MUST WATCH!!!
in my opinion this drama has such an amazing storyline for not only the main characters but for all the side characters as well. you can tell they put a lot of thought into their characters as well as their development and made sure that every storyline was perfected. to me they were all the main characters since every one of their stories kept u hooked. would totally recommend to this everyone. it's such a lighthearted drama with not too much problems/ angst (just the right amoun) and it's totally bingeable. also the ost omggg i love it!!! ANYWAYS MUST WATCH!!Was this review helpful to you?
Story/Emotions: Such a controversial topic was handled delicately and realistically and still represented the positive possibilities which one person should pursue when caught in the harshness of life. It is not just a love story, but a pure and beautiful life changing one at that. You quickly forget the age difference between the main couple when you look at their characters and their process of falling in love with them. At first one might question their beginning of love, but what this drama does make you realize is that you never quite know what exactly makes you fall in love with one particular person and why that one person is the only one who holds that special spot in your life. Other people even though having the same specs or even better ones still don't make the cut in your life. Their love story from start to end remains realistic at best. It is the love that empowers them to discover themselves . Their is a perpetual question of whether you give in to the love or realize your personal dreams; especially when faced with such a difficult love. But this drama beautifully shows how love gives them the motive of achieving other things in life as well. The opposition is all expected , yet you ride this roller coaster begging some understanding and happiness for the couple. Their journey is a long one and this drama will tug at your heart. It is an extremely incredible feat that the director and writer managed to make a love story even more interesting than a thriller. And this is a story you are not bound to forget for a long time.
Characters: Not one character is such that you wouldn't empathize, Even the most difficult of characters are still the one who you will warranty your understanding. Both Akira and Hijiri's characters undergo a growth that is otherwise only superficially shown in other dramas. Full marks to all the characters , even the minor ones. No character in this drama is dull or stupid. The highlight being Akira's character who grows from a boy to a fantastic and extremely capable young man who doesn't give up even in the toughest of times. His is an astoundingly clear-headed character. The depth of the awareness of his own emotions is displayed right from the beginning. Even his childishness which is often the part of your first heady days of love (couple it with his adolescence) is hardly blamable. But the transition that he undergoes post the first half of the story is a real piece of cake. Akira's mother also has a very strong character and is also one of the strongholds of the story. Yoshida Yo's character is a brilliant one and one that will have a lot of impact on the viewer throughout the story. Her depth of character reading of the people around her is a personal goal.
Acting: This a department that elevates the drama to the all time lists in my opinion. This story commanded exceptional acting due to the complexity of each of the characters and the story line anyway. Even the minor characters are made memorable by the respective actors. Akira's mother, the renowned middle aged actress does the mother's part exceptionally well. You would hate her persistent opposition throughout the drama and yet understand her protective heart for Akira. She is fiercely portrayed and has some of the toughest scenes in the series. Yoshida Yo gives another brilliant performance as Haraguchi. You are bound to like her character the best in the series and it is all thanks to this great actress. This also gives you a rare example of a fierce and extremely outspoken Japanese woman that is hard to come by in japanese society. Arimura Kazumi is a little shadowed due to other stellar performances but by no means is her acting lacking. She plays the naive and kind hearted teacher to the best and you empathize with her hardships and even with her initial confusion over Akira and her fiance. It was a pretty tight spot to pull without making her character hateful but she still manages to display the precise emotions. Machida Keita is also decent although his is the only character that you would find less attractive in spite of having the perfect high specs.
The real gem of this Drama is and will always be Okada Kenshi. I can pretty much write another full article on his acting. Enough has been said about no one believing this to be his debut role and having a huge potential and everything is 100% true yet I somewhere think it still doesn't do him enough justice. To begin with he clearly steals the show every single time he is onscreen. You will not get over his smile, the slightest twitch of his lips, the slightest change in his expressions and light in his eyes and the body language which is all so powerful that before even Hijiri falls in love with him , you will find yourself spiraling down that lane unknowingly. It is crazy how many emotions he can make you feel through his character. It seems that the role was written just for him and there is not one scene where I can pinpoint that he needed improvement. His looks already make you wonder if he is the handsomest man out there and to top that those acting chops are sure shot lottery to stardom.
