Reviews

had me until episode 4

(potential trigger warnings in my review, talking about abuse and intimate partner violence)

Overall: with a few tweaks this could have been a 9.5 series but I actively did not want the main leads together especially when 3 years later one of them was still a narcissist. It's sad but not surprising that people were victim blaming and calling Joe stupid. He wasn't stupid, he was an abuse victim (more below). Very similar aesthetics to KinnPorsche which made sense because it shared a director and screenwriter. It was adapted from the novel "Professional Body Double" by Shui Qiang Cheng which I didn't read and I based the series on its own merits. 12 episodes about an hour each. Aired uncut on iQIYI. First episode link: https://www.iq.com/play/my-stand-in-uncut-episode-1-1iwuiu9rlww?lang=en_us The production company also produced I Feel You Linger In The Air.

Content Warnings: death, grief, non con kissing, punch/violence, intimate partner abuse, held against will, gaslighting, manipulation, coercion, past suicide?, manhandling, vomiting, parental abuse, kidnapped, homophobia

What I Liked
- the premise
- showed a condom and discussed sexual position preferences
- had a good conversation at the beginning of episode 2
- wanting/ongoing physical affection in the beginning episodes
- sweet moments in the beginning episodes
- supportive sister
- production value (some really nice camera shots, use of mirrors, switching focus on foreground to background etc.)

Room For Improvement
- I can't root for their relationship as explained below
- Ming was stupid, he could have easily shown his dad evidence first before telling him the other part, he could have shored up his financial situation first as well
- Joe's lack of agency, he had a bunch of awful things and felt cornered into doing things instead of it being his choice
- multiple failed redemption arcs
- trash characters have no consequences, just instant forgiveness for terrible things they did
- multiple romances introduced in the last 30 minutes of the last episode
- voice overs with exposition dumps
- some of the music didn't fit the tone (that fight in episode 4 was made comical instead of dramatic)
- wish a character hadn't been shown as extremely drunk at the end of episode 1
- love triangle, Sol overstepped and took away agency from Joe especially in episode 9
- nonsense stuff i.e. Ming just happened to have something at his house in episode 4??? Joe didn't have any bruises/blood on his face/head in episode 4, Joe happened to overhear key conversations, 1 person being extremely drunk and a stunt person not being able to get away

Thoughts on Grey Characters/Their Romantic Relationships
Sometimes these characters and their dynamic work for me and other times they don't. Here are the factors that I think about:
1. was there a realistic reason why the character/s acted the way they did in the past (sort of, but not to the level that Ming was at)
2. how bad was/is the treatment (extremely abusive and violent, Ming could have accidentally killed Joe in episode 4, 3 years later and Ming stays a narcissist he says "I always get what I want" and he actively ignores what would make Joe happy)
3. were both characters grey or was one squeaky clean (Joe was mostly squeaky clean but unbelievably dense in not believing that Ming wanted him and Ming was abusive and a narcissist and stayed a narcissist/manipulative and also stupid to not know why Joe didn't tell him something)
4. was there some kind of apology/amend making (verbal apologies, promised to treat him better/give him job opportunities, was sweet with him but to me it was just the make up phase of an abuse cycle)
5. was there character growth (no, 3 years later and Ming was still a narcissist which was reinforced in episode 9, he made decisions involving Joe without asking what Joe wanted because Ming did whatever Ming wanted)
6. do I believe that the characters will stay together in a happy romantic relationship (no, because for Ming it was about power/control and not love)
final verdict: I didn't want them in a romantic relationship together

Joe wasn't stupid, he was the victim of intimate partner violence
- Joe was the victim of physical, financial, emotional/mental and sexual abuse
- Ming didn't love Joe, he wanted to control him to get what he wanted
- abuse survivors can have a very difficult time escaping the abuse because abusers can be extremely excellent manipulators "if you hadn't done abc then I wouldn't have had to say/do xyz", also there are periods of nice times that trick the survivor into thinking the abuser does love them (the make up phase in the cycle of abuse), in the real world intimate partner violence is deadly and widespread, it is estimated that 10-40% of law enforcement officers are abusers and they are frequently the first people to respond, it's all very terrible and not at all romantic

If you or someone you love needs help, here is a resource in the U.S. https://www.rainn.org/

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The Most Audacious Pair of Assassins!!!

It is exceptionally rare for me to begin a review with who I think literally steals this series from everyone. There is only one reason to watch this series. And that is because this story has Style. Style gave this series distinction. He IS the series and the only reason I finished this rather mundane and pedestrian story. Dunk Natachai as the character of Style brought such uniqueness to his persona from the beginning. Layered with arrogance, shallowness, pomposity and yet underlying it all was still a sense of sincerity. I could observe that he began his pursuit of Fadel (Joong Archen) simply as a challenge in the beginning. But once he undertook to know who Fadel was, he fell for him, hard and began to peel away at his exterior gruff layers, much like you peel an onion. As he did so with Fadel, he also peeled away at his own layers of shallowness surrounding himself. As he got Fadel to open his soul to him, he too did the same. With Dunk’s characterization however, I could sense and feel it deeply. His facial features and the way he looked at Fadel were not just about acting. It felt real. And oh, his love scenes with Fadel were not just fervently romantic; they were simply hot, erotic, and alluring. It has been ages, especially for a Thail BL, for me to actually feel a sensuousness emanating from an individual. He exuded it. Not only in words but in his expressions and his actions. It has also been a long time since I have been able to use the outdated term ‘it factor’ but he has it. He is the whole package. I never once felt as if he was faking it or ‘acting’ it out. He was genuine, sincere, even when he was being perhaps impish and immature in his approach to winning Fadel over. Deep-down, he projected such passion and intensity that he is the only Thai BL actor in an inordinate length of time that felt authentic. When he kissed, it looked sensual, seductive, and steamy. Excuse my vernacular, but his actions were hedonic, and his scenes made him tantalizingly erotic. Not afraid or ashamed to show it or be it. Something that has been missing in Thai BLs. He is an exceptional actor as he made it look so nature and unguarded. What a performance and kudos for making it feel so damn genuine.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2025/03/08/the-heart-killers-series-review-ep-1-to-12/

