Reviews

This is for adult viewers or people who want more than just fantasy IN MEMORIAM for YML

This is a romance between races, but also tragic story of self-sacrifice. Most folks will hate the ending, but for me it was a world better than The Love Between Fairy and Devil!
From the first episode I was spell-bound. Considering I am not a big fan of fantasy this was one of the best I had seen in general and the best of 2024. Why? Consistent production. Great editing. Fun costumes, awesome color palette. Solid acting. Good story and interesting characters. Music and the lyrics! But what beats Burning Flames and Love Game for me was complex subtext of this story. The whole idea of animosity between two groups is nothing new but I have not seen anything like this before. I admit I only saw 350+ dramas, but this script was smart inside out. I was raised during the era of post-communist regime in the country where we could not openly speak of the tragedies and terror around us, so we developed an artistic, metaphoric way of communicating our observations, dissent and longings. I loved this drama because of how it spoke to that.
Now that we all know how much suffering YML had gone through in his career and how horribly he had died - being the hero of this drama is truly a memorial to his courage to persevere, love for who and what he loved and eternal sadness that he left us in. I never thought that this drama would be the last of his main roles released in his lifetime. I am going to look for Traditional Chinese Medicine that hopefully will be released soon just to see him again - as a healer.
If you are looking for an easy, HE romance, nah. Skip it. If you want a good story that is visually beautiful and filled with wisdom - give it a try. Or watch it just to honor the great person that Yu Meng Long was.

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P A I N O F M A Y Beautiful, Heartbreaking and Bittersweet

The Story is either too cliche for you or not. It depends on your taste..... Forbidden Love, Richman/Poorwoman is my cup of tea because I like how it makes me cried and this Drama have it. Didn't expect too much with this but Dammnnn it was so painful from the Start till the end. But it's not only that The Writers did an amazing job making it different from most of cliche K-dramas.

This Drama is set in May 1980 when Martial Law happened in the City of Gwangju, South Korea. And the Love Story that blooms from the Youth. I really like the idea and execution. We can see that they put a lot of effort to make it realistic as possible.

Hwang Hee Tae is not your typical Male Lead but his life is too cliche for a K-drama because of his cruel Father.
Lee Do Hyun is pretty hype actor. He is not bad but not Wow also maybe I should watch him in 18 Again. He is actually good and natural actor

Kim Myung Hee is your Strong and Weak Female Lead. I just can't describe her Characteristics but I like how she knows to stand on her own foot however sometimes it felt so cruel for her Father.
Go Min Si played her role Okay. I'm impressed with her in The Smile has left your eyes but she seems off in this one maybe because it's her first time playing FL but I swear she can do better.

Lee Soo Ryeon who despite being wealthy desperately fights for social justice and feels responsible. To be honest I didn't hate her like everyone do.
Geum Sae Rok is the weakest out of all the Cast. She needs a lot of improvement and so far I can only see her playing Second Lead Role.

I have Love at first heard with the music. Starry Night by Ryeowook is so good I even downloaded it on my phone. It's my type of Music and the melody is too I also love the lyrics. I'm quite disappointed that they didn't used it in other emotional scenes.

Things to prepared if you're going to watch it.
1. WIKIPEDIA
- You might search about Gwangju Uprising while watching it.
2. COFFEE
- There's so many parts that is boring and draggy so I think you need to prepare it.
3. TISSUE
- 50 meters of tissue will do but only if you are are easy crier.

Overall, Youth of May is really great and underrated but can't say it's a Masterpiece. I hate it and I love it but remember Love can overpower hate so Yeah, I love this Drama afterall. The Drama is good in many ways however it felt so repetitive
I like You
Let's Date
I don't like you anymore
I love you
I want to spend time with you
I don't love you anymore
I still love
I'm scared of you
Let's break
You are Back
After those scene it's like nothing happened. They're like strong couple lmao

English is my Third Language so Sorry if it's bad but I will try my Best to improve it.
Thank You for reading my Review^^ I hope you enjoyed the Drama. I'm very sad it ended :( It's the first K-drama I finished while airing.