Music: The background music has never been so apt and fitting. It played with my feelings big time. Some of the scenes while already memorably written and acted out , became absolutely ten fold phenomenal because of the background score. This background score will always remain on my playlist and still makes me go through a 100 emotions , all that I cherished while watching the drama. The Prologue by Uru will also remain etched in your memory.
Rewatch: Anytime! And every time it will make me feel sadness and happiness on a new level. For a love story it has amazing rewatch value for you will have new found appreciation for all the symbolism, dialogues, acting and cinematography. You are bound to discover something new every single time.
In gist, this was an extremely impacting and emotional drama that will grow on you with every passing moment until it becomes an obsession for you. It is bound to play with your feelings big time and yet inspire you throughout the journey that you live along with the characters. To each this will be a personal journey. The drama satiated all my drama expectations and made me reevaluate all the other dramas I had watched till date and mentally I deducted at least one star from all of them. In a world where kdramas rule the roast, this will make you hungry for Japanese dramas and leave very big shoes to fill in it's wake.
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This review may contain spoilers
If My Gear and Your Gown had come out a couple of years ago, I would have given it a higher rating. But BLs have come a long way since then. Overall, this was a pleasant enough diversion from everyday activity, that's all. Here are my pros and cons:PROS:
LIKEABLE ACTORS. I found some of the actors adorable: Win (Pai) played a loveable, shy nerd, Fiat (Pure) is sassy and cute; Neen (Beau) is so sweet, while AJ (Waan) is so cute you just want to pinch his cheeks. Back to Win: I liked the way he played introverted Pai, and his bitter weeping in the final episode was heartbreaking.
GOOD MESSAGES. The Pure/AIDS storyline seemed a bit sudden and severe, but it's never a bad idea to promote safe sex. The final episode dealt (a little bit) with homophobia and acceptance from parents. I liked Folk's line (paraphrasing): "Parents are usually fine with it unless it affects them personally." Sadly, that's often very true.
CONS:
DULL STORY. For me, it started out well enough, but then just lagged. I felt the story could have been told in half the amount of episodes. And the Pure/playboy thing was maxed out. At the end, when Pure apologized to Folk for cheating on him, he said "but I was thinking of you the whole time." Barf.
WEAK CHEMISTRY. While Itt is a handsome guy, has chemistry with Pai was practically non-existent, and Itt's character was just weak. I wasn't really sold and Pure/Folk, either, but I did like Waan/Beau (would have liked to see them with more screen time as a couple).
FRESHY CONTEST: As much as I liked Pai, there is no freaking way he could have won that contest! Everything he did was a complete failure. I get that Pai wins in the story but, at the very least, the scriptwriters could have given him some sort of believable talent. As it was, Pai's win was incomprehensible, unless every other competitor was in a coma.
Overall, I enjoyed it well enough. Nothing groundbreaking here, I give it a 6.5.
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This review may contain spoilers
A substantial, mature and exceptionally beautiful love story
For me this is my highlight of 2023.As a phenomenal firework of quiet nuances, “Tell Me That You Love Me” is exuding soulful warmth in graceful silence while creating a soothing atmosphere that takes root deep in the heart. Accompanied by a soundtrack with pulling effect, that could hardly be more harmonious, sincere feelings are conveyed via looks and gestures, while words and thoughts are frequently communicated in sign language, thus telling a story, that knows how to gently touch the audience.
It's not about appearance, facade, coat and make-up, but about essence. Approaching the substantial is exactly what makes this production so exceptional for a KDrama. With Jung Woo-sung, who is once again breathing pure authenticity, certainly a perfect casting for the ML. He also seems to having actually communicated in sign language most of his life. But Shin Hyun-been was also able to effortlessly impress me with her reflected presence. What a couple!
Calm aesthetics and gentle pace intensify the profoundness of the encounters, which opens up spaces for the essential. Even if trenches between the worlds of the hearing and the deaf may be deep and ample at times, loving encounter is still possible. Even if the feelings for each other may be deep and honest, specific barriers inevitably remain. “Tell Me That You Love Me” is gently approaching the dilemma - a desire to face the challenge with confidence, but on the other hand the fear of failure considering the barriers and therefore wanting to run away.
