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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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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1Birds of a feather.
The second part of Love Like the Galaxy 月升沧海 (The Moon Rises over the Ocean) is shades darker as Cheng Shaoshang struggles to open her heart and mind while Ling Buyi's secrets and inner demons are revealed. Their romance plays out in the bosom of the royal family, where Shaoshang blossoms under Empress Xuan's affection and tutelage. This subjects our golden couple to much envy and political intrigue.Shaoshang of Part 1 is disappointingly over empathetic and likeable. Shaoshang of Part 2 is immature and frustrating to the point of being dislikeable, This is exactly how she is meant to be depicted and the portrayal I was waiting for. So I must applaud Zhao Lusi for so daringly rendering Shaoshang as a difficult, often petty, unforgiving, vengeful child woman who wallows most unbecomingly in self pity. As an unloved child, Shaoshang is terrified of love. While she tries to figure out what she wants in a partner, she puts up all kinds of walls and clings to any excuse to not allow Ling Buyi in. She is her own worst enemy, fighting happiness every step of the way. Ling Buyi's infinite patience and indulgence of her is so hot anyone else would have succumbed to raging hormones in short order. Not Shaoshang though. She knows her worth and digs in her heels to demand to be an equal partner in every sense and meaning of that term. While highly usual for a woman of that time, it resonates with modern audiences for obvious reasons.
There aren't really good villains in this drama. That is because Ling Buyi is such a chilling character that he is already as close to a villain as can be. He is a man with a secret, one whose entire raison détre is to uncover the master mind behind the Gu City massacre and to avenge the Huo clan. He did not expect to fall for anyone and certainly not Shaoshang. He meant it when he said they were on different paths. On many occasions he merely eases her way with the intent of letting her go but never quite succeeds. He loves her selflessly and indulges her worst instincts, especially her vengefulness. Hence Yuan Shen's blinding epiphany that Buyi and Shaoshang are birds of a feather. They are rebellious and vengeful eye for an eye kind of people who can't tell the difference between a chicken and a duck. They are also at surface cold, unforgiving even selfish but in truth feel deeply. I find Wu Lei's acting in Part 2 more natural and compelling. He is such a patient, warm and tender person but only for Shaoshang. This is utterly different from the cold-hearted, calculating general who is a borderline psychopathic killer to his enemies. Wu Lei's combat scenes are simply the best. The aesthetic camera angles and gorgeous choreography brilliantly captures his stunning athleticism and graphic, muscular, ferocity that is capable of mowing down an entire battalion.
For me, Empress Xuan is the true hero of this story. As much as I enjoyed Buyi and Shaoshang's journey, it is her story and that of Wen-di and Consort Yue that I find so much more complex and moving. Told with epigrammatic dark humor that dulls the edges of their pain and sacrifice, they are nonetheless imprisoned by values that are bigger than themselves. While Consort Yue lashes out with wit and acerbity, Empress Xuan suffers in dignified silence. Do not be angry with Shaoshang for finding it so difficult to forgive Buyi. Although his cause is just and the outcome serves the greater good, it cost Empress Xuan everything. Shaoshang's first unselfish, grown up act is to accompany her, to atone for what Buyi did and for how she unknowingly helped him. That is what devastates her as much as Buyi reneging on his promise to her. Buyi knows and understands this. Without Empress Xuan's forgiveness and generosity of spirit, they may not have found a way to forgive themselves and each other. Her love is truly like the galaxy in its vastness and selflessness. The galaxy owes it to her to make sure she and Wen-di do not meet again.
In terms of storytelling, very much like Part 1, Part 2 wastes too much time on too many delusional love sick women who conspire against the lovers. This comes at the cost of the storytelling. which towards the end suffers from heavy cuts and sloppy editing. As a result, characters like Lou Ben and Tian Shuo are not properly fleshed out and I did not feel that invested in either the Peng Kun or Guo Village arcs, which feel rushed. When they could have simply omitted both the Fifth Princess and Luo Ji Tong's arcs which were superfluous to the plot. It also underscores how nasty, dumb and divorced from reality the vast majority of the women in this drama are. I really do not like this type of misogynistic and cynical depiction of womenkind. Even though the ending is very satisfying, especially when it comes to the character stories, the unfolding of the plot which we waited way too long for is not well done. Considering the stunning production values, it is a shame if they do not go back and re-edit it with some of the cut footage into a Director's Cut.
