Reviews

I started Solomon Perjury with the intention of probably dropping it; school dramas usually bore me. Yet, i was hooked 5 minutes in.

I loved this drama in the sense that it was very well written. There weren't many plot holes (that i could remember lol) and the writer stayed true to the previous episodes/overall plot rather than trying to manipulate and fool everyone at the end by introducing a whole different reason to why Sowoo died just to create an "illusion" of a major plot twist. Instead, the reason why Sowoo died kept you second guessing until the last episode but when the truth was revealed, it doesn't really take you by surprise either.

More than anything, I also loved the characters. For me in particular, even though Bae Joonyoung acts more of a side character, I believe he was very important to the story. In a way (not completely...but in a way) his story sort of mirrors that of Jihoon's and Sowoo's but with a more positive outcome. [SPOILER]: His almost suicide attempt, his crippling family and their mediation, and at one point his outlook on life. [END SPOILER] His character fighting through all that while the trial was still ongoing made me feel even more sympathetic towards the other two characters; it made it more real. That's just me though. Oh and the subtle romance between him and Seoyeon was a very nice addition!! It was the perfect relief to the bleakness of the drama. There wasn't much but it was cute.

I have more to say about the other characters but I'm lazy and this would turn into a 10 page review so I'll stop here.

Anyways, overall I give this drama a 9/10. I don't really have anything bad to say. Though one thing that got me a bit ????? is WHY is it so easy to gain entry into the school at like 11pm lol??? You have kids going up the roof top and into classrooms when it's pitch black. One way to decrease the number of student suicides on school grounds? Lock the school gates mayb. Also, I'll say this; although the reason for Sowoo's death didn't surprise me, I'm mad that he died that way. No, I'm not talking about the school. As much as I wanna rant about it, it's a major spoiler so I can't lol.

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I'll be honest and say I began watching this because of the poster and the synopsis I read about the drama. The synopsis said that it was about a child got lost in the woods and was raised by a pack of wolves, the king of wolves... Who wouldn't want to watch that?
I can honestly say that it was not what I was expecting. Lol~

The story was good in the beginning, but then I don't know what happened. The drama isn't the best but that doesn't mean it's not watchable. There are so many flaws you can point out, but besides that, it's so cliché and some of it is cute at the same time. It's one of those dramas where you still watch even if it's not the best. Something about it made me kept watching. I guess there were three things that made me continue to watch. One, was the relationship Mi Mi's family had. They were a warm and loving family. They would even welcome a complete stranger into their home and treat them like one of their own. It was touching to watch. Another thing that made me continue to watch was the relationship between the leads, Mi Mi and Ze Ming. I absolutely love the romantic clichés in dramas. I'm a sucker for it. The relationship between them was cute and sweet. In the beginning, Ze Ming was like a child, an adorable one at that, with the sweetest smile that just melts your heart. Mi Mi was able to help him reconnect with old and establish new relationships. This helped him to mature and experience things he's once experienced as a child and even the things he's never experienced before. She had such a huge impact on his life that he couldn't bear the thought of living without her and along the way, she felt the same. They're so cute together. >w<
The last thing that kept me watching was the actor Chang Derek (Ze Ming). Really hard to believe that this was his first drama ever. He did an amazing job, especially with his emotional scenes. Those scenes he did where he had to execute some emotions, he did really well and it was very believable. I love the fact how his character had development. He went from an innocent, sweet childlike person to a mature, and still lovable person who had to adapt to a new environment and be surrounded by people all the time. I also liked An Amber's character, Mi Mi. Others might have found her annoying but I found her really adorable actually. She becomes very shy and cute around Ze Ming and you could tell she loved him very much as he did her. The other characters were ok, I honestly didn't care much about them. Some of the characters became annoying but I did like her parents a lot. They were such warm and loving people. It was nice seeing Chen Katie again since Bromance, but her character seemed the same from how it was in Bromance. Lol~

I absolutely loved the OST. At least 4 of the song were sung by Bii, including the opening song~? I love listening to him sing. I did like the two songs that were sung by An Amber as well. Her voice is pleasant. I liked the ending song that was sung by Dino Lee as well~ ^^