I´d say, anyone who can open up to this rather idiosyncratic “language” of this KDrama will be rewarded by a substantial, mature and exceptionally beautiful love story.
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There's also the cute side characters/couple that are so adorable.
I love how both the main lead would do anything for anyone they cared/loved n how much they loved each other it was just so sweet many dramas always have something where there's some kind of trust issue or where ones a little too jealous to the point of overboard but this was just amazing.
Now onto my lovely prince zhan many may not like his character bc of what he did but then i felt like he's such a sweet boy he was willing to do anything for Qing Chen but sadly he's just a second lead :(
The only thing that I didn't like was like slow subbing which is not the dramas fault at all but then I had to wait forever bc dramefever the only one that got the licenses for it took a whole moth to freaking start subbing the first few episodes n that the director had to add duo xia who wanted so desperately to be with ling at one point but it was good that he never swayed for her or anything lol cause I would've flipped out if he broke Qing Chen's heart in anyway when she did all of that just for him.
Overall I'm just in love with this dramas so yes I definitely recommend this drama if you want to watch something that brings out all your emotions but not annoyingly bad or just sad like some other shows that I've watched. Btw the music tho it's amazing I've noticed that Chinese dramas always have amazing music to accompany their shows lol none of it are like ever bad.
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This review may contain spoilers
Incase if you can’t get this movie this might be helpful!
At first, The Great Flood may not feel like a “bad” movie, but it can definitely feel confusing, especially if you’re used to traditional K-drama or Korean films with a clear emotional or linear storyline. This movie suddenly shifts tone and narrative, which can be disorienting. However, once you understand what the film is actually about, it becomes deeply meaningful and emotionally powerful.The world in the movie is already ending. Humanity is almost extinct. The experiment exists because humans are trying to recreate humanity, not just biologically, but emotionally. They realize that without real emotions, especially love, the new humanity they create will never truly be human.
This is where An-na and Ja-in come in.
An-na is part of the Emotion Engine Experiment. She agrees to have her brain implanted into a simulation where she relives the same scenario again and again which is loop as y’all know.
Her role is to demonstrate genuine human emotion, particularly maternal love, because nothing is more raw or instinctive than a mother’s love for a child.
Ja-in, the child, is technically “just a subject.” She is supposed to abandon him. She is meant to choose logic over emotion. But she doesn’t. She loves him like a real child — and that is the entire point of the experiment.
An-na is tested to see if she can:
• Form real emotional attachment
• Make moral choices
• Choose love even when logic and rules tell her not to
She fails thousands of times.
The drawings scattered throughout the movie are not random. They represent past loops of the simulation. Each drawing shows Ja-in remembering her words: “I’ll be back. Wait for me.”
That’s why he keeps hiding in the closet every time. That’s why he keeps drawing the helicopter scene — and why the drawings slowly get better and more detailed. He remembers. He learns. He feels.
When An-na once tells him, “Draw me with some color,” the drawings begin to change. This proves emotional memory exists — even inside a simulation.
Her shirt changing numbers shows how many times she has repeated the loop. Each number represents another failure. Another reset. In total, she is trapped for 13,499 attempts, spanning around five years from her perspective (or even longer depending on interpretation). Some theories place it closer to 21,499 days, roughly 58 years, emphasizing the unimaginable emotional weight of the experiment.
The AI systems try to stop her ( mans with gun’s) They want to reset the simulation because the machine only activates when the subject reaches their version of emotional perfection. The world ends over and over because the simulation can run thousands of apocalyptic scenarios faster than real time.
The truth is:
An-na and Ja-in are already dead.
This is a machine using their memories to learn how human emotions work so it can create the next generation of “humans.”
In the end, An-na passes the test because she chooses love over logic.
Ja-in separating from her shows free will — something artificial intelligence cannot fake. When she is allowed to return to Earth, we see others who have also passed similar simulations. Humanity doesn’t survive because bodies are recreated — it survives because love was successfully learned.
The final message of the movie is clear:
Being human isn’t about being real or artificial.
It’s about love, memory, sacrifice, and the choices we make.
This movie isn’t confusing — it’s layered.