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Blood Free had more chemistry and it wasn't even a romance...

I think this drama could've been a really fun makjang like Perfect Marriage Revenge if the main couple had incredible chemistry like Han Hyo Joo and Joo Ji Hoon in Blood Free, but sadly, that is not the case and the result is pretty lackluster. Rain does his absolute best to sell this romance despite the plot never really explaining why he falls for her, and I fully believed by the end of episode 1 that he would gladly go to hell and back for her. Kim Ha Neul, by contrast, is the definition of go girl give us nothing. I've never seen her in anything before this so not sure if she's just like that or if it was just this drama that did her no favors. Or perhaps she's actually the best actress alive because she was able to keep her composure and not melt into a puddle while Rain was wearing a perfectly tailored suit and promising to protect her with his life. Every scene between the two of them was him looking at her with longing and devotion while she stared back at him like he was a bowl of plain oatmeal.

The plot is unbelievably over the top and the show took itself so seriously that it actually became really unintentionally silly. Wansoo's press conference about the secret love child had me howling with laughter. There's a flashback where we learn that Wansoo's mom hid in the doghouse when debt collectors came and later when Wansoo goes to visit the house with her mom's ashes, it deadass looked like she was gonna put the urn in the doghouse. There's another scene where Wansoo and her evil mother in law (who is SO shrill and has a hairdo to rival Yubaba from Spirited Away) arrive at the same event in the same outfit and this is basically treated with the same level of gravitas as the high stakes conspiracies and coverups. There are SO MANY scenes of a middle aged man putting on chapstick and it wasn't even PPL!!!!!

Was it good? No. Did I enjoy it? Also no. But frankly it's hard to complain too much about any drama that gives us 10 hours of bodyguard Rain with that haircut in a black suit looking fine as hell.

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The Glory — An Extraordinary Journey from Trauma to Triumph

Watching “The Glory” was not just entertainment — it has been one of the most soul-wrenching, eye-opening experiences I’ve had in a long time. Not just because of its intense and gripping plot, but because of the raw, unflinching portrait it paints of trauma — not the kind we casually reference in conversation, but the kind that leaves deep, lasting physical and psychological scars. The kind that reshapes you. That haunts you.

At the heart of it all is Zhuang Hanyan — and she’s not just a character. She is a walking wound, both physically and emotionally. A survivor of trauma most people can’t even begin to imagine. This isn’t just a revenge story. It’s not a romantic story. It’s the story of a girl denied the luxury of innocence, forced to survive in a world that offered her nothing but cruelty — and still, she breathes, perseveres, and ultimately triumphs against all odds.

<< A Life Shaped by Trauma >>

From the moment she was born, Hanyan’s world was one of darkness and violence. Abandoned at birth, wrongfully branded a “barefoot ghost,” she was torn from her biological parents living in Ming Dynasty Beijing, and discarded into the hands of cruel, abusive adoptive family in a remote, impoverished village called Danzhou. Her childhood wasn’t just difficult — it was a relentless crucible of suffering: beatings, starvation, humiliation, and sexual assault — all before she even had the words to describe her pain.

Most people would have broken under the weight of what she endured.

But Hanyan’s suffering didn’t end there.

When she was finally reunited with her birth family, clinging to a fragile hope for love and belonging, she was met with more rejection, manipulation, and abandonment. Her biological mother — the one person she had longed to know — responded not with warmth but with cruelty: caning her, starving her, pushing her away with chilling detachment.

And then — the unimaginable. Hanyan witnessed her biological mother’s murder, brutally and mercilessly carried out by the man she had called father. A mother she had only just begun to love, died poisoned and bleeding in her arms. Later, she would learn he had also killed her grandfather, her stepsister, her stepfather, two loyal maids — anyone who dared stand in his way.

How does a person survive that?

How do you even breathe after that?

<< The Messy, Honest Truth About Trauma >>

"The Glory" doesn’t just tell us about her trauma. It makes us feel it — bone-deep, breath-shattering. It doesn’t romanticize trauma. It doesn’t use it as a decorative backstory or a convenient excuse for sympathy. It shows trauma as it truly is — raw, jagged, messy, suffocating, and unrelenting. The kind that reshapes how she sees the world, how she makes decisions, and how she learns to survive in a life that has given her nothing but agony from the moment she was born.

Hanyan’s trauma bleeds into everything: her thoughts, her choices, her relationships. Her coldness, her rage, her recklessness, her mistrust of people, and her thirst for justice at any cost — these are not signs of cruelty or evil. They are the armour she wears to survive.