All things considered, I enjoyed this beautifully written drama immensely. I find Part 2 slightly better than Part 1 and am pleased to rate the drama in its entirety and Part 2 on a standalone basis a 9.0, better than my 8.5 rating for Part 1 by itself.
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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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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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Top-notch production that leaves you craving for more!
The scenery in this drama is simply breathtaking, especially the Jifeng Pavillion with its elegant woodwork and raining white petals that look almost like snow. The costumes, action scenes and CGI are also on point. I'm genuinely impressed with the high-quality production.It has a very similar feel to Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and The Journey of Flower, which were also directed by Lin Yu Fen, perhaps a little darker and less fantasy-like. And just in case you're wondering, Pearl Eclipse is pretty much stand-alone so no need to watch the others in the Novoland series beforehand.
The drama starts off with a master-disciple relationship between Fang Jianming and Fang Haishi that would soon blossom into a bittersweet and forbidden romance, where they're destined to meet but still restrained in many ways. It's not supposed to be a straightforward love, but rather the slow-burn and somewhat tormenting type. Yet, this is what makes those rare moments of sweetness even more precious. Personally, I find that the real charm of this show lies in its maturity and character development. But do get prepared, because you'll be taken on one crazy rollercoaster ride!
Yang Mi is literally in her element here playing a strong, cross-dressing FL. Despite the age difference, she still pulls off the role of the playful yet smart and daring young master Haishi very naturally. I think having Yang Mi doing her own dubbing really helps as well, so all credits to her. And those intense fighting scenes radiate some serious badass FL energy. I nearly forgot to breathe watching her shoot archery while spinning 360 on horseback! As she becomes Madam Pearl, we get to see Haishi swapping her boyish charms for a more mature and elegant persona, highlighting the different phases of her life. I particularly love her sibling bickering with Zhouying, they're such a hilarious comedy duo. But as much as they would tease each other, you can also feel their deep sibling bond and how they always have each other's back, especially Zhouying being the caring big brother that he is.
I'm going to be honest here, it took me a couple of eps to warm up to William Chan as Fang Jianming. I found his hairstyle a bit flat and awkward at first but I've grown fond of it gradually. He's graceful and calm normally but also fierce and intimidating when the occasion calls for it. I love how he's so protective of his disciples despite the cold front and prefers to selflessly suffer in silence, like all our favourite C-drama kuuderes (ahem... Ye Hua, Bai Zi Hua, Zhou Sheng Chen just to name a few). However, he's way too loyal and devoted to the Emperor that it's almost to a fault. It makes me often wonder whether they should just marry each other... Oh wait, they kind of did with the Baixi oath, where Fang Jianmiang has to act as a body double and shoulder all the injuries that befall Emperor Xu. This is surely not the 'love triangle' I had quite expected. Poor Haishi, it looks like she'll have a very fierce rival to beat, the bromance.
We're also greeted with another 2 couples along the way: Emperor Xu and Tilan, Zhuoying and Zheliu. While the fates of all 6 characters are very much intertwined, each couple still has its own pace and storyline.
The Emperor... sometimes I just want to reach across the screen and slap him hard. The guy can be so exasperating at times. His attitude towards Tilan at the beginning is uncalled for, regardless of his past suffering. As a ruler, Emperor Xu is not greedy or evil but he's not exactly empathetic or prudent either. Fortunately, his temperament does get much better and I quite like his 'passionate' bromance with Fang Jianming, as complicated as it may be. On the other hand, Tilan is portrayed as kind and supportive but I do find her character a bit weak sometimes. I guess her being a "caged bird", restricted by her royal upbringing and female status, serves as a contrast to Haishi who's "free" like a falcon having been raised as a boy in the imperial secret force.