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It is hard for me to pinpoint how I feel about this drama. It had a lot going on for it but also had a lot of flaws. It had some of the most beautifully shot and memorable scenes, yet so much of the drama was filled with skippable fluff.

The setting of the drama is what initially attracted me. At the turn of the century, it is an important time for Joseon, where their fate for the next few decades, even up to our day and age, would be determined during that time. One of the themes that were emphasized in this drama is the injustices some Koreans went through at the hands of their people, especially due to hierarchy. This resulted in many people with a grudge against their own country, especially against the nobles.

Another very strong point about this drama is the character development. Other than the Japanese antagonistic, and the depiction of some traitors, many of the characters were given layers and layers, that you can't help but feel for. Of course, it all bloomed thanks to the talented actors behind it. Starting with Kim Tae Ri playing the character with a mission Go Ae Shin. This character could've easily become overbearing (think Gaksital FL), yet here she remains constant. As the story goes on, you can't help but be driven by her plight. And that is what happened with all 4 other leads. Eugene Choi on the other hand is the character I connected with the most. The feeling of not belonging to neither country can be lonely. You see him struggle daily trying to understand where he stands. I admired how he never felt ashamed of his origin and felt for his pain and grudge against those who caused it. Then you see his grudge falter as he is met with people that kept challenging the preconceived notion of his birthplace. Lee Byung Hun really gave his all for this character, especially towards the end.

Watching Yoo Yeon Seok after seeing him in "Hospital playlist" it is difficult to accept that is the same person. Looks aside, his character is the most pitiful and toxic. He has no problem slicing anyone in half if they got on his wrong side, yet he won't hesitate to protect them if he sees anyone being unfairly treated. The most tragic character is Kudo Hina / Lee Yang Hwa played by Kim Min Jung. Having been sold off previously like some commodity really shaped her personality. She is all about being in control, however, the one thing she could never control is the action of her parents. This breaks her time and again throughout the drama. You can also sense the sadness in her eyes. Finally, Kim Hui Sung played by Byun Yo Han was the main reason for me for starting this drama. He was the actual sunshine here. His smile lightened my day, even when you could feel the heavy burden behind it.

Of course, what made this drama memorable is a large number of supporting characters. Gunner Jang was a character I followed and rooted throughout. This story was as much his story, as it was Go Ae Sin's story of a man who rejected the leaders of his country but chose its people. He was the forever rebellious Jang. Another character that stood out is the king. He was frustrating for most of the drama, but as the story went on, you realize how helpless he felt, and how carefully he chose his actions to protect his people. Being in his place is the most crumbling experience. There were many more, too many interesting characters.

The horror of colonialism is really well exposed here. The actions the Japanese did makes you wonder if it was possible to lose one's humanity to this point. Now, I do not know if what was portrayed was exaggerated. Some instances couldn've been, while others not. However, I do know the dangers of collective brainwash. When being constantly fed on how those "other" people are less than you, your brain accepts it and you become desensitized. Seeing what my beloved Japanese people did was really conflicting. But that is the truth of becoming a colonizer. Though they suffer a lot later due to losing the war, I think that was a blessing in disguise. It helped them reflect on what they have become and change. That opportunity was never offered to those that never lost a war.

Action scenes were great overall, but especially the sword fights with Gu Dong Mae. The scenery was beautiful, and some scenes were haunting. The train scene will probably go down as one of the most beautiful scenes in my memory.

While the drama had all those great things going for it, it still took me so long to finish. I lost my motivation to watch due to the lack of direction for the story to take. Each episode was between 75 - 80 minutes, with much of it had the characters walking around and eating dessert. The actual story starts at around episodes 19-20. Yes, it took THAT long for the story to take off. That is too much fat needed to shed. There is also the mix of history and myths that bothered me, and no reasoning given for actions that took so long to be taken. For example, the Mori character made no sense. They used it to turn the Japanese colonization of Korea to be some family centuries-old conspiracy when this had nothing to do with the truth, nor the overall story. Just added drama that didn't amount to anything. The portrayal of America is also in the same vein. On one hand, it's treated like this paradise, only to be brought down to reality by our Korea-American hero. One line said really stood out:

"America & Britain lent Japan a total of $410 million dollars, and 40% of it is being spent on the war. The two countries basically forced Japan into the war. Hence, America will never help Joseon. The Russo-Japanese war will result in a great deal of profit for America”

The music was overall negligible, but there was some sweet background that brought peace to the scenes.