Yes, she lashes out. Yes, she is messy. Yes, she makes mistakes. Yes, she is reckless. Yes, she breaks down. But how else is someone supposed to respond when they've been told, over and over again, that they don’t matter? When their very existence has been battered, broken, and betrayed?

To expect composure from the shattered is not only unfair and unrealistic — it’s cruel.

"The Glory" reminds us that real trauma is not tidy and nice. It doesn’t produce people who are graceful, likable, or thoughtful. It produces people who are angry, cold, explosive, guarded, impulsive, or volatile. People who wrap love in fear, and safety in suspicion. Underneath it all, is a human being, simply struggling to crawl out of the wreckage with nothing but sheer will.

And yet, Hanyan keeps going — not for praise or pity, but because her pain demands justice. Because her story demands to be heard.

<< Compassion Heals: Yunxi’s Choice >>

And maybe — just maybe — that is healing.

But here’s what we often forget: healing from trauma is not a straight line. It’s not always calm. It’s not always graceful. It’s not always pleasant. Sometimes, healing looks like rage. Sometimes, it looks like destruction. Sometimes, it looks like burning everything down just to prove you still have control over something.

Enter Fu Yunxi — the one person who knows Hanyan’s brokenness most intimately. He sees her pain, has touched her scars, lived through the fire of her fury, felt the sting of her mistrust. And still — he stays. He never flinched, never turned away. He pursued her, married her — not just out of love, but because he believed in her. He trusted her strength. He knew she would protect his family. And when Hanyan prepared a divorce letter on their wedding night — not out of rejection, but a desperate gesture to shield him and his family from the fallout of her dangerous quest for justice — he burned it without hesitation. Not to possess her, but to tell her, in the clearest way he knew how:

I choose you. Even now. Especially now. You are not too broken to be loved.

If he — the one closest to her rage, her sorrow, her scars — could choose compassion over judgment — then why can’t we?

<< The World’s Quick Judgment >>

In the real world, survivors like Hanyan are too often branded with convenient, dismissive labels: “angry,” “broken,” “evil,” “irrational,” “cold,” “reckless,” “stupid,” or “beyond saving.”

But these aren’t character flaws — they’re the visible signs of invisible wounds.

The Glory reminds us of a hard truth: behind every trauma survivor is a story we cannot fully comprehend, pain we cannot measure, and suffering we may never see.

Because there are countless Hanyans among us — bearing invisible wounds from battles we may never fully know or understand. They don’t need our judgment. They need our presence. Our compassion. Our willingness to listen, even when the truth is hard to hear.

Hanyan is not a villain — she is a mirror held up to our society — a crucial reminder that people break in different ways, and that healing isn’t always straightforward. And her story, with all its brokenness and all its resilience, deserves compassion above all.

She isn’t heartless. She’s hurting.

She wasn’t trying to destroy others. She was trying to reclaim herself — to feel safe, to feel whole, to feel human.

Before we judge her for her rage or recklessness, we must ask:

What would you become, if you were taught that love always ends in betrayal, that trust is a weapon, and that your body and voice were never truly your own?

<< A Wake-Up Call for Us All >>

"The Glory" is not just a drama. It is a reckoning.

A searing reminder that real trauma doesn’t get resolved in a season or in a single kind gesture. It lingers. It shapes how you see the world. It stains relationships, and even the good moments with fear and suspicion — because trauma teaches you that every joy comes with a cost.

And that’s a lesson we desperately need today:

• Stop expecting perfection from the wounded.
• Stop demanding grace from the broken.
• Stop measuring worth by how “well” someone hides their pain.

And instead —

• Start creating space for the messiness of healing.
• Start showing up — not with judgment, but with empathy and kindness.
• Start offering understanding, not assumptions.
• Start offering help instead of knee-jerk reactions.

Because real life doesn’t come with dramatic music or scripted redemption arcs. In real life, survivors walk among us — quietly, bravely — carrying wounds we cannot see, fighting battles we may never understand.

So the next time someone seems angry, cold, distant, or hard to love — pause.

Consider what they might be surviving — and choose kindness.

<< The Glory’s Final Gift >>

"The Glory" doesn’t just tell a story. It gives trauma a voice. It gives pain a face. And it calls on us — the audience — to become better people. Not with pity, but with humanity.

Yes —" The Glory" may be just entertainment for some. And yes — the characters are pure fiction. But if, even after everything shown on screen — her backstory, her trauma, her rage, her vulnerability — we still cannot empathize with Hanyan… Then how will we ever truly empathize with a real survivor in real life?

• Let "The Glory" be more than just a show.
• Let it be a mirror.
• Let it change how we see, how we feel, and how deeply we care.

Because empathy — real, honest, uncomfortable empathy — is what makes us human.

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the story was rather slow paced for me hence why i had to skip from ep12 towards the last ep. didn't regret doing that but what I DO regret was to even start watching this show GOD THE PAAAIN.

eventhough i missed out a good half of the show the pain towards the end was still there.. It was there.. Still there.. Somehow the words I want to say isn't forming but what i can say is it is one of the most beautifully captured show there is. Everyone who was a part of this drama did a REALLY GREAT JOB . I had a few attachments with the characters and it was god damn painful to see them go. Especially Yu Jin, Hui Seong & Dong Mae . They were just starting to grow fond of each other and- It was good to know that they had each other's back eventho they hate e/o Lol. The end of this drama gave us the closure we expected and wanted which was good BUT STILL PAINFUL. YuJin & Lady AeSin cause of my pain and suffering god damn why cant they just be happy ?!

was it worth a watch ? YES definitely but if you have awful attention span like me it'd be fine to skip a couple scenes and episodes.