And once you understand it, it’s devastatingly beautiful. Also including few extra words I would say the experiment proves humans are defined not by survival instincts, but by who they choose to save, plus many of people have asked why “love” they would better come with something else but going deep down maternal love is used because it’s the hardest emotion to fake or replicate while AI can simulate logic endlessly, but love requires irrational sacrifice…
That’s it!!
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I started watching this drama because the plot read as something that would be right up my alley: dark, twisted, angsty and mature. A master plan to seduce one woman that turns into a terrible cycle of torture and turmoil was what I was hoping for but ended up being incredibly disappointed. I read a comment somewhere about how this drama was horrible because all the characters were so awful. On the contrary, my biggest issue was that the characters weren't horrible enough.
Characters:
Eun Tae Hee: One of the most boring characters in TV history, right up there with Cha Eun Sang from Heirs. Joy's acting was the least of my concerns. The character was two-dimensional, flat, stupid and yet strangely confident which of course made her even more annoying. The most interesting thing about her was her past which also turned out to be a dud. The producers shouldn't be mad at Joy, they should be mad at the writers.
Kwon Shi Hyun: Woo Do Hwan is super hot. That's the only good thing about this character. I wanted to see a hardcore cheating and womanizing douche-bag who sleeps around and doesn't give a shit about any woman's feelings. Instead I got an innocent school boy who was weak willed and far too predictable. He became a lovesick puppy after the first smile <-- this would be hilarious if it wasn't so goddamn infuriating.
Choi Soo Ji: The character with most potential, alongside Se Joo. I really wanted to see how low she's be willing to stoop to to get what she wanted but in the end her efforts felt half-assed. It almost felt like the writers decided to stop trying at some point.
Lee Se Joo: My favorite, and I assume everyone else's, the lover boy. He was the highlight of the show, the little sparkle of light that kept me hoping for something better and made me come back every week. His obsessive love for Soo Ji had the best potential at doing something actually damaging and his family background suggested that maybe we could have gotten some heavier gang stuff into the show but of course my wishes weren't fulfilled this time either.
Plot:
The plot of this drama was the biggest screw up and I have an explanation as to why that was: they tried to fit too much shit into 16 full episodes. The story moved way too fast so that we didn't have time to get emotionally invested in it. Get together, break up, make up. I have no idea how many times the main couple went through this process; it got real dull, real fast.
Tae Hee and Shi Hyun's relationship was all in all so boring I found myself getting distracted all the time while watching them together. Their "steamy" scenes weren't steamy enough and their relationship's highs and lows weren't black and white enough for me to get truly excited about them. There wasn't enough chemistry, nor enough tension. A very flat, predictable and unstimulating combo.
Next problem I have is the lack of maturity. This drama felt like a children's story. No sex, no drugs, barely any violence and nothing actually scandalous that would have made me sit at the edge of my chair wondering what would happen next. The outfits were occasionally childish, the pathetic attempts at dramatic plot twists were downright juvenile and even the colorful sets seriously turned me off. Even the climax of the story felt like a pathetic, undeveloped attempt to whip up together something that could be labeled as the orgasm of the story. Worst climax ever, I didn't feel a thing.
The side story with the main characters' parents was somewhat interesting whilst also being completely pointless. Don't really have much to say about it... Thank you for giving employment to various older actors, I guess.
Why watch?
Now I know what you're thinking; how can you give this drama a six without saying a single nice thing about it. Well, first of all, I find it hard to give any drama I finish a score under five because if things go that bad, I usually just drop the whole thing. And look, it's not a complete disaster. The ingredients for a great drama are all there. Somehow the end result is a mess but I can see why someone might actually enjoy this; hell, even I was able to finish it. In an attempt to be as neutral as possible, I'll also list out some good points.
The trio. Shi Hyun, Se Joo and Soo Ji are a pretty adorable set of friends. They have good chemistry and there are a lot of cute scenes in the beginning of the drama when the three spend the most time together. All of them are solid actors, so I look forward to seeing them more in the future.
Se Joo & Soo Ji are an actually suitable couple who will tear you down with how sad their story is. It's an unrequited love where he showers her with affection and she can't find it in herself to be brave enough to accept him. Honest to god, I finished this drama for these two. You might not, however, so approach with caution.