It was overall a good drama to watch if it wasn't for the dragginess. I do recommend it to all.

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Very Brutal....

I think it's after Witch, i saw a Movie which has so many violence sequences. It's not a new thing in the k movie world. But it's been some time since a movie like this out from korean and don't think that it's an easy going film. It's very brutal after some point also disturbing.

The whole story is happening on a ship. A ship with a bunch of criminals who was transferring From Philippine to korea. Started slowly but after some time some unusual things will fall under the place, from thereon it's horrible.

No story or screenplay or even performance stand before the violence. The way they captured those bloody Brutal and bloodsheding violence is unbelievable to watch. Very creepy and definitely 18+. So watch it own your risk. Surely you will get a different experience just like Witch Part 1

#N45views

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Was Love Worth It in the End?

Where do I even begin with this hot mess.

The drama centers on Hao Yu (Lu Zhao Hua), the police commissioner's foster daughter, who goes undercover in the criminal underworld for revenge. Along the way, she gets romantically tangled with mafia heir Ji Zhi Jie (Fan Zhi Xin). Her ex-lover, police officer Zhou Zi Heng (Li Jia Bing), conveniently reappears to "help" her. Or so it seems.

First of all, Hao Yu is the worst undercover informant I have ever seen. The signs were practically glowing neon for Ji Zhi Jie--she was not on the "up and up" with him in any way. Her excuses were weak, lies were weaker, and anyone with common sense could see she wasn't telling the truth. But he chose to ignore all of it. Because he loved her that much.

Seriously. No matter what happened, he always took her side.
1. He gets beat down who knows how many times.
2. He gets whipped for her.
3. He crawls on his knees on broken glass to get a key and save her when she's kidnapped.

But of course, she has to "keep up pretenses." She even takes a bullet for him, which convinces him she's fully committed. The signs were there, but he ignored every one of them. Even his closest confidante told him Hao Yu couldn't be trusted. So many people warned him, but he kept choosing to believe her.

And the ridiculousness continues--Zhou Zi Heng is a dirty cop working both sides: feeding information to the police and to the mafia boss who raised both him and Ji Zhi Jie. Naturally, Ji Zhi Jie knows absolutely nothing about any of this. Shocking right?

Finally -- finally -- when his man brings him photos and proof of all Hao Yu has done; he completely breaks down. He kills Zhou Zi Heng, pushes away everyone close to him, and turns into this dark, hardened version of himself. You'd think Hao Yu would exit stage left at that point. Nope. She sticks around because now she wants to bring him down.

Hao Yu had me on my last, last nerve. I don't understand why he didn't just leave her alone. She was truly pathetic. Her infiltration attempts were laughable -- she always got caught, and he always had to save her. That whining, the crying, the clothes, those nails...I simply could not.

Now let's talk about Fan. I love me some Fan. He acted his heart out. But how many times did he grab her by the neck and threaten to kill her? Countless. And yet, he never followed through. He told everyone to leave him because he wanted to take down the councilman, and he begged her over and over: "Don't believe what others say. Trust me." She never did.

He was never the monster they thought he was. He just wanted to end everything so the people he loved could finally live freely. If only she had trusted him -- no matter what.

To finally end things, he chose to become a kingpin because he needed everyone to believe he had turned into the world's worst villain, even though he hated the lies and the cruelty. Behind the scenes, he was working with the cops to make things right. He even met one of the officers to coordinate with Hao Yu. Eventually, the truth came out, and she finally learned who he really was -- someone trying to do the right thing all along.

He gave her so many signs and gestures...but in the end, he still died, saving her. He left so much to her. All his properties. Swiss bank account with money for the children from the orphanage he created for them to go to college.

She did finally understand how much he loved her when she read a note that fell from a book.
"I've knelt three times. The first time, I begged him to let you live. The second time, I begged for the right to die by your hand. The third time, to give thanks for meeting you."