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I feel like they could have done more with the characters and paced the story better.

There were parts that were compelling and gripping, and then parts where the plot dragged like crazy and I could only get through it at 1.5x speed, especially the middle. I think they spent too much time on the townspeople gossiping about Samdal and Yongpil when they had their own lives to live. I also felt like Yongpil's dad coming around was too sudden and we should have seen a gradual change start several episodes earlier. I also think the downfall of the villain was too brief for the grief she caused. Overall I feel mixed about it. I think this story could have been told and been better in 10 eps max. My favorite character is probably the little girl. She was too cute for words but was also the voice of reason a lot. I don't think I'd recommend this for most, there's better and there's worse.

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Johan shuttai! Is a Jdrama about how mangas are done and the process between the mangaka and editors, salesman, designers, distributors and basically the entire squad.
The drama is told mostly from our female lead point of view, korusawa kokoro who will hit you in the kokoro. She was a good athlete (judo) and her aim was to be part of the Olympic after suffering an injury she finds a new place in a manga editing company, odagiri joe plays her senior at work (sunbae, senpai, shesho, tensho) and followed by one of the best side characters that I've seen in my life.
The story follows the team mates and newbie mangaka wannabes into becoming mature and reaching mutual goals together, with hardly any lame moments this one was a beautiful ride.
Usually I watch a whole 11 episode jdrama in 2 days but I watched this slowly and rewatched many parts because I didn't want to finish it too soon.
The main goal of the team and kokoro is to get a Johan shuttai meaning a second printing on their mangas. Highly recommended for good drama lovers
9.2/10 from Johnson shampoo family.
Drama quotes:
“We all have wings that can't be seen, if you want to nurture splendid wings, read plenty of book"
"Read plenty of book, the shape of the book is the shape of a bird, just by reading it you'll have strong flexible wings, that's how you can fly anywhere"
"Writing a piece of work is like looking inside your own heart"
http://kissasian.com/Drama/Juhan-Shuttai

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well-acted soul-transmigration story with one of the worst finale to date

Before diving into this, I'd like to say first that this show is an adaptation. The original material is a fairly popular webnovel, which tells a story about a outrageously loyal employee of one of the biggest fictional company in South Korea, Soonyang, who found himself transmigrated into the youngest grandson of the very company he worked for, Jin Do-jun just shortly after his death.

I was plenty excited for this show because I've always loved stories with rebirth & transmigration in the center due to its satisfying face-slapping laced with revenge type of story and to some extent, Reborn Rich didn't disappoint. The show clearly was confident with its thrice-weekly airing time, the casting line-ups, and it was fascinating seeing the rating rose higher and higher the more we dive into the show. I was afraid the show wouldn't be able to intrigue but I was wrong. From episode 2 onwards, the story gradually layered itself with step-by-step of how Do-jun tries to slowly steal Soonyang under his grandpa's nose, and eventually announced himself that he'd buy the company to his grandpa himself.

Some episodes are fillers, but some episodes are pure fun & smart battle-of-wits, polished as familiar as it could have been with the history of business in South Korea that I couldn't seem to drop the show whenever those episodes were on. Basically, if we're talking about pace & story, the show was pretty unstable on maintaining its tension. And those broken tension were usually caused by the (highly) unnecessary loveline, which I still thought as the most useless part of the show. Why?Because it felt like a different show altogether when these 'lovely' scenes appeared. In a story where revenge and political intrigue played a pivotal role, a love-line, personally for me, only served as a distraction for the main character themselves. It was not helping that the writer didn't know how to make the romance work (didn't even give the depth for both Min-young & Do-jun, and then suddenly they're dating????PLS), and how the director didn't have the right style to present the heartfluttering bits amidst the intense power battle between these Soonyang people. In others episodes, sometimes the pace was too slow and sometimes it turned less interesting, which turned out to be the way it was simply because the writer wanted to the satisfying meat in the next episode.

Seeing these patterns played out a couple of times made me realize; ah, the writer wasn't able to control the story to be as equally engaging each episode, and what was more surprising is when I was gradually made aware that despite keeping the main story intact, there were many details & points from the original materials left out to make the show adaptable for the drama format. It was less obvious at first, but the more we got near to the ending the more I realized the wrongness of the story which eventually cultivated into that stupid-ass conclusion which COMPLETELY betrayed the essence of the entire story with that one episode alone. It's an understatement to say that I'm disappointed. And I couldn't even imagine what the webnovel readers would feel seeing that clusterfuck ending.

You know...when you write an adaptation, you must know the original material well enough to be able to make out a more engaging story out of it. You have to know what fits into the format, what to include and what to miss, and what to keep in mind. Reborn Rich is essentially a soul-transmigration story. A unbelievable story where a supporting character gets a chance of living a main character's life after their death, and with their knowledge of the future and all, makes the main character's life theirs by the end of the story. The pattern is obvious, what you'll get from the story is also obvious. And during the time I've read countless rebirth & transmigration story, there hasn't been ONE that has a mind-boggling conclusion like this one. Why?Because it betrayed the value, the fun, the very reason why people still flocking to these stories. Hyun-woo's supposed to live out his life as Jin Do-jun because that's what we're all invested for to read and watch, his journey to the top. His journey to seek the power and make all Soonyang people pay for his death and everything. But to get that, there's gotta be a real & heavy consequences; he's in the place where he could never wish for and will never get for even if he's working himself to death for years. And he was also, if we're talking about the same show, obviously died in the first episode. His death is the key to the beginning of the story. It's because he was dead that he transmigrated. It was because he's gone that he had a revenge. It was because he's dead that we watched the whole ass show.