All in all, this is not worth the watch; not even if you're a fan of Woo Do Hwan. Trust me on this, his character is so horrible you'll just be disappointed. In conclusion the show was a huge disappointment as the array of negative reviews suggests. I will be looking forward to new projects from the main three, especially Kim Min Jae. It's so sad he got screwed over by a horrible writing and production team.
Hence concludes another one of my reviews that was once again supposed to be short but at this point, what do you expect?
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Disastrous
There's only so much you can stuff into a 6-ep series. Unfortunately, everything stuffed into this is awful.The first question is, what genre is this? It was marketed as a BL, and most of the couples in this involve two boys, although only one is just two boys. The other two are everyone's favorite thing, love triangles.
Or is is a murder mystery? Maybe, except the dead body at the beginning is not the same body as turns out to be the case, nor at the same level of deceasedness. Which makes me wonder if Thai emergency services frequently transport live people in body bags. If so, I hope they remember to poke air holes in them.
Or is it about a rivalry between two bitchy girls? On the surface, no, that's not what it is, but that leads us to wonder why almost the entire runtime of this series is consumed by two almost supernaturally unpleasant people who I'm sure almost the entire audience wishes were not in the series at all.
The all-male love triangle involves a boy who's into BDSM, which is handled with the usual BL sensitivity, i.e. none at all, portraying it as deviant and possibly evil - certainly PTSD-inducing, and instead of his partner finding a way to accommodate his tastes, BDSM-boy is forced to give it up in the name of True Love, which can never include "deviant" behavior in BL. There's actually a scene where non-BDSM boy wants to break up because he realized that BDSM-boy has a slight preference for being a dom over a sub, and so he feels that he is horrendously depriving him of pleasure. Seriously, that's the conversation. Then he goes on to describe how flicking him with a toy whip makes him feel like he's inflicting violence on someone he loves. Sigh.
The love triangle with the girl involves a self-indentifed slut (who had sex with a grand total of one person, so what is the message here? ) and two step-brothers. Another favorite theme of BL audiences. Let's combine cheating, an evil female, and incest into one storyline - yay? I don't actually mind step-brother stories, but I know that a large part of the audience does mind, a larger part of the audience doesn't like cheating, and almost the entire audience doesn't like stories to be chewed up by evil girlfriends.
The only reasonably uncomplicated storyline is between Burger & King (get it?), and it is cute largely because the two boys are adorable. It's certainly not because of their acting ability or the amount of time spent on their story.
Which brings us to the topic of acting. I don't want to be too critical, because these are all beginners and they were clearly doing their best, but each of them only has one facial expression and it's not really enough. Maybe if they had two each it would have worked better. Non-BDSM-boy has kicked-puppy face, King has "did I live the iron on?" face, Evil Girl #2 has "what is that smell?", etc. There are one or two experienced actors in this (like Art, as beautiful as ever, but he has at most 60 seconds of screentime).
Worse, there is, again, an awful trans character who is loud, ridiculous, and an awful person, because Thail BL is unable to conceive of anything but "straight" people as being "good" and "normal". That's improved a decent amount in BL in general, but that progress hasn't reached this catastrophe of a series.
Perhaps worst of all, it doesn't end. None of the relationships get anywhere, and even though we know whodunnit, that story isn't resolved either. Couldn't they at least have left it as a mystery if they were going to end on a cliffhanger? What possible motivation do I have to continue watching this into the next season?
This series is a ripoff of the Spanish show Elite, which is far better. A central problem with Hit Bite Love is that it's set in high school (because that's a BL law or something) and it's themes are adult. Because of this, and because most of the actors are underage, the series is crippled by conservative Thai morality and so the story can never dig its teeth into any of its themes. This is so serious an issue that even when boys are at the swimming pool, if there's any romantic connection between them, their torsos are wrapped in big towels, as if having two boys who like each other shirtless is Crossing the Line.
Other than the cuteness factor of BurgerKing and Art being on my screen, the only positive quality is the background music, which is better than usual, and actually supports the story, such as it is. Although the theme song has so much autotune I assumed it was on purpose - although it does sound like a malfunctining robot and I'm not sure why you would want that.
I would skip this. If you had to decide between this and watching, say, Gen Y 2, then I would probably just kill myself. But Hit Bite Love is a lot shorter, so more of your brain might survive if you were to choose it.
