as well. Story progression and plot development is quite good. The showcase of humanitarian values in between, was a great idea. The illustration of harsh things like bullying and abuse inside the military bases leading to desertion, hierarchical competitions between higher authorities, isolation & violation, senior complexity are very well done. Corruption and the idea of hiding truth are also touched.

CONCLUSION:
I feel the drama is not just meant for entertainment or thrilling, it also asks us to look behind the scenes and think how cruel it is to go through injustice and yet having no way to escape other than escaping from life. I'm sure it'll create some impacting by making the audience think how wrong it's to bully and abuse someone who is weak. It also demands the change in system and regulations in the military laws and to create a safer environment for not just people serving mandatory military service, also for the professional army personnels.

Overally a good drama and worth the one time watch.

Read More

We can start with the story. Already from the start, the story plot had me twisting in anticipation. At the most time when I thought I knew what was going to happen, it was the opposite. It is a very beautiful story, at the same time, it is kinda scary as it shows the darker side of the human nature.

I like the cast very much. I feel like the main characters had a excellent chemistry. Both of the male leaders portrayed their characters very well. And Xin Yue was also great.

I also enjoyed the music. At first, I didn't like the Bai Tou Yin by Della Ding as the music was a bit odd. But you grow to like the two songs by her as they play throughout the whole drama. Also, the opening song is also very nice and has really meaningful lyrics. Definitely a 10 from me!

Actually, I have rewatched this drama two times, and every single time I just couldn't stop watching. Even though I already seen it before. It is just so good.

Overall, I think they have made an excellent drama! I feel like the clothing and scenery was quite nice. I definitely recommend this one to everyone that loves for example Prince of Lan Ling, which is also one of my favorite drama.

Read More

I can't believe how small the number of audience who watched this drama! I started this with the least expectations and it turned out to be much more. The story is so simple yet so refreshing to watch, I enjoyed every second of it. A mixture of feelings, a beautiful friendship, confusing emotions, and YOUTH... all wonderfully put together!! I still can't believe how much I enjoyed this I'm really glad that I started it now because I could watch all the eps in a raw.

This is a story about friends and how they deal with their emotions, life, and the fact that they are growing into adulthood. Again the feelings that are delivered in this drama, all the emotions are just too refreshing, beautiful and really enjoyable. In fact, (I can't believe I'm saying this but) I fell in love with Choi Min Ho after watching this. I never ever considered him a decent actor he was just an idol like the rest of the idols getting casted with no acting skills. I've seen him in (To The Beautiful You) which I dropped and I remember very well that he couldn't act back then!! When did he improve like that?! He was absolutely AMAZING I was watching the drama and can't help but be taken by him (wait it's Min Woo I'm talking about o_O)!! I can't respect him enough for the hard work and improvement he has done for himself I never thought it's possible when you don't have "it" within you but he proved me wrong, any drama that he takes from now on is on my Watch List.

This drama makes you feel like smiling the whole time you will be watching it as simple as it was,,, What is love exactly? What's first love means? Can we really forget about our first love/crush and move on? Well let's watch and see,,,Simplicity is beauty indeed. I highly recommend it.

Read More

Simple light comedy sageuk.

Remember seeing the poster and telling my friend that this drama will be a no-brainer and it turned out to be exactly like that. Although I thought there will be certain amount of seriousness, which is indeed there, but even they carry the comic elements to some extent.

It has a simple story. There is a secret royal inspector who sets out on a journey to discover corruptions by the Govt. appointed officials. On his mission he encounters a lady, who due to her situations, joins along the journey. They are accompanied with 2 servants of the inspector and 2 friends of the lady. As these six people move ahead to solve different cases, they unveil tragic truths behind the crimes and corruptions made by local authorities as well as seemingly big figures behind them. As everything becomes clear, rest 40% of the drama is how they bring forward the truth and establish justice.

