Reviews

Discussing tone in the context of a review is tricky. A show’s atmosphere is something so ephemeral it’s hard to even define, much less evaluate. That being said, The Return of Iljimae is most remarkable for its evocation of mood. A fantasia in a minor key, it weaves a bittersweet, melancholy spell, accented not so much by its characters’ tragedies as by their loneliness.

Intentionally structured like a storybook (complete with an initially over-intrusive narrator), the show jettisons many of k-drama’s structural clichés as it follows the growth of its protagonist from innocent young man to wiser hero. Jung Il Woo gives a lovely (in more ways than one) restrained performance full of moments of quiet sweetness and pathos. Jung Hye Young, as his mother, is also exceptional, radiating warmth and longing. There are plenty of fight scenes and large helpings of occasionally distracting slapstick comedy, but the show never loses its contemplative feel. The characters find fleeting moments of connection in sex, friendship, compassion, and sacrifice but the world’s injustices are always there, calling them away from comfort. The show suggests that heroism is not a natural gift, but something learned and struggled for and easily lost if the passion for justice tips over into hatred. There are occasional missteps, including a bizarre first episode, but once the show finds its rhythm, it becomes a hero’s journey very much worth the taking.

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Please stop hiring unpaid interns for script writing

Genuinely think the script writers are insulting the audience's intelligence. The story never lines up, the logic falls apart time after times.

This drama is what we call 脑残恋爱剧. that's exactly what it is, you need to leave your brain at home in order for this drama to make sense. You need to watch this for the purpose of "watching two attractive people fall in love" because that's the only thing it (questionably) delivers.

At ep 34 I finally realize they tried to copy the plot of nirvana in fire and my goodness, it'd be an insult to even call this a dollar store NiF.

Pros:
Good casting, if not for these phenomenal actors I absolutely could not have finished this

Cons:
I don't know why nobody mentions this, but the ML's sister is what we call "a cast with funding". Because if she did not sponsor the production there's no way she would've been in this drama.

All throughout I've never seen any character more annoying. Purpose? None. Character development? Please don't piss me off. Is involved or is critical to any part of the story line whatsoever? Absolutely not. This character genuinely could've been replaced by a passerby and the story would've moved on just fine.

With regards to the script writing, long story short, they introduce conflict for the sake of conflict, ignoring if it makes sense of not. I started noting some down after some episodes because just wanted to see how ridiculous this gets:

- EP 10, fight in the forest about to break out, let's bring the FL who cannot fight at all, we will see this later.
- EP 10, grandma of course needs to go back and fetch things while enemies approaching.
- EP 11, FL as expected cannot help with anything, the reason why she was here the first place is just so she can be "saved" by ML.
- EP 11, village got raided, people died, what the kids do? Play football.
- EP 11, ML FL cannot go back home because being chased by the crowned Prince, after seeing some mountains, they magically could now.
- EP 11, ML remembers to check FL's background after married for ages now.
- EP 15, poisoning a foreign princess is apparently 罪不致死 (no biggie bc attempting murder on a royal is just a prank I guess) , make that makes sense.
- EP 18, 4th Prince just got saved and woke up from poison, very sought after and is in great danger, so of course he immediately leaves protection in literally undergarments with ZERO guards with him.
- EP 19, bad guy holding FL hostage, ML prepares bow and arrow to shoot, bad guy of course stands still waiting to be shot because using the FL as a body shield would make too much sense.
- EP 19, falls off a cliff, survives, wakes up in full face makeup looking pretty
- EP 20 FL's brother was like 9 or 10 years old in EP 1. It's not been that long as every pill is one month. It's not been years, but somehow this boy is a grown man now.
- EP 21, Prince of the country is in love with the Empress of the enemy country because mommy issues. I'm trying not to roll my eyes.
- EP 23, FL got captured, they knocked her out, but of course they wait for her to wake up first, before attempting her life because otherwise it'd make too much sense.
- EP 23, drowning cured her amnesia and I'm supposed to accept that.
- EP 26, at 22 min you see the most random jumps. So they also didn't pay for post production and edition I guess.
- EP 27, a massively important witness. Which means Meng is allowed to just walk into the prison and murders him because in this world, we don't have prison guards.
- EP 29, FL finally meets up with her brother, bad guys approaches, what do we do? Run in opposite direction of course. We use the table as a shield for arrows, fair enough, but don't forget to use an umbrella as well as that is somehow a stronger shield than a table.
- EP 30, the ML FL and her brother are now together, as a villain you see 3 of your worst enemies what do you do? Send assassins after them? Send your thousands of soldiers after them? Get some archers and snipe them? No, you explode the city, because the script writers said so.
- EP 30, as the evil empress is now leaving the city, wide in the open with 20 guards around her. You, as the good guys, hiding in background and somewhat of a high ground, what do you do? Shoot her down with swift arrows? No, you go melee attack into her 20 guards because the script writers said so.
- EP 32, as a crown prince, the best way to get yourself lined up to be next in throne is to of course hook your dad up to crack because then he's depended on you dealing him drugs.
- EP 33, 3rd prince is now revealed in court as the bad guy, stabbing officials one by one. You, as an official in court what do you do? Run? No. Jump the guy because there are 30 of y'all and there's only 1 of him? No. You stand still and wait for your turn to be stabbed because again, the script writers said so.
- EP 34, the most useless father in the world finally appears. I think there's supposed to be sympathy for him but help, I must've lost it somewhere.
- EP 35, using a homeless person as hostage for some morality test is dumb. Morality testing not the guy that's gonna be on the throne, but his sister instead, is another level of dumb.
- EP 35, instead of having the FL who is already poisoned to test the cure, we of course feed the poison to the ML so he can test instead, because again, the script writers said so. I guess it is to set up conflict for the sake of conflict for...
- EP 36, yep, the conflict is here, he is weak to fight because poison, he only saved enough flower to cure one person. This is making sense, because otherwise, how else are we gonna play gardening simulator to save him after? We need conflicts for... I don't know, for the sake of conflicts

Overall, I'm just upset that I wasted my life on this.

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The Reincarnated Lovers is a very good historical miniseries. This drama is about Prince Xiao Xuan Yi (played by Guan Yue) and his lover Tang Wan Yu/Wan Wan (played by Guo Jia Yu), the daughter of Minister Tang that was born afflicted with heterochromia causing her eyes to turn blue. People with this condition were considered cursed and it was believed that they will bring disaster upon others. The synopsis written on MDL is wrong. Minister Tang is charged with treason and Xiao Xuan Yi is in charge of carrying out the death sentence upon the Tang family on his wedding day to Tang Wan Yu. Filled with pain and hatred against her husband, Wan Wan kills him and kills herself ensuing a story of reincarnation for both. The second thing that is wrong on the synopsis is that after their reincarnation, not rebirth, Wan Wan tries her best to reverse the tragic events of their first life and Xiao Xuan Yi, who still loves her, continues trying to protect her. There is no sadistic love at all in their relationship! By destiny and the male lead’s persistence, they get entangled again, work together to find the truth of all calamities, and find their happy ending. The miniseries is fast paced but it is well done. The cast did a good job bringing their characters to life, costumes are beautifully done, it has good cinematography, and the leading couple has good chemistry. If there is something that disappoints a little bit is that in many of the leading’s couple intimate scenes, the kissing was not intense but there are many tender moments between then and one can feel their love for each other. The drama is entertaining, enjoy it!

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I will be short with the review.

Story : This drama is mainly about four third rate musicians friendship, group struggles and their individual stories with a little bit of romance in it.

The romance here is very weird . It forms a near cycle missing one link. you will understand when you watch the drama. as far as J dramas go Quartet is a very good drama with slice of life vibes in it. The cinematography is good with snow covered locations. The 4 lead's acting is very good.