Zhuoying and Zheliu is that one couple that you can never get enough of. I love how sweet and innocent their love is. It's adorkable seeing Zhouying gets all shy and love-struck in front of Zheliu, and then getting teased by Haishi for it. I kind of wish this couple has more screen time because the other 2 couples can get a bit too heavy at times.
I don't think there's much to say for the OSTs. I mean you open with Zhang Bichen and end with Zhou Shen, 2 of the best historical OST singers out there, so nothing can't go wrong. And the lyrics are so poetic and fit the story really well. Overall, it's a solid show with great cinematography and many unpredictable twists and turns. If you enjoy a good historical drama and not afraid to put your heart on the line, then this gem is for you.
FAVOURITE QUOTES:
"In our line of duty, people could die any minute. Every time we parted, it could be forever. So, I’m not afraid of death. I’m afraid that [Master] push me away or let me go.” Fang Haishi
"I don’t want [Haishi] to follow in my footsteps or take my path. She can’t be another Fang Jianming because I know better than anyone how painful that is. I don’t regret living like this but I hope the one I love can lead a normal and happy life.” Fang Jiangming
"[Emperor Xu] is my best friend. He is more important than my life. I took an oath to be faithful to him." Fang Jiangming
“All these years, others all think I’ve been tolerating Xu or even indulging him, but the truth is, I just want to protect him. The tougher he looks on the outside, the softer he is on the inside… as an emperor, he couldn’t share his pain with anyone.” Fang Jiangming
“Jianming, I’ve never expected you to be a loyal official. All I want is for you to live a carefree and happy life.” Emperor Xu
"Jianming, don’t underestimate Fang Haishi's feelings for you. Even if I don’t tell her, she knows you’re in a tough spot and she will do everything to protect you.” Emperor Xu
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Mood: Niceeeee, mehh, okay...
The number of letters in each word that my title bears, is how I felt throughout the show. I know that's a funny way to interpret but I don't think the drama was that biggie to become very serious about. Skillfull FL living a pathetic life, talented ML living in shadows, him coming to rescue the FL, a tragic past surfacing, temporary breakup, etc. and then a happy ending.Produced by 'Blitzway Studios', "Love All Play" is a melo-romance cum sports drama which, natively titled as 너에게 가는 속도 493km (literally, 'The Speed to You is 493km). Written by Heo Sung Hye and directed by Jo Woong, the show was broadcasted on KBS2 while internationally distributed on Disney+.
The story follows the journey of a badminton company YUNIS, primarily focusing on bonding and relationship between the members, particularly the leads who go through thick & thins of life off the court, as a reflection of choices and decisions. The major plotlines of the story include the development of love lives between several couples as well as a huge accident of the past involving the leads. Notably, the drama doesn't really have the sport of badminton as it's major device, so don't expect to see a lot of it.
Park Tae Yang (Park Ju Hyun) was a former badminton prodigy who had run away for years following bribery rumours. Park Tae Joon (Chae Jong Hyeop) was naturally attracted to the sports who despite his skills have never been serious about himself. Yook Jung Hwan (Kim Moon Joo) is a star badminton player in the national athletic team with a huge fan-following. (Lee Yu Min) Seo Ji Hye is a member at Somang Bank badminton company. Park Jun Young (Park Ji Hyun) is Tae Joon's sister and a former badminton star.
In order to avoid any further spoiler, I am only mentioning the familiar faces in the show, which include: Jo Han Chul, In Gyo Jin, Lee Seo Hwan, Choi Seung Young, Jo Soo Hyang, Jeon Bae Soo, Lee Ji Hyun and Lee Doo Shik. The acting was okay-okay in overall though many of the characters are very unlikable.
Plot development...The plotline never had a goal to begin with, nor I was expecting, but the first half tended to focus on chemistry development between different couples, esp the leads. It was fluffy, cute and radiated smiles, as a basic romance story should. Similarly, the court scenes involving stupendous matches were surely revering, and I understand why most of the people including me, ended up expecting more of it, throughout. Unfortunately, the makers had different plans, which they'd been subtly indicating from the beginning though that was quite arduous to notice.