And now you're telling me he wasn't dead?

Then what about those 17 years of him living his life as Jin Do-jun?

Was by the end of the story the biggest victim of all happen to be Do-jun who got brutally used as a plot device and abandoned just like that because Yoon Hyun-woo was simply dreaming about those years in a span of a week?Because his head is apparently more solid than a rock stone even being shot in the head doesn't make him die?????????

Because the show is so all smart that all they could do is to use truck-of-doom repetitively and escaped all the consequences?????

What the fuck is this.

And more of the reason to not like this conclusion is because it betrayed the entire story of what was supposed to be an adaptation. Because the webnovel is sure as hell isn't played out like this. Because the scriptwriter of this show got fucking greedy and crossed the damn line they shouldn't have; they disrespect the entire webnovel. They disrespect the original material just because they could and just because they think the whole story is theirs to write. BUT IT FUCKING IS NOT. THIS IS AN ADAPTATION. THERE'S A LINE AND LIMIT TO NOT BE CROSSED OVER AND THAT CONCLUSION??????THAT'S NOT IT.

I was able to overlook the writer's stupid ass decision to change the subplot here and there, adding the unnecessary romance, or making the grandpa's death lame as fuck despite him being one of the powerful characters in the show. I could forgive alllll that. Because they didn't change the flow of the story. But the finale did. In more ways than we all could imagine. Because it showed that the creator of this show didn't understand what must be done to deliver a transmigration story. They didn't understand the genre. The respect and love for these works, and why we came to love these superficial stories that weren't realistically possible but served as a satisfying read every single time. And to think I was excited when I first heard about the show...........and now I'm just angry. Disappointed but angrier at how they managed make a mess of a story that could have been turned out really good. If possibe, I'd highly recommend watching it only until episode 15 (minus the last few minutes of the ending). The last episode is entirely different story that shouldn't have been a part of this show. Period.

Even if I had complains here and there about the plot and the story, in terms of acting, the whole show is nothing less than perfect. Everyone in Soonyang were all so good I had nothing to nitpick; they also had personalities and some performances stood out than the other. It was also the reason why I stick so long for the show. Lee Sung-min was just............amazing. Flawless. Best acting performances I've seen this year. I wish we could see more of his chemistry with Song Joong-ki's character but nonetheless he was still such a huge blast to watch. Kim Shin-rok was absolutely killing her role too, and the tension between Kim Nam-hee and Park Ji-hyun in every single scene they're in are deliciously impeccable. I love nearly all the performances from Soonyang family members. They're all solid and know how to maintain that special intensity between the scenes. The music was just okay (sometimes I loved it, sometimes I don't), and well after seeing the ending, I didn't think I'd have a high rewatch value for the show.

Overall, Reborn Rich is a show that has its ups and downs throughout the story, delivery an intense power struggle between family members of one of the biggest fictional company in South Korea. The original material itself is very solid, and the way the story followed and reflected into past years of real business industry in South Korea was new and refreshing too. Featured strong and powerful performances, I don't think there's a reason you wouldn't want to watch the show. At least until episode 15.

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Story:
When one is difficult in expressing oneself, what it would be like? Misunderstood? This drama focuses on that expect. Gives lesson in life that sometime all we need is a listener. The story is really good and it isn't that bad like others used to say. A kind of drama that would make you say.. Glad I did start it. It's cute, fun to watch, some drama scenes with plot-twist

The start was ok to me, some scenes were quite bothersome from few first ep but it did change you know! The story start to pick up from ep6 and it will get better and better.

bonus: It will take you back to Another Miss Oh feels if you ever did watched that drama. :)


Characters:
Each character has its own story and struggles. That's what I like about it. How one's grow and conquered their fear/insecurity/depression/weakness. The characters was like I started from here and look at me now.

Hwan Gi: this guy is so easy to love, sweet, gentle, kind and considerate... xD every awkward moments with him is so cute. You'll find yourself cheering for him in every step of the way. He'll also make you proud, I am so confident about it!~ plus there's a bonus, look forward to his dance moves.

Chae Ro Woon: yeah this girl is not easy to like, she could get all the hate, annoying and bothersome well she did all those because she's in a revenge mode but her character will have some development just wait and see.

Ji Hye: this character would make curious and say why? No matter what's the decision she made/ the reason behind it no one should judge a person lowly.

Kang Woo: The guy I used to misunderstood about his relationship with Hwan Gi but I was wrong about him. He is the character I want to improve the most/open-up along with Yi-Soo

Yi Soo: I find her role pretty dull from the start but surprisingly there's more color into her.
Yun Jung: my fav character. You'll like her for sure with her straight forward/honest/mature personality.
Silent Monster Team:were all good. my fav from the group is Sun Bong.
Even it was short I love the bromance and the tandem of Kang Woo and Yi Soo.