Fan needs to start choosing better scrips. Go back to those Lethal Man style dramas. These recent ones are not doing him any favors. His acting is always solid, but this FL brought nothing to the table for me.

The turbulence never stopped -- because this relationship was doomed from the start.

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Don't have high expectations; good but not the best

Sinkhole, as I had expected, is nothing sort of very wow. Sure, it's a decent one time watch that keeps you stick to it till the very end, I couldn't find a reason it broke records in South Korea.

The primary concept of the movie is nothing new, i.e. house ownership issues in modern Seoul days. The fact it being disaster survival movie plus a very powerful cast had interested me a lot but as I watched it, I ended up disappointed with it in overall.

I mean I also admit it's a decent movie but my disappointment arises from the news of its box-office records plus the cast but the movie not being anything very nice. There is a high standard of survival thrillers when we consider the Korean Entertainment Industry and their movie production quality. So I am simply saying that Sinkhole failed to meet that line. Also, it felt a lil short, as in, the movie ends even before you realize.

Different families move to a newly built five storey building with their hard earned money only to end up in a sinkhole which no one was aware of. After a few months the entire building falls into the sinkhole early morning which was very unexpected and the number of people fall into it along with the apartment are 9. So the story is how they survive the fall and get rescued in ghr end, accompanied by their back stories which are only narrated from the character.

The basic plot is short yet decent with many momentary peak points which are extremely enthralling, and somrtimes emotional. And as usual, this also has things to learn from and take a note about. Instances that makes you cry; either it touches your heart or stab it with knife, are suitably accommodated in the story. The movie starts on plenty of comedy that lasts for almost 20mins and in fact there were funny instances in between too but it's not a comedy movie, keep that in mind. The survival movie is a mixture of many emotions which were perfectly executed.

Storywriter successfully delivered an up to par work and the direction is reasonable as well; no complaints in that regard. The cinematography and VFX work definitely deserve brownie points. The setup inside the sinkhole is pretty much real to give the actual vibes and the camera plus editing work is intriguing enough to catch attention. The sound editing is somewhat dull, ngl. The screenplay is okay but screenediting is below average, like that of a pre 2010 movie.

Do I even bother talk about acting? Definitely, they are very excellent actors and justified their roles in here but given their skills and capabilities, this movie is a bad choice.

# Kim Sung Kyun as Park Dong Won, a hardworking section chief and a loving family man who saved for 11 years to buy a flat
# Cha Seung Won as Dong Man Soo, a single father of highschool teen, doing multiple part-time jobs to make the ends meet
# Lee Kwang Soo as Kim Seung Hyun, a nomad worker, always stressed about his financial and relationship status
# Kim Hye Jun as Eun Joo, a hardworking intern who gives her best but mad about the rude seniors and coworkers.
# Nam Da Reum as Jung Seung Tae, a student, not interested in schooling but cares a great deal about father
# Ko Chang Suk as the rescue team captain
# Kim Hong Pa as Department Head Seo

The ending of the movie was super overwhelming, I gotta admit. The way these people use their mind to rescue each other during extremely dangerous moments and also manage to get out of the sinkhole using their little intellect and comprehension was amazing and makes you tear up even. It ends with a mini reuinon of the survivors after years and that was a jolly closure to the misery.

FINE... SINKHOLE is definitely a good one time watch which is kinda refreshing too and best for a weekend movie slot. Don't expect too much from it but I'm sure it pleases you to some extent. Happy watching.

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From Manga to Live Adaption, What you need to know.