I'd recommend this but if you guys are willing to watch, watch with an open mind and if you can ignore the flaws or at least acknowledge them, I think you'll actually enjoy. Even if some of it was unbearable to watch, I still enjoyed for the sweet and cuteness between the leads and the strong bond the family had. This is one of the very few dramas I'll always have a soft spot for~ ^^

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This 5th Takumi-kun film is probably my favorite out of all them so far. Daisuke and Hamao feel more realistic and comfortable with each other than they ever have, and it makes the movie much more pleasant to watch as you can feel the emotions they are giving off. Their acting may not be the best to ever feature in Japanese media, but this time around I think they've hit their peak.

It's the same old Takumi you love, only this time it was a little more fleshed out. It seems like the same old Takumi problems, but for some reason it was much more interesting to watch. The music was, as always, wonderful and well used at appropriate times.

The story wasn't the best this time around but Daisuke and Hamao's acting really did make up for it, in my opinion.

The one thing that always bothered me in this series, this one included, are the flashbacks. They are oftentimes refilmed and rarely are you given any clue that what you are watching is a flashback. They could definitely execute them much better.

Other than that, I will greatly miss Daisuke and Hamao in this series! They certainly grew from the 2nd to 5th movies and you can see it for yourselves in this great film.

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I started this drama with very high expectatives after seeing the cast, and because it was written by Sakamoto-sensei, who has written most of my favorite dramas. I must say that, while this wasn't exactly what I expected, it was quite good.

The story isn't something that we haven't seen before, but it's well told. The first episode was fantastic but, sadly, the next few episodes don't live up to it. The second half is much more entertaining. As always, Sakamoto-sensei's dialogues are beautiful, and he's arguably the top screenwriter in Japan.

Most of the cast was great. Takahata Mitsuki's performance was probably the best, specially in the forth and fifth episodes. But I also need to comment on Arimura Kasumi's acting. I really don't understand why people dislike her so much. She did a GREAT job in this drama, she's probably the best after Takahata. Anyone who has seen this and Biri Gal knows that she's a pretty good actress when she has the right projects. Kora Kengo and Nishijima Takahiro were good too. I was really sad about Sakaguchi Kentaro and Morikawa Aoi, because most of their scenes felt like filler material, and they really didn't have much to do beside a few great scenes.

The music was solid, but not extraordinary or anything.

Overall, I think this is one of Sakamoto-sensei's weakeast dramas so far, but it's still better than most of the romantic dramas released nowadays, I recommend it to those looking for a slightly bittersweet slice-of-life romantic drama.

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Movie with the architecture in the background, directed by the architect. After a fairly successful directorial debut with Possessed (2009), once an architect, and now director, Lee Yong-Ju came back with a new movie. In contrast to his debut, which was something bordering on horror/thriller, his second movie is a romance with a suitable amount of melodrama. Architecture 101, a title that could not be probably better matched. In the end we have an romance whose title does not contain any references to love, and at the same time is strongly associated with the plot of the movie. Another advantage of the movie is it's cast, which surprised with the good acting. In the main female role we have Han Ga-In (known for her series The Moon Embracing the Sun (2012)), and a young version of the character is played by Bae Suzy. Both ladies are not known for being good actresses and usually present just decent acting, hence the big surprise was how well they coped. In the role of the male is Uhm Tae-Woong (rose to fame thanks to role in Cyrano Agency (2010)), while the young version of his character is played by Lee Je-Hoon (very good role in My Paparotti (2013)). Good cast and interesting title, attracted to theaters just over 4 million viewers and brought a profit of more than $ 30 billion won (~$29 million).

The story is fairly standard and represents an unfulfilled youthful first love. The whole story develops around a pair of students. On the one hand we have a beautiful and somewhat mysterious music student Seo-Yeon (Bae Suzy/Han Ga-In), and on the other a shy architecture student, Seung-Min (Lee Je-Hoon/Uhm Tae-Woong). Their affair begins with the first class of "Introduction to Architecture" and with last, ends. After 15 years, Seo-Yeon finds Seung-Min and employs him to rebuild her home on the Jeju island.