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This review may contain spoilers
players slayed and master of games.
(please note that this is my first time writing a review so it might not be very good! but i hope this provides you with an intel on the show!)it was long awaited but worth it! you need to watch the first season for the opening, introductions of characters. the second season is a continuation of the first season.
the storyline is simple, you play a game and earn visas. without these visas, you will die and a high chance of you dying when you lose in a game. continuation of the first season, this season focuses on the jacks, queens and kings which are the highest or highest, that only means that the challenges are harder and harder.
the games might be simple, but there are a lot of thinking and thoughts needed to outplay the other players. let's be honest, despite knowing that the main characters will not die, i feel safe about it. however, the suspend, the intensity is still there. there are surprises here and there for you to unwrap as the show goes on. one thing i would love is where they would explore more of different games and have a longer duration! like come on, i want more than 8 episodes.
i know there are some people that don't like/prefer japanese's acting but i feel like it is rather realistic. after watching many japanese dramas, i often feel like it is an autumn acting. i don't know what's an autumn acting but it is something more of feeling the autumn vibes. just because it is not up to your preference, it does not mean that it is not good.
an example would be arisu (kento)'s acting in the first episode where he was running super fast. the facial expression might be foreign to some but it was realistic. as you're running in your fullest speed, you wouldn't be looking good or near perfect. if you're wondering on the mature scenes, other than the bloody deaths, niragi, and yamapi's butt cheeks, the rest are fine.
what do i like about the show?
- games
- how the players play the game
- interactions between the players
- their acting
what i dislike about the show?
- too short
- niragi (this asshole never changes)
all the games are amazing but one that blew my mind was the queen of hearts. yes, it is the hearts. the ending is good, but i would love to see the other characters get back the memory during the time here. i just wish for a 3rd season with longer duration or more episodes.
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The overall story line was about the struggles of North Korea,which was amazing but it was too stretched out.Also the love story get very boring after awhile unless you enjoy romance a lot.
I rewatched this drama with my older sister and she also had a similar opinion but she said it was very boring at some points especially with the love story.
Acting was fantastic and the music matched the tension in the drama the majority of the time.I understand that they tried to use a commonly popular pop song to express how the information and freedom of creativity is limited but I found their choice of sound very random ,that's just a personal opinion though.
Personally If i had to rate this separately as medical drama i would give a 8-9 as for the love story i'd give a 4-5 to be honest i'm very bias.The only reason personally why i loved this drama was because the medical portion of it but if it wasn't a medical drama and just a love story, then i would have given a lower score.
If i do decide to rewatch it by myself I can honestly say i would just skip to the surgery scenes directly.
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Just watch it.
You know a drama is good when it has the comment section discussing the characters temper, personality and relationships as if they’re actually real people.Where do I begin. This drama is: gorgeous, precious and will probably leave a hole in your heart when it ends. Not because it sad but because you’ll be immersed and involved in their daily lives.
I’ve watched a lot of dramas in the last 13 years and very few were this pleasurable. The characters are written so well, they’re layered, real and lovable. The pacing is delectable, not too action heavy, sometimes purposely mundane but always keeping your attention. The direction, cinematography, set design, clothes are tasteful, this is truly what they call the female gaze. YangYang just proved everyone that women just do it better and has set the bar to a new high.
The romance. THE ROMANCE. Mature, trusting, kind, understanding, realistic. This is the kind of drama where you can see the leads falling for each other just by the way they look at each other. The tension is unbearable at times, it made me scream with envy in my pillow.
This drama is VERY rich in human relationships. Father x son, sisterhood, womanhood, brotherhood, teen x mentor figure, teenage puppy love, motherhood and more. There’s something for everyone.
To me, this is without a doubt THE best historical romance drama I have watched. Not because this is the best most complex impeccable story ever written but because this drama will bring excitement back and get rid of you loneliness. The focal point of this drama is not the intrigue it’s the people and their personal hardships. I can’t wait to forget it so I can watch it again.
So just watch it, give it a go, at least 3 episodes. If you don’t like it, it’s probably just not your cup of tea, because objectively, quality wise this checks all the boxes. Great work.