Actor/Actress
Shout out to Gong Seung Yeon for portraying her role effectively, such a good actress, I was totally immersed with her, I cried. Also to Yoon Park unlike his usual role as someone who is calm, serious in here he was different and I like it. He gets drunk, shouts, play, a free kind of character, a new side of him that I didn't see in his other drama.
As to Yeo Woo Jin I love his role here the most compared to his other dramas
Park Hye Soo there are times that I see her like a kid but it's ok she manages to act well.


OST: I like the ost and music, thanks to it I always keep up with the phase of the story as to emotions, didn't get bored because of it.

Overall:
Meter feels as to fangirl is sometimes up sometimes or just straight line. My excitement and overflowing feels disappeared along the way maybe because I start a new drama but despite that everytime I watch a new ep I still like it. A good romcom.

Recommendation: Oh yes to those who are into romcom you could enjoy this drama especially to the one who are shy/introverted/difficult expressing oneself I think you could relate over it.

Just don't overanalyze it like the others who use to complain with the title because they think the guy is isn't introverted at all instead with an anxiety attack.lol.

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Imposter

Qin Wan, the Qin family’s Ninth Lady, returns to Jingzhou after years in the Valley of the Medicine King—now a gifted healer with a most unladylike interest in forensics. The Qins greet her with frosty disdain, but Qin Wan has more important things on her mind to be fazed by it. For she is an imposter and not the kind that is trying to live someone else's best life. Her true mission? Reopening the Prince Jin case that destroyed her real father’s name. A macabre headless bride case throws her into the orbit of Yan Chi, the emperor’s shrewd nephew. He’s fascinated by her forensic brilliance but suspects she’s hiding more than corpses. Still, her skills prove too useful to ignore, and soon they’re entangled in high-profile cases—and a shared agenda to expose a conspiracy at the heart of imperial power.

Make no mistake, this is a romance first, elevated by Li Landi and Ao Ruipeng’s electric chemistry. Yan Chi’s unwavering support and smoldering gazes melt Qin Wan’s defenses with delicious speed, forging a partnership that’s refreshingly free of miscommunication or love triangles. Their connection simmers in glances and quiet gestures—mature, supportive, and almost too perfectly harmonious. The lack of real obstacles or tests to their bond leaves it feeling more like a fairytale than a romance mystery drama.

Between swoons, Qin Wan tackles eight suspenseful cases (including the finale’s melodramatic conspiracy). The whodunits are predictable, but the why delivers poignant social critique—exposing how women are crushed by inequity, corruption, and imperial privilege. The how, though? Pure forensic fantasy. Qin Wan’s deductions often defy logic, leaning on exaggerated techniques and leaps in reasoning. Yet Li Landi sells it with such poised conviction that my skepticism crumbles every time. Still, mystery purists will groan at the plot holes, coincidences, and Qin Wan’s Teflon-grade plot armor—Yan Chi always arrives just in time to save her from any real consequence for her actions.

Li Landi shines with her radiant and hypnotic portrayal of quiet competence, though her roles in The Starry Love and Love of Nirvana offered more nuance. Ao Ruipeng nails the green-flag hero archetype, but Yan Chi’s righteousness lacks layers. Thankfully, side characters—Yan Li, Yue Ning, and Yan Chi’s formidable grandmothers (the Grand Princess and Empress Dowager)—inject needed complexity and humour. Yan Chi’s relationship with his father Prince Rui is undercooked and should have been better explored.

The final arcs pivot to palace intrigue, trading forensic puzzles for murderous princes, scheming women and a dog's blood stab-happy finale. The end twist is clever but collapses under scrutiny—riddled with contrivances and a villain who is aided and abetted by all of the women’s inexplicable silence. This dulls the story’s initial feminist edge into a parade of bloodthirsty and wicked harpies, betraying its own ethos. And Qin Wan’s victory rings hollow: she solves her father’s case but fails to truly clear his name. If the message was “No man is above the law, and no one below it,” it lands with a thud.

Verdict? A bingeable, romance-driven romp with enough charm to gloss over its flaws. 8.0/10.0—generous, but deserved for sheer entertainment.

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Don't watch it! You'll regret it! (This movie doesn't deserve the overall user rating it has)

One word: Rape. Rape that is excused and diminished. It's treated like he just accidentally stepped on him. That's how much they don't care about it and act like it's nothing. Everyone, including the victim, acts like it's something to just move on from and forgive and forget. Not okay! And "cultural differences" is not a valid explanation/excuse. He also almost rapes him a second time!

There have been some shows and movies I've watched with some questionable consent scenes. I can dismiss these scenes (majority being kisses obviously) for a lot of shows/movies, because it's questionable AT WORST, they have only completely consensual scenes from then on, and I recognize that it's not real. There have also been some (like Love by Chance) where there is a side couple that has a rape scene and uses it as a romantic trope, which is absolutely gross. I can skip it and watch the other couple/couples and be fine, because they aren't the focus.

This is not the case with this film. This film has one "couple." And it's not questionable consent at all; it's undeniably rape. I couldn't look past it or skip it. This was a waste of my precious time on this earth.

The only thing I'm getting out of watching this is that it was another movie added to my watchlist. That's it. I saw a thing. Unfortunately, it was horrible.

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Go watch Hidden Love now!!!!

It's a beautiful series, and I think it deserves all the hype. I love how all that ends up, and without a doubt, it is one of the most outstanding cdramas in 2023.