It becomes both slow and shoddy as soon as the 9th episode, where a major twist takes place. The thing that I hated the most was the dragging and exaggeration of a particular matter, involving a past accident, for 4 long episodes. No, it wasn't a slowburn segment and not like they were sticking to only that but for the whole story, it was needless to showcase the overstated emphasis, as if it were the main plot device; this lengthy portrayal was annoying. However, I was glad, the last 4 episodes escalated back to the original form and the recovery to damage was carefully done, to an extent, if not entirely. The way things changed in 13th episode was mesmerizing and 14th episode was a mixed bag of everything.
Toxic parenting and it's consequences: these 2 are the most takeaway home notes from this drama I believe, though the portrayal was frustrating and angering, bcs it should be. Let's not forget that reality is even worse. Burdening your child to aim and achieve to the highest point and attempting to extract out your happiness from that, and then latter turning that into obsession, these are very toxic. Blackmailing, gaslighting, forcing, emotionally abusing, sabotaging them from inside, etc. that we saw in this drama were in fact, shown for longer period unnecessarily, but let's learn from that too.
Having watched only 2 previous works, I am not really familiar with Heo Sung Hye jakkanim's writing patterns, but in easier words, I didn't like one and the other one which was lovable, became sloppy by the end. Coming to this drama, while I believe, they were able to draw a plotline which would be appreciated, with elements put forward with clear intentions, at the same time, they failed to establish any memorable profundity in the characters and bring the best out of them. The pilot episode that started with nothing noteworthy to offer, slowly turned into lots of court scenes, followed by the basic romance, which was cute. The very interval of the drama (ending lf 8th & beginning of 9th) enmarks the start point of a shoddy job. I can't say it was turned into a trash, but I didn't like it. The remarkable job is, in fact, done in case of dialogues; comforting, healing, motivating, inspiring and striking, each at their times.
Seemingly rookie director Jo Woong PDnim is, in fact, the maker of 2 heavily-plotted dramas, proving his worth in the job. However, "Love All Play" as a mild and basic drama with nothing remarkable, didn't suit his usual expertise, at least that's how I personally feel. I can't really specify any particular flaw with the direction of the show, but it bothered me at times, how certain things were jotted down and affixed and even annexed to represent the foregone stories of the characters. Otherwise, things like screenplay, screen-editing, scenario setup, etc. has been moderately handled. There is no extraordinary camerawork and no essence to cinematographic tools. The modern urban and suburb setups were greatly fitting though.
Composed by Park Se Joon, the OSTs, however, have aced the list. Truly, they are fantastic, mesmerizing and very much likable to a great extent. There are 10 OSTs in total.
# "There, There" by Baek a Yeon is melancholic softbeat track depicting regrets of letting someone go.
# "Secret" by Yun DDanDDan is a jolly track of first encounters and arcane feelings of love.
# "Flyin" by KEVIN that starts with an intriguing prelude, is a jovial song showing fluffy and cute moments in a relationship.
# In Jinho's touching soft voice, "Keep This Momemt" is a song of expressing your fondness.
# "When the door opens" by JT&MARCUS is used as the opening theme song which is an overwhelming track about one's passion and love for what they do. It's awfully energising and encouraging.
# "The distant future" by Jeon Sang Keun is a melancholic track depicting lingering affections and the pain of parting ways. The lyrics is so heartbreaking.
# "By your side" by 451 is a reminiscent track and got a very shooting melo.
Other tracks are...
# "Don't walk away" by LISA
# "Something" by SongSun
# "Time" by Park Janghyun
# "My own season" by Park Ju Hyun
# "Diamond" by Yong Hoon
# "Here you are" by Lylian
What i liked...
# The relationship between Tae Yang and Tae Joon as couples, from childhood friends to lovers, was something you can't help but fall in love with. The way the chemistry and bonding between them grew close and the way they supported each other, pushing their partners up the ladder, was both fun, emotional and gladdening at the same time.