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Amazing + superb!!!!
What an acting, What a story, what an emotions I'm impressed by 2 episodes and waiting for more episodes ... The actors play thier role amazing they own it... it's gonna be amazing bl... love it ... Firstly i love the duration of episodes like not other bl 10 11 minuts... its sometime annoying because we love the series but it was so short we want story with more explanation... And in this bl there are some cute,crazy, movements and funny and sometime sad which touch the heart.. I'm in love with this bl love the actorsWas this review helpful to you?
An Ode to Mount Jiri and the forest rangers.
In a world of vast oceans and far-reaching land, it is important to not just remain a mere spectator and record the history, rather to penetrate the depth of it and capture the mystery confined within. Again, the possession of knowledge doesn't kill the the curiosity and mystery, instead creates more.Jirisan is a drama that started in mystery and ended in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful truth lies in between. The great production value plus the extraordinarily amazing cast, are what made us look forward to the drama. By the end of it I can say that, I thoroughly enjoyed and engulfed those 2 elements though the entire thing couldn't totally lived up to my expectations of becoming something excellent.
"Jirisan" is set up in the premise of majestic Mount Jiri, the tallest mountain of the mainland Korea present in the Sobaek mountain ranges, on the southern regions of the country. It was made into Jirisan National Park in the year 1967 and has been serving as a major tourist spot ever since.
Jirisan, the drama, is a story of a group of rangers who have dedicated themselves to prorect and preserve the mountain as well the people associated with it. The major plot about the drama is the horrifying deaths caused by accidents that happen back to back in the premise, leading to investigation by the rangers who can't help but worry. Along with it what we see are, realistic events that takes place on mountain ranges at different timelines of a year. That includes, natural disasters affecting the mountain, maintenance of law & order on the mountain, life of people living or relying on the mountain, etc. They have also portrayed the legends & myths related to Mount Jiri,
special attractions of the nature, different religious as well as memorial spots and mysteries of the montain.
Note: Jirisan is semi-supernatural and also involves mystery, investigative thriller, violence a lil amount of dystopia. It has in fact lived upto the mystery genre and I am very much impressed with how they kept the mystery buried till the finale week. Actually, the writer throws enormous hints since 10th ep so that we can pinpoint the real culprit behind the entire tragedy but it also keeps diverting from one to other, a lot, thereby confusing the audience a great deal. Although one person becomes the primary focus, attracting all the suspicions towards themselves but not until the finale week you are answered the questions. So the writer has done a very good job in that regard, no wonder she's a legend.
One of the main elements used in Jirisan is immense time shuffling. Not that they're spontaneously continuous, but there are chances you might get irritated by it. Personally I wasn't bcs It didn't confuse me at all. So to explain you briefly, the present timeline in the drama is the early Summer in 2020, which is about 40% of the drama's runtime. The major scenario with a share of about 50% takes place from late summer of 2017 till the mid winter or the end of 2019. The rest 10% goes to the backstory of the characters, involving unfortunate events, that takes place in different timelines between 1991- 2010.
Seo Yi Gang (Jun Ji Hyun) is the best amont the Jirisan rangers and capable of everything to a extent that she's considered a legend. She has always wanted to run away from the mountain but always found her back. Kang Hyun Joo (Joo Ji Hoon), is an ex-Lieutenant at military who left the army after a sad incident on the mountain and decided to protect the mountain. Now he's a rookie ranger. Yi Gang and Hyun Joo are partners and with their abilities they brings the best out of their job.
Captain Jo De Jin (Sung Dong Il) is the chief of Haedong Branch Office who has been working there since his rookie days. Jung Gu Young (Oh Jung Se) is also a ranger at Haedong and a close friend to Yi Gang. Park Il Hae (Jo Han Chul) is the team leader of rangers and recruited at Bidam shelter. Lee Yang Sun (Joo Min Kyung) is the office control room head. Kim Woong Soon (Jung Suk Ho) is the in-charge at Jirisan sub-police station. The major cast consists of these characters who are the parts of all the above mentioned timelines. Another major character is Lee Da Won (Go Min Si) who is only there in 2020 as a rookie ranger.