Story:
In this story, a girl named Sang Zhi falls in love with Duan Jia Xu, her brother's best friend. Jia Xu regards Sang Zhi as a sister, yet Sang Zhi has started having feelings for him. As time passed, he developed feelings and fell in love with Sang Zhi.

The various periods of Sang Zhi and Duan Jia Xu are depicted throughout the plot, which is very well developed, from when they first met to when they started dating. It is very light and airy and shows various stages of relationships.

Cast:
Zhao Lu Si (Sang Zhi) and Chen Zhe Yuan (Duan Jia Xu) worked effectively in depicting their personality. They have fantastic chemistry on-screen and off-screen. They are the greenest of green flags, and their relationship is healthy. The series gets better because of the characters' excellent communication and comprehension. ZLS demonstrates how Sang Zhi matures as a character. Victor Ma also did an excellent job of portraying a brother who is a bother to his sister and still cares about her no matter what.

Twenty-five episodes is most certainly insufficient for me, but rather, it's without a doubt the ideal length. I, as of now, need to watch it again as it is beautiful, as it were. I strongly encourage anyone who hasn't seen it to try this drama—it's a warm and beautiful work of art!

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I just have to start by saying I loved this drama. I'm saying it in a very biased way. Why? Because it is EXACTLY the type drama I like. It's as if it was custom made just for me. This is a drama only OCN can succeed in making. Overall the same style as TEN. A special team is formed to help in the recovery of missing individuals. If I were to compare it to TEN, I'd say I liked the way the the team was formed there more than here, where we got to know the characters before the team was formed while in M, it felt a bit rushed. Otherwise the idea is similar. The focus is on the human side of the perpetrator and the victim. Many times it's hard to identify who is the real victim, and it's hard to hate anybody. On a more subtle note, we got into the politics of law, and the meaning of justice.

The lead characters were amazing in their roles, and so were the guest appearances in each case. Kim Kang Woo as Gil Su Hyun was such a troubled character. He has a deep darkness, and an extremely cute side. I love that he's no cheesy idealist. He will get blood on his hand, not for the sake of justice, but only to make the world a bit less awful. He's not faultless, as we see his view is not absolute, but he seeks the same satisfying ending I want. His frustration would always reflect mine. Next is Park Hee Soon playing Detective Oh Dae Yeong, who's personality it pretty much the opposite of Su Hyun. He's pretty loud and outgoing, and his life is mostly in the light with a happy family. He got many years of experience making him very perceptive. Seeing his trail of thoughts and the way follows track is engrossing. The two guys have the chemistry and the perfect foil for each other. Rounding up the team is Jo Bo Ah as Jin Seo Jun. Though much younger and beautiful, she did convince me of her being a focused hacker and smart. I enjoyed the sunbae-Maknae feel.

Other interesting characters were those involved in the cases. Though Su Hyun was supposed to be the genius of the show, those perpetrator were the geniuses. The performances were dazzling for a number of cases totally broke my heart.

Other than the cases and character, I like how the theme was forming subtly little by little each episode, until we got to the last episode. I find they quoted it perfectly:

- Currently we are living in a world that's filled with the fruit of injustice
- A History of injustice manipulating justice to kill off justice

I enjoy my mysteries, but since it is embedded so well with such a deep theme about law and justice, it reveals a deeper message that the drama is telling the viewer, leaving us in deep thought about the matter.

I would highly recommend this drama for anyone who enjoyed TEN or OCN dramas, and mysteries in general. There isn't any romance but, there is bromance at a more understated level as well as camaraderie.

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My Sassy Girl is the remake of the super popular, early 2000's movie of the same name. In this version, though, the story doesn't take place in modern times, but in the Joseon period. I found it a thoroughly enjoyable drama for the most part. It's a light romantic- comedy sageuk with a dose of political intrigue mixed in. In all honesty, though, there was really nothing much that set it apart from countless other dramas of the same genre. It's pretty standard fare, but I really liked it nontheless. The cinematography is beautiful. The use of color and lighting make it stand out, as well as the costumes. Truly, out of all Joseon era sageuks, this one has the best visuals and costuming that I have seen.

As I mentioned above, the story itself isn't original and it actually doesn't follow the original My Sassy Girl that closely. In the first couple of episodes, you can recognize a couple of scenes and situations, and the main character's friends have a similar profession/hobby, but that's about it. There are also quite a few modern Korean culture and society refrences used, which had me chuckling. All in all I do recommend this drama, despite it being so similar to others. It's still a fun watch.

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My relationship with this drama can be described as "it's complicated". I watched it all, because I liked it that much, but my friends who have seen me posting about it on the feeds (I have to thank them for their patience, this was 50 episodes after all!) probably thought I hated it sometimes. Yes, I complained about it that much.



This drama is highly rated, so I guess I have some explaining to do. That's one reason why I am writing this review - seeing that so many people absolutely adored this drama, I want to offer a somewhat different point of view. The other reason is that I feel like I want to sort out my thoughts about it.



So, did I like it at all? Yes, I did. Not because I thought it was very beautiful or extraordinary or anything, and not because I was swept away by the romance. No, on the contrary I found this drama to be very, very silly with too many plotholes, and even though I generally enjoy teacher/student romances I didn't feel a lot of "chemistry" in this drama. Part of it can be explained by the fact that the man lives in "The Hall of Emotionless", above everything else. But even so… At first I was disappointed with this drama and thought to myself: "What ever is this?!" but I learned to take it for what it was and enjoy iy as such. I saw this drama as light and fun, not a comedy but definitely impossible to take seriously, some things annoying and some things delightfully enjoyable.