For those people who listed this jdrama as their first jdrama, this is what you need to put in mind when it comes in watching a jdrama especially in this kind of genre- the romance and was adapted in a josei manga. The pacing of jdramas can either be slow paced or fast paced but nevertheless they can still managed to deliver such a profound plot. So if you like fast paced story with tons of kissing scenes plus adult themed-age gap relationship, then this drama is for you. This jdrama was adapted in a josei manga with the same title and for those people who had read the manga before the drama aires were very much aware on how fast paced and how huge the age gap was between the characters. Furthermore, as one of those people who had read the manga, all I can say was that this drama stayed true to the manga and if there is one more thing that they have changed in the drama is that they toned down Hase Kei age from 40 to 38 years old and the manga is much more, let us say much more steamy compared to the drama. One thing that I liked about this drama is how our main couple communicates so well which lead their relationship to grew healthier regardless of how fast paced the story went and how steamy their kissing scenes was. Another thing that I liked is how they respect one another. I really liked how they were both mature on handling things and there is no contracdictive party between them. As per the characters, Hase Kei was such a loving, respecting, caring and a decent boyfriend. Plus he communicates so well and for Momoko, Hase-san didnt lie when he said that he will protect Momoko at all cost cause this girl is a gem! I loved how caring Momoko was and she noticed immediately what seems to be the problem and she is very kind. As per the actors, all I can say was that they were both perfectly casted on their roles. If you've seen Renn in a romance drama before, he was actually good in acting our romance scenes naturally and he is good in kissing scenes! And Sakurako who plays Momoko had done a mature scene in one of her movies before and their age in real life blends well in the drama so as per this drama, all I can say was that they both nailed their roles and it really seems they were both comfortable in acting out their kissing scenes lol. Also, I've heard that some people were complaining on Renn being casted on this drama because he was "too young" for this role. Let me remind you that he is 36 in real life and his character supposed to look younger than his actual age so for this set up, he is compatible. Other than that, the characters supposed to have 15 or 16 years age gap and Renn and Sakurako have 13 years age gap in real life so please put in mind that they cannot find an actors who have or close to their age and fake their ages in the drama. Furthermore, I hope you will give this drama a try since this drama was released in a legal platform worldwide and the cast were hoping (especially Renn) that you will enjoy this drama. BONUS: Both of the soundtrack are superb and I really liked how close the cast seems in real life.

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Just finished watching this on Netflix.
I have to admit, I have scrolled past this one many times and never thought much of it, but today, having run out of dramas to watch, I finally pressed play.

I watched it all in one sitting and here's why:
*In the first episode it established the characters, and not only was the casting down right it paved the way to a really interesting body swapping story line. A teen girl & an arrogant top model.
*It addresses many of the issues if it was to really happen :) making it funny and not too outrageous in an already outrageous situation.
*The cast played their characters well, didn't have a moment where I thought "er.... really?" on top of that the humour was well written. Not too cheesy, just enough.
*I won't spoil the ending but I am so glad it ended how it did, no weird drag outs. It ended with full closure for us.

I only scored low for the music because in dramas the music is important to me, and in this one, I didn't really notice it, no memorable song, nothing. I may have to rewatch to listen out for it. For myself, I generally fall in love with the OST and go on to research the songs but not with this series.

It's a short series compare to what I normally watch, but I definitely will be recommending this to others, fun and humorous comedy before we sit through another drama.

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Too short to be great, competent enough to be good

If I had to describe The Fragrance Of The First Flower in one sentence I would call it a great show trapped in a good show.
Words cannot describe how excited I was when I discovered this drama, I think that usually, Taiwan tackles LGBT+ subjects in its media in a very tasteful and impactful manner and on every level, from looks to premise, The Fragrance Of The First Flower looked like it was going to fill the GL-shaped void in my life. Needless to say, that I was gutted when I discovered that each of the only 6 episodes was going to be barely 18 minutes long. Still, I decided to give this drama a fair chance, even though I had the sneaking suspicion that that short runtime wouldn’t be enough to tell this story. And I’m afraid I was correct.