Pros :

- Good story
- Good acting
- Music is very good
- end Title song
- Light comedy

As far as cons go, the romance here is little weird and unsuccesful. Not much to say as this isn't a drama which you pull your hair out for, but a very feel good drama you watch on a slow day.

This drama is worth a 8.5 / 10.

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I really, like it drama born to be Alive, yang Zi acting askill is really good a yang Zi,&Hu ge

Continuing from the previous analysis, the depth of "Born to Be Alive" extends far beyond its surface-level plot. By Episode 28, the drama has successfully established a world that is both gritty and hopeful, demanding the viewer's full attention and empathy.
​Chemistry and Character Dynamics
One of the strongest pillars of this drama is the authentic chemistry between the lead characters. Yang Zi does not just lead the show; she elevates her co-stars through shared emotional energy. The evolution of their relationship from strangers to pillars of support is written with incredible maturity. There are no forced romances or unnecessary misunderstandings. Instead, we see two souls healing each other. This realistic approach to human connection is a breath of fresh air in the current television landscape. Every conversation and every shared silence between them feels earned and significant.
​The Power of Resilience
The core message of the series—survival and thriving against all odds—is beautifully encapsulated in the journey from Episode 1 to 28. The protagonist’s struggles reflect the real-world challenges faced by many, making her triumphs feel like our own. Yang Zi captures the essence of "resilience" perfectly. She portrays a woman who is broken but refuses to stay down. This inspiring narrative is exactly why the show has touched so many hearts globally. It encourages the audience to find their own strength, making it a socially significant piece of art rather than just entertainment.
​Technical Excellence and Direction
The director’s vision for the show is evident in the pacing of the later episodes. As the stakes get higher approaching Episode 28, the tension is palpable. The use of lighting to signify hope versus despair is a masterclass in visual storytelling. Furthermore, the supporting cast provides a solid foundation, ensuring that every subplot contributes to the overarching theme of life and rebirth. The drama maintains a consistent quality that many long-running series struggle to achieve.
​Standing Against Bias
The wave of negative reviews is clearly an attempt to overshadow the artistic achievements of this project. However, true art cannot be suppressed. The high engagement and the massive number of genuine viewers who tune in daily are the real indicators of success. The 1-star ratings are a stark contrast to the sophisticated writing and stellar performances displayed on screen. We urge neutral viewers to watch the first few episodes and judge for themselves. The talent of Yang Zi and the brilliance of the script speak for themselves.
​Final Thoughts on the First Half
As we look forward to the next chapters, "Born to Be Alive" has already secured its place as one of the best dramas of the year. It is a heartfelt tribute to the strength of the human spirit. For anyone seeking a story with soul, depth, and world-class acting, look no further. This is a 5-star production through and through.

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An Easily Forgettable Show...

A collection of short series revolving around the mysterious and unexplained, the show had undeniable potential to be an original and chilling ensemble of horror tales. Instead, we got Goedam. A show filled with repetitive storylines, gore horror cliches and lacking characterisation. To put in more simple words, Goedam is the sort of show which you can watch in a short space of time, and easily forget about anything in the show, the day afterwards.

Yes, I’m not forgetting that the episodes did average upon less than 10 mins in length. As a consequence ,it was clear from the -get go that the episodes weren’t going to be in -depth stories about the traumas of the human soul . There is still a lot a story writer can do , however, in a short drama regardless of genre ( whilst not a personal favourite , note Bing Goo, as an example of a “short drama” with a creative and controlled flare)
without falling short upon generic cliches and story archetypes as shown as Goedam.

For a horror drama, there was nothing which delivered a particularly spine-tingling aftermath for viewers. It became apparent that the show relied lethargically upon the gore and body horror trope for virtually every ending resulting in a death or a blood bath for the character/ victim of the episode. Besides only a couple of episodes scratching the surface of Asian horror, it would have been more entertaining as a viewer, to have seen a more episodes focusing upon elements of traditional Korean horror or at least varied tales, urban legends and creatures for a reflection of a more sinister and memorable Horror show.