Both stories are intertwined in a pleasant and peaceful way. Lee serves up standard problems, in the form of first love of two students, and the bittersweet romance of the same pair in their prime of life. It seems that we get another typical romance, with all its advantages and disadvantages, but in the case of Architecture 101 is only a first impression. What makes this particular movie stands out from the others? Architecture. All known schemes are presented through the prism of ubiquitous architecture. Love of Seo-Yeon and Seung-Min follows the footsteps of "Introduction to Architecture" and ends after 15 years with construction of home. Lee superbly presented things we already know, in a new way, so that even a cliche story, ends up being "fresh" and consistent.

As for the actors, most of the time we see a pair of Bae Suzy/Lee Je-Hoon, partly a result of the fact that Lee Je-Hoon is de facto protagonist of the entire production. Although not quite similar to each other, we are able to believe that the naive and shy Lee Je-Hoon grew into a cynical and nonchalant Uhm Tae-Woong, and Bae Suzy playing the perfect Korean girl grown to be forthright but at the same time sensitive and delicate Han Ga-In.

All this makes it an excellent story that is closer to the viewer than the sleek affair of Romeo and Juliet. When Seo-Yeon and Seung-Min meet after years, he no longer sees her through rose-colored glasses, because he lost them long time ago. All the time he blames her for how their first love has ended, even though through the movie, we learn that he, because of his insecurity and low self esteem, is equally responsible. Our memories can deceive us, but the pain of unrequited first love will never disappear, the song, a face, book, almost everything can bring it back. The mind will deny it, but the heart never forgets.

Architecture 101 is a position that may bore many and surprise in not a nice way. I recommend people to watch it again, but calmly, to be able to empathize with the characters and think about the whole story. This movie has something which many similar production are lacking, despite the lack of rousing story or breathtaking effects, it really is not a boring production. This is a movie which, thanks to its simplicity, becomes intimate to viewer and seems very real, you only have to look a bit deeper.

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Expectations vs Reality

I know that I might be harsh with my rating for this series but please hear me out!

The plot is a typical thai bl plot, a rich smart person and a not that smart and poor person. Leaving behind the main concept of this series, I would like to point out the slow paced story development. I do realise that we need some time to understand who the characters are and what their environments are; but seriously I don't think that we needed 7 episodes with them in high school. They could tell us their high school days in just 3 episodes. I felt that they were trying to expand their year as seniors for no reason. I mean you only have 12 episodes to tell me your story, do not spent 7 of them being in high school. But to be fair, when the university chapter began, the series became more interested.

Regarding the acting. Well, I don't know how to describe it and not sound like an asshole... The acting is bad! I believe that both Win and Marc have potential, but in this series they seem so stiff and awkward. I know that the script does not help them, but from the episodes that I have watched I feel that they have no chemistry. There are a lot of moments of silence between those two. Tbh, I do not see them as people who have feelings for each other; actually, I do not even get the vibes that they are friends.

On the other hand, Fiat is amazing here, I mean there are some scenes that are awkward for me, but still I feel that he is the best in this series. His bi role is implemented in the best possible way. Moreover, JJ is really good here. I like the friendship between Waan and Pure and how Waan values their friendship! Also, Aun has a great potential with acting. He is still young and he has a lot to learn but if he invests in acting classes then in the future he would be one of the best actors.

I have said it before about the product placements, and I know that it would be in vain pointing it out again; but please stop with those placements. I start to think that companies are producing bl series just to have product placements.

I feel that this series had really high expectations, as GMMtv was involved, and it was the first bl series that was aired after 2gether. Everyone, was, maybe, expecting something similar to 2gether and in the end we got something monotonous. Do not get me wrong, I think that 2gether had a lot of flaws and I did not really like it, but at least it was funny and had colourful scenes!

I feel that we would get another season as the script is so slow paced! Again this is my assumption, do not take it for granted!

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The story within the story.

I love this show for the way it’s written and shown. I believe in all the dramas I’ve seen, this is one where it really gives us thorough background of the characters so it’s a well woven story of the people in it. It’s so well acted, yes I’ll get to the leads but all the others are doing a marvelous job in their own parts. I’m specifically shouting out the elders and much appreciation to their work. The leads have a great future in their industry as I can only see their skills as getting better.