# On that note, Junghwan and Yumin couple was also cute and fun.
# I can't say there is any definite sign of bromance here, but the bittersweet interaction between main leads, as well as thw guys in the show was fun. The same goes with the bonding between the girls.
# Seungwoo, the character had me intrigued from his very first appearance and though he didn't have an extraordinary journey or granding ending, it was gratifying and relieving to just see him.
# The slice of life elements incorporated came unexpected. Yeah! Most of the Kdramas has soft and meaningful sides to them but the show definitely goes beyond the typical amount. It was mainly reflected through the character thoughts of Park Tae Yang.
# Oh! The dialogues... I never thought this show of basic essence will have such provoking and thought-inducing dialogues that could be relatable to many of us. Kudos to the writer for this.
# The visuals have definitely been served and 80% was carried out by Chae Jong Hyeop, without any doubt. It was flitting to see so many young and handsome guys with athletic physique and their sports tracks, haha.
# Many points about sportsmanship that's been thrown shades upon, were absolutely applauding. From victories to celebration, loses to failures, from injuries to retirement and from an athletic spirit to mental health issues, everything has been portrayed in a positive light.
What I didn't like...
# The worst thing about the show was 9-12 episodes. These 4 long episodes were the most frustrating and angering as the writer attempts to drag a case throughout. I admit and understand that the particular incident and it's consequences were an important part of the story, but it felt unnecessary to give it the screentime it didn't deserve. It could have been 14 episodes if the matter persisted for only 2 eps.
# The character arcs for even the main roles weren't very prominent and impressive. PTY and PTJ exhibit some shades of naturalness and modernity but I feel that wasn't enough. The sloppy sketches and insufficient exposure led to the downfall of some while some others weren't even enjoyable.
# I understand this wasn't entirely about the game, badminton, but I would have loved if it were. Having watched another badminton drama recently, which wasn't really entirely about the sports but had lots of it anyways, I couldn't help but compare it with that. Also, the matches in the first half fueled my expectations, just to be crushed in the latter half.
Final remarks... I honestly won't say it is an underrated drama or a must watch thing, even so it did feel decent and is smoothly executed. The first half (8eps) was surely amazing, followed by 4 episodes that went downhill while trying to exaggerate one event unnecessarily, and then the last 4 episodes did give some relief by doing some post-damage recovery. It's q fair one time watch and should be given a try when you're craving something light.
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This review may contain spoilers
I had no idea what to expect going into it. And the little things I did expect were completely shut down. I don’t know if I’m just not yet used to the format/style of Taiwanese dramas, but it felt weird to me.But I liked it. I'm so torn about what to rate it, I keep going back and forth between 7.5 and 8. It's like a 7.8
There’s just something about it that kept me watching.
I started watching when there were already eleven episodes out. I kept telling myself, “This is a good place to stop. I’ll do something else, I’ll go to sleep, and I’ll finish tomorrow” and then I’d finish the episode and hit the next button and the process would continue until I was caught up with the lives.
Here’s the thing: you have to watch this drama with an open mind. I’m sorry, but I could not take the plot seriously. It was pretty predictable, and, I know this is a korean term, but it was a makjang drama. I don’t know how else to describe it. It was so weird and cheesy and over-dramatic, but I found it funny and enjoyable. If you go into the drama expecting some serious movie-like mob drama, you will be disappointed.
It was so freaking cheesy. Like every possible cliche happened within the first episode. The entire drama was like this, but it didn’t bother me because I thought it was hilarious. I know some people get annoyed with cliches though, so I’m letting everyone know now.
Also, part of the reason I couldn’t take it seriously from the beginning was because everything happened so fast. Like a whole episode’s worth (or two) of plot set-up happened within the first like ten minutes? It moved really fast and it was really extreme. But don’t stop watching because of this.
Also there were some little details with the plot that bugged me. For example: not putting someone into dry clothes when they have hypothermia, a person who just had surgery walking around without crutches. The birth. But whatever, I’m a nit-picky person.
One thing that made me really happy was that Megan actually looked like a guy. The stylists did a really good job. It was the first time I’ve seen a gender-bender drama where the girl convincingly looked like a guy. Also, she blew me away with her acting. She did a really good job at acting like she grew up living like a boy. Her posture and the way she walked were so convincing.