Ra Yi Eon (Ok Taec Yeon) is the secret royal inspector, who initially had a simple dream of making a dumpling shop and living a simple life. But due to family pressure he appears the state civil service exam to become a inspector. Kim Jo Yi (Kim Hye Yeon) is a free-spirited, quick-witted and brave lady who believes in woman independence. Oweing to her will to beat the societal norms, she strongly supports women opting for divorce, as well. Park Tae Seo (Lee Jae Kyoon) is the son of left state councilor Park Seung (Jung Bo Suk), both of them are corrupt. Duk Bong (Bo Jong Ok) is the head of Tail Island shelter.

Some popular faces in minor roles are Yook Chil (Min Jin Woong) & Goo Pal (Park Kang Sub) as Yi Eon's servants, Ra Kwang Soon (Lee Sang Hee) & Bi Ryung (Chae Won Bin) are Joyi's close friends. Cha Mal Jong (Jung Soon Won) is a trader and Park Do Su (Choi Tae Hwan) is Park Seung's son. Lee Joon Hyuk as the crown prince and VIXX N as Choi Seung Yul are guest, yet key characters.

Acting in overall from the entire cast was okay-okay. Taecyeon has come way long and his skills can be used in better way. I'm not a fan of Kim Hye Yeon, she always has the same annoying character, who only knows to cry well. Lee Jae Kyon did unexpectedly well as an antagonist, loved his acting and expressions.

I didn't really mind the plot development bcs I watched purely for the light comedy but technically it's not a steady and proper one and I think their intention was that. Introductory episodes were slow but decent. As the show progresses, the gradual improvement in premises setup and script quality, constantly grow up. It wasn't exactly good but not unlikable either. However, that lasts till 8th episode, i. e. The 1st half of the show and as soon as the 2nd half starts. Everything comes to surface by the 10th episode and the last 6 are dragged to a great extent just to fill the quota. So, things become exaggerated and repetitive in the processs. The ending was smooth and I am happy the comedy elements were retained till the end.

In another opinon, the drama should have been a 10th episode mini series and made into a good story with flawless technical aspects, even with the light comedy. There were few things of no essence, unnecessarily added to the script, regarding the individual lives of the leads, I didn't like them. Those elements made the mood of the story inconsistent and unsteady.

Director Yoo Jung Soon might not be a rookie but he's not very experienced though I liked 2/4 of his dramas. Morever, it's his first historical but given the premise of the drama and the genre, the overall execution was up to par. It could have been better in terms of representation of elements, organization and connecting of events, etc. but I don't mind since it isn't a typical sageuk.

Writer Lee Jae Yoon is in the industry for a quite a while though the only memorable drama they've written is "The Undatables" The script written by them for this drama isn't something really good but if they had intended to keep it simple and light, I think their purpose has been served. However, the potential conspiracy plotline, which is mandatory in any sageuk, didn't feel steady and engaging. The entire effort to reveal the truth has been fragmented and dispersed throughout. The drama doesn't create great impressions at any point of the story, except for the chemistry betweens the leads.

I watched till 7th episode with normal speed and was quite enjoying the light comedy but when I realized it had started becoming slower and uninteresting, I had to fast-forward the rest at 1.5×. I had intended to increase it to 2.0× later but somehow I couldn't, because it actually not that shabby and boring.

The OST composition by Dalpalan is so good I swear and there are 3 OSTs, which are very likable. He's definitely one of the accomplished composers of Korea and he knew his homework for the drama well.
"Let's Get It" by sEODo is trot track, giving a perfect mood according to the comical mood of the drama. "Need Your Heart" by ONF Hyojin is a cheerful romantic track. Kim Sawol's soulful vocals in "At the End of My Day" is very heartfelt.

Things to like in the show:

#1 Comedy elements are the best thing about the drama. The entire show is full of comedy; in fact the king and ministers were parts of it, as well. I had a good time laughing out loud. Taec was obviously the funniest, it felt like watching the real Taec through this character. All of the characters were able to deliver the comedy through their acting.