The thing is, many things in this drama don't make a lot of sense, especially not the details. Things happen without reason or explanation all of a sudden and the characters are saying and doing irrational things sometimes. At Chang Liu they honour vitures like being "emotionless" and without desire and ambition. Yet all of the characters - except the male lead, sometimes - display all kinds of very human emotions all the time - like distrust and suspicion, jealousy, and a lot of importance is placed on the times when the disciples have to compete agains each other. They have to do their best to win, because there can only be one winner of course. I fail to understand how it is possible to fight for the spot as the sect leader's disciple without having any feelings about it. Also, it is against the rule to fall in love, but some people break the rule with no consequences.



The writing is definitely lacking, it does a terrible job at explaining the details and even the greater lines that would make the context - the setting, the basics of this fantasy world - come to life. We know that there are some "demons" and some "immortals" and some "humans". And there is some great, dark danger that is threathening the existence of the whole world. How and why I have no idea, but the "deity devices" that are spread out among the various sects (what is the purpose of these sects and what are they doing there?) can keep things in check. Of course, the bad guys are trying to steal these devices. All of this is sketchy at best. It seems like someone wanted to write a teacher/student story in a fantasy world, but didn't have enough imagination, and decided to roughly copy the manual of "Fantasy Story 1A". There they are "cultivating", which in some way or another means that they learn magic skills that mostly consist of being able to fly on the edge of a sword, push people away with a flash of light or create a shield around them, and make all those wuxia moves. The good guys live in golden halls, the bad guys live in dark, cave-like places, and their soldiers seem to be retired orchs who are sometimes very, very useless fighters. I really hated how boring and pointless the whole fantasy setting was. There is not even any real feeling of Good v/s Evil.



I liked, no, I adored many of the "bad guys" in this drama. I don't often fall for the characters that belong to or turn to "the dark side", but if it's done the right way, there is something about it that appeals to me. I liked Sha Quian Mo, aka Sha Jie Jie, from the start. I like the way he's so powerful and has almost complete control over his subordinates - he has quite a bit of that awesome great power that makes some people kind of hot - and yet he's so emotional and soft on the inside. Or at least a part of his inside... He was my favourite and with a better story, he could have been a wonderful character! Purple Fairy, too, is a character who is strong and proud and elegant, sharp and powerful. Too bad this is mostly ruined by her foolishness, her obsession with love that makes her kind of stupid, and weak. Even so, I always adored her and stayed a little bit on her side even when she did bad things. (As for the bad guys, Ni Man Tian was one I did not like at all. She was just a spoiled brat who was mean for no reason. No fun at all.) Dongfang was also an interesting character and one that I liked more and more, once I got past the first few annoying episodes. I also liked some of the supporting characters. (Yes, I'm saying that I like the supporting characters more than the main couple, but… I find that to be pretty okay. It's too bad the supposedly great romance didn't sweep me off my feet this time, but looking at the rating and the other reviews, I guess that's just me…)



It reverses good and bad, in a way. The people in the golden and pastel coloured castle are the good guys, but often they are colder and more cruel than the villains. Well, this is at least true about some of them. There are some lovable cliché good guys (minor characters who are sweet and give the leads support in the right moments) and some cliché bad guys whom you love to hate. Because of this "reversal" in the characters attitudes and actions (or should I say that some characters are actually rather multi-layered) it is sad that the setting is still so cliché. I dislike how they use colours so stereotypically, especially knowing that some c-dramas can be really beautiful. (I've heard that this is actually pretty good for its genre, but seeing as this is my first Chinese fantasy drama I can't compare it. It does have a few pretty sceneries but nothing special, in my opinion.)



This drama is like a big bowl of candy. Not premium quality, stuff, but sweet and colourful. Too much, but it kind of looks good. Even though you know it when you bite into it, that there's really not point in eating it, you just can't resist it. You just take another piece. And another, and another, until you're full and had enough. You shouldn't have started eating to begin with. But another day, you come back for more!



That's what this drama was like for me. I dislike a lot of things about it. I wouldn't recommend it for the romance - as much as I have a soft spot for teacher/student relationships, this couple did not move me. Even though I have to admit there were a few sweet moments, overall I find this romance utterly unromantic with no chemistry to speak of. Bai Zi Hua is a very stupid man whose decisions don’t make sense a lot if the time.



Well, there's one thing about it - this drama, I found it amusing! I was disappointed at first, because I had expected something grand and beautiful and exquisite (well, who can blame me, the second c-drama I ever watched was Nirvana in Fire and it kind of set the bar and made me have unreasonable expectations). I found this to be ridicilously silly. It really is. But once I accepted the silliness, embraced the comedy (although I'm not sure if all the things that made me laugh were meant to be funny) and tried to ignore the stupidness of a lot of the plot, The Journey of Flower quickly became my guilty pleasure. If I hadn’t had that feeling about it, I would have dropped it after four or five episodes… but I did watch the whole thing and didn’t skip anything except a few figthing scenes in the last half of the drama.



Tonight I also watched a few of the cut scenes on YouTube. They are... interesting, but including them (the ones I watched) would not have made the drama better in my opinion, only more frustrating.

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