Some good actors in other minor characters are: Lee Moon Ok (Kim Young Ok) as Yi Gang's grandmother, Kim Sol (Lee Ga Sub) as the Culture Centre researcher, Lee Sae Wook (Yoon Ji On) as Yang Sun's cousin, Kim Kye Hee (Joo Jin Moo) as the National Chief of Mountain Rangers and Dr. Yoon Su Jin (Kim Gook Hee) as the conservation centre researcher.
The production value of Jirisan is on another level and that's obviously because the PD-Jakka duo are highly skilled. Not just because they're the makers of several highly acclaimed dramas, the quality of this drama in terms of the technical aspects speaks very loud of it, I can assure you that. Kim Eun Hee jakkanim with her experience in the field of both dystopian supernaturals and investigative mystery thrillers, has done an amazing job in writing the entire script as well as incorporating several essentially intriguing elements into the story. The plot development was quite pleasing, if not something wow-ish. Lee Eung Bok PDnim is a very familiar name and has experiences of working in all kinds of dramas, so that clearly shows here. I'm sure the extensive time shuffling would have been difficult for the screenplay but he has managed it well.
Cinematography is an area which was stupendously managed in the drama. In fact, the immensely beautiful premise of Mount Jiri provided the team enormous scope to work on and bring the best out of it. Loved the different Kind of habitats, waterfalls, major cliffs of Mt. Jiri., the hiking routes, dense forests as well as meadows and also the frictional manmade visiting spots. The colour palettes were also well executed. For a matter of fact, they've also used both CGI and VFX in many scenes, because obviously it's not that easy to shoot thr entire thing on mountain. The VFX is literally a brownie point to the dramas quality, whereas, the CGI is a bit shabby which is quite visible, but I won't say it's that bad to cut points from the drama, so yeah!
Despite everything, I somehow find myself a bit disappointed with the music of the drama; not that they're bad but the OSTs must be able to match with the moods & vibes of a drama, which didn't happen in this case, ngl. I, however, like them as individual tracks but 60% of the entire album didn't feel like they were composed for this drama. Gaemi is a master composer and known to be one of the best music director of Korea but his skills didn't work somehow. (Note: this entire paragraph is a personal opinion so can't really say whether someone else thinks the otherwise.)
Anyways, my favs are
"Always with You" by Paul Kim
"Destiny" by Kim Feel
"Yours" by Jin (BTS)
"Stay" by O3ohn
"Little Garden| by Taeyeon (SNSD)
The sound production for the screenplay, however, is accurately done to give off the proper vibes at respective scenarios; especially for the thrilling suspense scenes plus the scenes showing Mt. Jiri's beautiful premise.
What I loved the most about Jirisan is the portrayal of the life of rangers through picturization. Their dedication towards the well-being of the mountain, while helping the people who visit the mountain for different purposes as well as preserving the natural resources that belong to it. They have accurately addressed all kinds of problems that the rangers face during work. One of those is forest fire and the ways to tackle it as well as the after effects. Another one is flood induced by heavy rain, rescue work during it and the destruction is also shown. I loved how these 2 things were thoroughly studied and picturized well by giving them appropriate runtimes
Overally, Jirisan is a good drama though it had some flaws (that is why 7.5). It was anticipated to becone one of the best because of the star-studded cast and the makers, which it couldn't be. Despite that, it's wrong it say that it's a failure. Given the production value, acting and cinematograph y, this is a fair one time watch.
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A realistic and modern approach to love and healing.
This drama ain't your fluffy romantic love story full of cliche tropes but a modern and realistic one where both the leads have their own career, goals and views towards life. One is a town's boy who wants to live a slow and peaceful life while the other is a city girl with high ambitions and dreams.Both are different from each other and have their own baggage they carry within them while one is physically affected, the other is mentally. The leads have good chemistry and is shown through their teasing and lowkey flirting with each other. Things are kept at a good pace and aren't draggy.
One thing about this drama is that not everyone will like FL's character as some will find her selfish and annoying which she is too some extent and that she keeps on hurting ML's feelings which she does but then again this was never a drama with two perfect people. It has been more about two people, each having their own baggage and different way of living end up liking each other and seeing whether things work out or not. It is quite realistic and modern approach to love.
It is a good watch if you are looking something different and relatable type of a drama.
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