This story has everything from power struggles not just in crown but each involved families in its surroundings. I can see the well plan of details as well as story as it keeps us in all states of emotions. Yup, well balanced. I look forward to upcoming episodes but also with the foreboding notion it will come to an end. A very well written, directed, and casted production I’m thoroughly enjoying.

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You only live twice.

Fan Xian is back!!! There are no words to describe the pure joy I felt after what was for me, a three year wait. I never expected S2 to be as strong as S1 and as much as I enjoyed it, it is not quite at the same level. To begin with, killing a character onscreen is never easy to unwind and their walk back of the S1 cliffhanger was long winded, cumbersome and comically farcical. What saves it is that most audiences are so grateful to see the whole gang, villains and all, back together again they willingly suspend disbelief.

The most noticeable difference with S2 is the visible shift in the narrative from plot driven to largely character driven. After narrowly cheating death, an introspective Fan Xian who realizes you only live twice, returns to the capital. During S1, Teng Zijing showed Fan Xian that some things are worth dying to protect. This season explores what those things are for Fan Xian. He reflects upon his mother's ideals and begins to see the injustices that made her want to change the world. The plight of the common people resonates with him as he comes to understand that he is also but a pawn in a high powered chess game. He embraces his mother's legacy with a sense of purpose and a clear vision of what he means to do with it. The most exhilarating moments of this season are not action packed or full of intricate twists but pivotal moments in Fan Xian's character journey. It is less exciting if you are an action junkie but this is the season that reveals who Fan Xian really is and more importantly, who he wants to be.

With the signature Joy of Life verve and wit, important plot points or character motives are conveyed indirectly with humor. As the laughter abates, the manifold implications, often dark and diabolical start to sink in. The most chilling aspect of S2 is Fan Xian's complex, multi-dimensional chess game with the emperor, who is the grandmaster firmly in control of the board and all the chess pieces. It is not even clear that Chen Pingping is really on Fan Xian's side; after his "miscalculation", he seems just as dangerous as friend or foe. It is from such a disadvantaged position that Fan Xian plays to win even though winning could also cost him his head. While the emperor's end game remains murky, he reveals a guarded, almost resentful affection for Fan Xian that has me hopeful and fearful at the same time. Some of the emperor's schemes and motives are too intricate and have to be explained via dialogue, which is something I am not a fan of.

Inasmuch as I quite miss the rounder and carefree Fan Xian, Zhang Ruoyun's lean and mean new look lends a sense of maturity and gravitas to the role. My mouth goes dry at the layer upon layer of divine masculinity that comprise Fan Xian, the man. His scenes with the emperor where they both test and measure each other are mesmerising until the tension is broken by at times offbeat humor that has me yodelling with laughter. Every dysfunctional Li family gathering is a hilarious parody of a feast at Swan Goose Gate (Hongmen banquet/鸿门宴). There are many insanely well acted emperors in c-drama yet Chen Daoming still manages to stand out with his complex, differentiated, infuriating and utterly unpredictable portrayal. Just when I am sure I loathe him, he blindsides me with an unexpectedly moving expression of almost regret. Fan Xian has yet to get the better of this sociopath but at least he still manages to run circles around "Mini Me". The moment he scared the living daylights out of the second prince is one of the highlights of the season.

It is no small feat that they managed to reunite such a large and sought after cast and practically all the roles are well conveyed. Ye Lingér however was obviously abducted by aliens and replaced with a bot. Hopefully Si Lili rescues her offscreen and returns with the real Ye Lingér just in time for S3. I won't deny that I basked in every moment of this reunion of my favorite characters, good and evil. That said, outside of Fan Sizhe, no one really gets to do anything consequential. Many new characters including the first prince, the Beiqi princess and Fan Xian's scholars are introduced with unclear purpose. Everyone is being teed up but the punchline is put on hold until S3. This unbalanced focus on introducing and fleshing out characters and relationships comes at the cost of plot movement. This makes me worry that this leaves too many open plot arcs to be closed in S3. While I wouldn't dare to explicitly wish anyone's bestie villain dead, I think they should have closed at least one of the villain arcs instead of pushing everything into S3.