#2 This is probably one of the sageuk with least involvement of the Royal affairs. Even though all the activities are indirectly related to the Palace and there are lots of political personnel associated, I was happy that most of the runtime was shot outside the premise.

#3 This drama aslo emphasizes on Women empowerment. The FL in here is not a typical Joseon lady who's either a assassin or only the ML's love interest. She's free-spirited, educated and promotes women rights. She even supports divorce and believes in overcoming taboos set for medieval women.

Overally, "Secret Royal Inspector & Joyi" is a drama average watch: average plot, average story and average execution. It could have better in some aspects but I don't wanna complain a lot because this drama, in no way, demanded to be judged wrt the technicality though I will be fair with the ratings. It's a simple and light watch which you can binge during leisure.

Read More

This show started off pretty nicely but if it were not for my "Drama OCD" I would've never finished watching it though.

The story was pretty decent until about the mid-way point and then it just went completely off the rails into unbelievable land. As an avid drama watcher, I know that I go into a drama suspending belief because if you've been watching a long time, you know that's how it is. Most dramas have a lull about mid-way even the best dramas, but this... yikes. It just lost its way and never came back for me. The end was highly anti-climatic for me, it wasn't satisfying at all because I felt the characters' problems were really only due to their own stupidity rather than any real outside threat.

The acting didn't really help much. Aaron Yan is adorable, especially as Xiao Luo, but I feel that contrasted with Tia Li's stiff and rather emotionless face almost made it seem like he was overacting. As great as Aaron Yan is, it didn't save the drama or the couple for me. I actually was far more interested in the supporting couples than I ever was in the odd love triangle/square. In other circumstances where the character's actions make sense, the acting probably would've come off a lot better, but when characters begin to act like 2 year olds and common sense goes straight out the window, it's hard to feel anything other than annoyance. I try to not skip through episodes, but in all honesty I did it quite a lot and still was perfectly able to understand what was going on and save myself from the urge to cringe with not my palm to my face but the keyboard.

The music was pretty good, nothing stellar or what would have me running to iTunes, but it wasn't bad. Had some catchy upbeat music.

Having said all of that, I will not be re-watching this or even recommending it too anyone. I really hope that Aaron Yan's next drama doesn't involve the noble idiot trope and that Tia Li loosens up and shows some real emotion (crying profusely and looking blankly down or into the distance does not a good actor make) :P

Read More

Unexpectedly Funny, Underrated GEM!

I seriously went into this drama without any expectations, but I liked the ML and I felt sorry that he got paired up so badly in his past dramas which I mostly dropped.

This one started out pretty standard. Set is ... super fake. Those bad wigs especially on the ML when his hair is down made him look so bad. However, if you at least make it by ep 8 then you'll see that this is more of a comedy Xian Xia like a Starry love type. ML's voice (dubbed or not), suits the character very well, gives him that sarcastic feel. The drama does get serious as it progresses so less comedic moments later on.

Story quality is way better than the set quality. There are quite a few interesting supporting characters with sufficient screen time to build up their characters as well. I think if you are looking for new blood (young pretty faces) this is not it.

But if you want:
1. A great actor that can portray this kind of semi bad, inner good, partially sarcastic character
2. Enjoyable dialogue and not the typical ML/FL will just focus on Love and nothing else matters
2. Interesting supporting characters
3. No Nasty 3rd wheel can't get a clue but just trying to steal the leads away & wasting screen time

Then this is a great watch!

Fav. Moments:
Ep 8 FL won't die. Probably the funniest Ep
Ep 26 ML's realization. Hit the spot! OST is killing it! ML .... TY for being the ML!
Ep 29 The show down
Ep 32 ML's guilt proposal followed by the makeup scene

Not so Favorite:
The Ending ... It was just meh....
Then I find out there were supposed to be 6 more episodes they cut off. Y Y Y Iqiyi you cut off good dramas? So wrong....

Read More