The romance was so enjoyable, they had fantastic chemistry together. And they had so many amazing kisses! Like a ton of them! Passionate ones! The main lead was nice from the start, and was a genuinely good and caring guy. I am now a fan of Baron Chen.
There are some issues I had with the drama, I won't go too deep into them because most of them contain spoilers. Basically I docked points from the rating because of some issues I had with the plot and some of the acting. I thought the cast had great chemistry together, but the things that should have been taken seriously, I couldn't take seriously. However, overall I enjoyed it, which is saying something coming from a person who doesn’t really like gender-benders.
What really made me happy about this drama was that there was never any homophobia. “As long as two people genuinely love each other, does it matter who the partner is?” Like damn, the messages in this drama were so good, I’m kind of wishing they were actually gay to make a stronger point. The message still came across strong, and not just through our leads, but through the other couples too.
This was a fun drama, and despite the issues I had, I’m glad I watched it.
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This review may contain spoilers
It went from excellent to bad to worse in no time.
Let me start off by saying I really dig Korean BLs because they usually have simple plots, which is pretty much the standard most of the time (don't take this as a negative; I'm complimenting). That's exactly why I was so excited to watch this series. For the first five episodes? Solid 9.0 or 9.5, no doubt. But man, did things take a turn for the worse in the last 2-3 episodes. By the time episode 7 rolled around, I was just trying to finish it off, not because I was excited, but more because I'd already invested so much time into it.Let's talk about Se Heon and Do Yoon for a sec. These guys seem to have a talent for picking the biggest red flags around (Yes, Tae Yi is a major red flag; argue with the wall). Do Yoon's whole "I'll still love you even if you bully me" with Joo Ha? What stupidity! Then there's Se Heon, who forgives Tae Yi way too quickly after he S/A him. I mean, even if you want to argue that it wasn't the case, Tae Yi's response was not how a normal, rational person would react.
I gave it an overall rating of 6.5 because I don't rate any series below 5, and for the most part, it was enjoyable. It started off strong but dropped the ball towards the end. Let's just say it left me scratching my head. Honestly, I was hoping for A LOT better.
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Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area - Part 1
79 people found this review helpful
Remake does the orignal justice
Although this was a remake of la casa de papel (money heist) it certainly does do the series justice in my opinion. I've watched and i am half spanish so when i heard there was gonna be a remake i thought ehhhhh i don't know if this is the right move by netflix because i thought the Spanish version was always gonna be the best however after watching the remake i think that the korean version of this show is as good as the original spanish version of the show. Certainly worth the watch even if u have already seen the original, there are some key differences in this remake to the original which makes the series a lot more exciting than you'd expect. I've noticed from the negative reviews that most people dropped the show within the first or second episode, all i can say to that is that if u give the show the chance and watch it fully it will grow on you and the unique storylines will certainly catch your attention here.Was this review helpful to you?
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1This review may contain spoilers
A Mature Storyline
I had not expected , I thought this would be same Thai traditional cheesy BL story but I was wrong . Gmmtv did a great job .Disclaimer - I wrote this review according to my own thoughts . This review may contain spoilers . It will be change according to the upcoming episodes .
Story - Po , a heartbroken soul , was wondering a good job but everytime for being honest he failed at the interview . He recently broke up with his partner ( Earn ) and tried to heal his broken soul . He suddenly got a job at a big entertainment company and he was tasked with documenting a boy group's ( MARS ) final concert before their disbandment . Thame ( the leader of MARS ) about to make a solo debut in South Korea for a misunderstanding with his bandmates .
Impression - A mature and emotional story . The way the actors expressed every details ,is excellent . Thame and Po , both of them were trying to understand their hearts with each other's companion . The cinematography and visuals are top tier . As William is here then the music must be good , yes his beautiful voice stole our heart . The intro was so beautiful , one of the best intro I ever seen .
Overall - Try one episode , you will understand . I am giving 10/10 .
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