The character arc of S2 closes triumphantly with Fan Xian reclaiming his power and free will by choosing what family means to him and in doing so, he changes the game. I expect S3 to be once again more plot driven like S1. While I savored S2 and appreciate that they took the time to flesh out the characters and key relationships, there are just too many open plot threads for me to rate this the 9.5 I gave S1. Thus this is a 9.0/10.0 for me for now. If everything comes together well in S3, the series overall will easily be 9.5 or a 10.0.

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Balancing angst and comedy

Combining the angsty plot of terminal illness while also trying to maintain loud and slapstick humor is a very difficult feat but Mr. Plankton managed to do it extremely well. The humorous scenes are laugh-out-loud funny, while the sad scenes still hit really hard, and I never felt like I was getting whiplash between them.

As much as I love green flag MLs, I do think several kdramas have overcorrected recently; it's actually refreshing to get a drama that gives both its leads stories that have equal weight, and to see an ML that has more purpose than to just be in love with the FL. With that being said, Hae-jo's character is absolutely the best part of this show, and WDH plays him to perfection.

I feel a little more mixed on the other characters, to be honest. While I liked Jae-mi's plot, I wish we focused more on her desire to be a mother and have a family. The flashback we got of her at the orphanage is extremely touching. Instead, it seems like we get a lot of her relationship with Eo Heung and his mother. I don't necessarily dislike this, but it's weird. The drama does a fantastic job of making Heung a sympathetic character. His capacity for love is so great and his relationship with his mother goes through such important development, but I still never quite felt the emotions of it, not when Jae-mi and Hae-jo's dynamic is so strong and heart-wrenching. I also felt liek the love triangle was dragged out just a little too long; we saw clips of Jae-mi/Heung and they're cute but as a viewer I never once believed that they belonged together.

I did, however, still enjoy the humorous scenes with the three of them, and I almost wish we got a longer road trip type plot, with a new character (Gi-ho, Bong-suk) joining them in the car ride to each next sperm donor. It would have made the party scene at the end feel more meaningful, because I actually don't think we saw them spend much time together before then.

Overall, I think the first half worked better for me. Something about the bickering and the chaos was just so fun, whereas the last few episodes seems to have Hae-jo leaving Jae-mi stranded as a plot point multiple times. The ending also needed to be extended a little longer for things to get tied up. The plot is pretty outlandish — sometimes it works because it absolutely leans into it, and sometimes I had to remind myself "this is a DRAMA and that's why Hae-jo is still allowed to drive." Either way, it's fun.

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I feel like I need to add a warning to my view. This drama presents itself as a mature melodramatic romance, and in a lot of ways it is, but a good portion of this drama also centers around Hospice care, which means a lot of stories about death. There are also other very sad themes like abandonment and trauma, so if you're looking for a lighthearted romcom this ain't it. Instead expect a lot more sadness and internal monologues.

I decided to watch this because of Ha Ji Won, one of my favorites, and she does a great job as Cha Young even though her character is pretty one-note, basically melancholy and apologetic. This matches the mood of Yoon Kye Sang as Lee Kang as well, who is equally somber and melancholy. They do have pretty good chemistry, and I liked their story in general, but there is way more heaviness and sadness than butterflies in their story. There's the expected destiny theme as well. It also builds very slowly, and although I didn't mind the pace, it definitely made me watch more casually instead of being excited to watch each new episode.

I also liked the rest of the cast as well. To me Jang Seung Jo as Lee Joon is definitely the standout, playing a role he's so good at, the "rich guy rival" (like his performance in "Money Flower"). The cast is also full of great performances by the supporting cast as patients, staff, and relatives... although The Lee family did seem a bit cliché at times with their typical greed and scheming. I blame that more on the writing than the cast.

The story is this dramas weakest point for me, not because it's a bad story, but more because of how somber and standard it is. However, instead of comic relief, this drama's most uplifting moments all center around food. Yes, this is the kind of drama (like the "Let's Eat" series) that will probably make you very VERY hungry. So many food close-ups. So much emotional eating. Sooo many chewing scenes! It's about way more than just chocolate too. Food is the real star of this drama.