The Fragrance Of The First Flower is a beautiful portrayal of right person- wrong time. The show’s strength without a doubt lies in its gorgeous cinematography and especially in the colour grading. Every shot had purpose while still being aesthetically pleasing and I really feel like the colours dictated the mood and feel of each scene. Some people have pointed out that the actresses look way too old to play their teenage selves and I will have to agree but I still appreciated bot of the leads’ acting. I’ve also seen people complain about the lack of chemistry between them, but that is a sentiment I cannot agree with. I was fully immersed in the relationship between the two characters. There was a lot of subtlety in their performances which I feel like can be traced back to the subtlety of the script and plot. It was very fitting, in my opinion, that the thing that killed the relationship of the two protagonists in high school before it even began, the thing that triggered Yi Mins internalized homophobia, was the painful reminder of the inherent sexualization that comes with being a young woman. The scene in which the two leads almost kiss for the first time until they are interrupted by a pervert was the one that left the biggest impression on me in the whole show. I think it was a brilliant and subtle way of addressing how lesbians are viewed under the male gaze and how their sexualization makes it harder for young queer women to find themselves.
I also think the scene in which Yi Min finally confesses to her husband that she has fallen for someone else is a really strong one. She is desperately looking for another reason to break up with him because on a surface level, she should be happy. Her husband is not a bad man and she has everything she wanted in her teenage years, the house, family, and the role of a wife. Yi Min is looking for something wrong in their relationship so she doesn’t have to address what is really keeping her from being content.

Still, as I mentioned before, The Fragrance Of The First Flower ended up not fully living up to its potential and I really do feel like its main fault lies in the infuriatingly short runtime. In no way is this drama flawless but in my honest opinion most of its problems could have been addressed, if the show just had a few more episodes, or at least longer ones. Everything felt just slightly underdeveloped and it’s such a shame because all the ingredients to make this really special were there. But you just really need that time to develop a believable relationship between two people and unfortunately, time is the one thing this drama didn’t have and that might be the reason the ending fell completely flat for me.
Admittedly, I am a little salty. The BL fandom practically gets content shoved down their throat (eventhough most of said content to be fair, is not great) while I have to look for ages to find half-decent WLW representation. I just kinda had held on to the hope that this drama would be the one to kick off the success of the GL genre, and I doubt it will. But then again, I fully realize that what I am asking for is the same fetishization that gay men have to deal with, so maybe I should just be happy with what I get.

In the end, I feel like The Fragrance Of The First Flower did its best with what little it had. I have certainly seen way worse and at least I can confidently say that this was an earnest attempt at believable, well-meant representation. I have no problem recommending this show to other people who are also starved for WLW-content. The short runtime might have been what killed this drama but at least this way it doesn’t feel like a big commitment.
I will do my best to be optimistic about the future of GL and I’m sure that dramas like this one pave the way to better WLW representation.

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Let me start with, that I really enjoyed this drama. This doesn't have much of a romance factor as it is very subtly done but the best thing about this is the bromance.

The main reason I watched this is because of Ji Sung. I've seen many of his works before to have realised that this guy is an amazing actor. I fell in love with his characters in the past and the way he executed them, that I literally cannot pass up anything that he comes in the future.

If you're a big Kpop fan then the cast will definitely be to your liking and in my opinion, they all did a good job in portraying their roles. The four boys together had great chemistry which made me wish that they were an actual band of their own. HyeRi does take some time to gel into her own character but she eventually does and it's a delight to see her.

The story is straightforward, failed manager guy decides to make a band and make them big. Obviously, many obstacles come in the way and this is all about the character development of all the characters and how they overcome these obstacles together. The boys as a band were great so was really sweet how they slowly open up to each other about their hidden secrets and how they support each other despite all the hard comings. The chemistry between Ji Sung and Kang MinHyuk was so cute because they had a genuine brother relationship that was so exciting to see.

Overall, I enjoyed myself thoroughly seeing the connection between all the characters and how they accept each other. I would definitely recommend to try this out as you'll definitely have a warm feeling inside whilst watching this!

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Until We Meet Again (UWMA) is undoubtedly the best of the best BL series productions in decades. The sweetness and character development are so good as they bring the emotions to all audience who have “feelings” or “empathy.” This series has the most number of excellent soundtracks compared to all BL series ever made. The casting selection, chemistry and acting are the best of the best in BL world. The series is the gold standard for future BL productions and stories. To complement all the series best features, this series has beautiful and adorable actors. Studio Wabi Sabi has done the best BL production ever made.

I suggest all prospective audience to ignore negative reviews before watching it. Only audience with “taste”, “feeling” and “empathy” appreciate the story, beautiful soundtracks, excellent acting, superb chemistry, great casting and character development.

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