It's also beautifully shot. The scenery is amazing and all of the food looks delicious (even stuff I don't eat). It has a cinematic feel visually which helps with the slow pace. I was much more forgiving of certain scenes because of how beautiful it looked. At the very least, Netflix definitely knows how to make pretty dramas.

Would I watch this again? I don't think so. I was honestly caught off guard by how sad this was, and I didn't love any part of this drama enough to endure that sadness again. The story is also pretty typical as far as the "Who's gonna take over the family business" tropes go.

Overall, I appreciate the main theme of this drama, which is to appreciate every single moment of the life you have and that a fulfilling life is more about love and giving than about how much you can acquire. That theme really hits home by the end, and I shed a lot of tears throughout this drama, so I think I would recommend this drama but only with that warning. Death comes up constantly, which could feel therapeutic or like too much. For me, it was a combination of both.

"Chocolate" is a low key melodrama, so there's less excitement and much more contemplation. If you don't like the mood of the first episode, don't expect it to pick up later. The resolutions are also subtle. Some things were left hanging, which I'm ok with, and it's much more about going on a journey with each character through their personal traumas, dysfunction, and moments of failure and empowerment. This drama from beginning to end will try to come for your feelings!!! Make sure you have enough tissues and snacks while watching.

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Honestly It's NOT THAT BAD

People tend to read a lot of reviews and had a lot of judgement even before watching a show. But honestly this show is pretty good. Not to 10/10 kind of good but definitely deserve at least an 8/10.

To be honest, I got affected a little by knowing they had a lot of controversies after airing the first two episodes which I think it's pretty sad for them to have such an unlucky start because honestly it deserves a better rating.

For those who were saying that JCW doesn't shine in this show, it's pretty wrong. I personally think he doesn't have the need to receive cool hero roles like Healer, Baek Dong Soo or K2 in order to shine; which he really shows his good acting here as well, alongside with Kim Yoo Jung. I'm always very impressed how she captures a lot of details while acting, every expression of hers are telling a story, honestly one of the actress who presented very natural and good acting skills despite being young.

Let's talk about story, simple yet entertaining. It gives you a great laugh time to time. It might not have a big WOW storyline but it was better than a normal story too. For those who think it is super boring, trust me, there are much more worse ones out there. But standing in an objective perspective, if you hardly know any of them or don't like the casts, you might not be able to watch to the end. Because I love the two main casts and I was waiting for the couple to get together so as long as there's a reason to watch then it's worth watching! The two main leads are pretty cute, and when both of them smiled together, the visuals just exploded hahaha! I believe the kiss scenes were being cut because of the controvery, that's a shame. That's why I think this drama is basically just unlucky but it's not bad!

Side note: I really enjoyed The Fiery Priest characters coming out here and there, so for those who haven't watch it you must be wondering who are those people, you have to watch that too as it is the same director!
No wonder I've been sensing a strong "fiery priest comedy" from the very first episode😂

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If you are studying Japanese language or culture, this is the drama for you. I say that because not only is it an engaging story with well-developed characters and talented actors anyone could appreciate, or because of the piles of references to Japanese pop culture and television, but because this drama does something not many others do -- challenge.

"We Married for Job" paints some of the most prominent recent Japanese cultural phenomena including soushokukeidanshi (herbivore men) and bankon (getting married later in life) as well as older examples such as the role of women and men, the value/happiness of housewives, perception of homosexuality, oyakoukou (filial piety), work dynamics, collectivism and the stress of shuushoku katsudou ("job hunting") among others.
The most striking thing as a student would most definitely be "experiencing" those phenomena. No matter how much one reads or researches, the 'click' moment didn't come to me until watching this drama. Until now, herbivore men had been a mere concept - a niche group of strange men no-one knew about. After Hoshino Gen's endearing performance, however, I felt myself relate and connect to a lifestyle I always found myself unable to picture. More than anything, it was a refreshing take on Japanese society - the good, the bad and the ugly - that doesn't ever really get shown on television in a non-condescending way.

'Nigeru wa haji da ga yaku ni tatsu' not only depicts Japanese society freshly and without disdain, but challenges the everyday thoughts, relationship dynamics and ideals of the Japanese. A moment that particularly stood out for me was in episode one, when the character of Moriyama Mikuri contemplates the worth of housework as an occupation, and how her changing opinion on the monetary and meaningful value of housework changes in further episodes. Another particularly notable example for me was the character of Tsuzaki Hiramasa's ideas about homosexuals and how they change in a brief conversation. Most of all, the drama in essence, had the purpose of challenging traditional and changing ideas of "love". Marriage without love, love with someone you can't marry, the lines and blurs between relationships and the beautiful sentiment of loving ourselves, and allowing ourselves to love others.

As for the drama technically speaking:
CAST
Lovely cast fully of well-known and lesser-known professionals, who provided a diverse range of looks and personality to the show. I had high hopes for Hoshino Gen, and he really delivered in my opinion. Aragaki Yui is just as lovely as ever and never fails to impress. The side characters were also extremely impressive, though I won't delve into it.

SOUNDTRACK
I won't even touch Koi (the ending title, Love) because I think it speaks for itself. The rest of the soundtrack did however put me off a little. It was quite typical of a Japanese drama, which was relatively welcome, but the repetitious backtracks and instrumentals always turn me off a bit. It was no means bad though, and well used -- never a classic "where's the music??" realisation moment.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Loved it. I'm no expert, but the TV-themed cuts were absolutely hilarious and really well shot as well. You really do notice a difference between drama and the other TV styles it depicts. I also thought the "hanky-panky" (as the subtitlers opted for) was interesting and rather cute. Nothing ever sore to the eye.


I really do love this drama - it is definitely one of the best I have seen objectively. I have my own tastes and favourites, but in terms of quality and just likeability as a drama, I really can't fault it. Anyone who is interested in watching it - try reading a little deeper and you won't be disappointed.

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At first, I can honestly say that I watched Arang and the Magistrate simply for Yoo Seung Ho's prettiness (c'mon, he was rocking the Barbie hair and the Chinese robes!). However, I soon started watching it because of the show itself. The story was quite exceptional and the plot was quite original in my opinion. Arang is about an amnesiac ghost that requests the help of the city's magistrate to discover her identity, and her eventual murderer. Each character suited his/her role (especially Lee Jun Ki- his fighting scenes were kick-ass!). The supporting characters (Bang Ul Ri and Dol Soe) added a lot of heart and laughs to the story. Of course, the music selection was amazing; I had goosebumps during the creepy scenes and chills during the romantic scenes XD. The directing was top notch and the script kept me hanging for each episode. I was dying for Wednesday and Thursday to come around every week. :P

On the other hand, the actors were not exactly mind-blowing, except for maybe Eun Oh's mom. The rewatch value is sorta low because the drama is mostly suspenseful, and all that suspense would be gone if the drama was rewatched.

Over all, I would say give Arang a go, though! If only for Yoo Seung Ho's hotness ^__^

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Only if your bored

This story started in a relatively positive way and was pretty cute at the beginning. Both the male lead and second male lead were very attractive. The female lead was also quite beautiful in my opinion. The costumes were fun. The female lead was portrayed as a smart independent woman and the male lead as a kind and considerate doctor. Typical chinese drama writing, contract marriage so someone can get what they want. Usually male CEO has to get married but in this drama the female lead was the CEO who needed to get married. Not very inventive but ok! I really did enjoy the drama till about episode 18-20 and then it went completely off the rails. She turned into such a stupid selfish bitch and I really could not stand her in the last 15 episodes. Any woman who hides a child from the father is pretty despicable in my mind. It sends all the wrong signals about what is responsible and decent behavior. This kind of writing just really infuriates me. Why could she not go to Germany with her husband like any normal human would? I get that the writers wanted her to look like she gave him up to help him but really? Her career was over anyway so she chose to run away and divorce him instead of staying by his side as his wife. He loved her and she said she loved him but obviusly she had no idea what love was. She was so self centered and selfish. The writing just made zero sense in the last 10 or15 episodes, it felt like they changed writers or something. This drama could have been 24 epsisodes and it might have been saved. The supporting characters were also very typical, nothing horrible but nothing great either. The formula writing continued. I would say watch if you are bored with nothing else but woud recommend a few other newer shows before this one.

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