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Intensive. Rough. Monosyllabic. If you don't let that put you off: Definitely worth seeing!

On average, every month (!) around 1,000 North Koreans flee to China in the hope of thus escaping hunger and persecution. Around 80 percent of the refugees are women. In many respects they are dependent on their unfamiliar environment - due to the uncertainty regarding residence law they practically live in a legal vacuum. Their fate all too often ends in the hands of smugglers and human traffickers who shamelessly exploit their insecure situation and ruthlessly make use of this for their own profit. The women are kept in brothels under slave-like conditions or forced into marriage. The bribes are increasing in view of tightened border controls. And unfortunately, China delivers all the refugees it identifies as such back to North Korea, where they then await torture and death. They live in constant fear of attacks, violence and deportation.

"Beautiful Days" tells the true story of a North Korean woman who makes it out of fear and dependency into an independent identity and a new life in South Korea. Her new life not rosy either, but it's free and self-determined.

Lee Na-young convinces here in a true-to-life and unembellished depiction of a bitter, merciless development process - from the abandoned teenager, who is forced into sex work and marriage, who is then threatened with taking her child away to sell it, and then despite all the hopelessness, persistently and unswervingly manages to escape her pimp, emancipate herself and earn enough money as an independent woman to support her family in China from afar.

By the way: In "Beautiful Days" there are actually no "beautiful" days. The title is pure irony. Dialogues are minimized. There is hardly any room for closeness and tenderness in this rough, monosyllabic world. The few loving gestures can practically be counted on one hand, but their effect is thus even stronger.

Intensive. Rough. If you don't let that put you off: Definitely worth seeing!

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It's simple: if it's from Strongberry, I watch it. I always enjoy the feeling of sincerity that underlies all of their works no matter how short they may be, so I always come back for more.

Fingers After is definitely short, clocking in at only 10 minutes long, but the production is good, as is the acting and the ost - nothing is awkward about this short. The story isn't wildly complex, you can't expect it to contain as much as a full 16+ hour kdrama, but it does serve as a nice little glimpse into the lives of these two men as they talk about why one of them suddenly wanted to shut the other out.

Looking forward to more of Strongberry's future works! I encourage everyone who is interested in watching this short to buy this properly on Vimeo so this studio can keep up with their good work making LGBT+ films.

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Excellent, heartfelt, charming, happy ending

Excellent, heartfelt, charming. Strongberry's short films always deliver.

It's rare to see intergenerational gay relationships featured in Asian media and this is a welcomed change. Both actors are handsome and charming. The acting is natural and understated yet you can really feel the atmosphere and emotion, especially the Professor's disappointment near the end. I rarely pay much attention to how movies or shows use music but here, the use of music has a great impact. Music represents the Professor's state of mind: 80% of the film consists of background noise and no background music because it conveys the Professor's loneliness. When they get together, a romantic track plays, followed by a quirky, happy tune. The dialogue is succinct and romantic. I'm as surprised as the Professor that the student already consider them in a relationship. That was so cute! Their hand-holding and flirting at the end is also extremely cute and heartwarming.

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Wow. No ones written a review. First, this drama special is basically a movie. A 1 hour movie. No more episodes, this is it. Also warning it is open ended, BUT I think the ending is pretty clear, so feel free to message me if you're confused. Now onto the review, first this drama is very realistic in my opinion. The characters, their reactions, the ending they all feel realistic to me. It doesn't feel like "ugh another romance I'll never have" it feels more true to life. Secondly, the acting is great. I mean guys it's chae soo bin and dong Yoon, fairly new faces but they've been great in everything. Dong Yoon always impresses me. I mean not just "wow good acting" I mean whatever character he is, his story always leaves a mark. Ji Hoon (Solomons Perjury), Dae Hwi (School 2017), and Gi Seok (If we were a season) all left their own mark on me. I applaud Dong Yoon for always picking stories/characters that I can't get out of my head. Now onto Chae Soo Bin, she is also a great actresss, but unfortunately always pick characters that grate me. Finally, she FINALLY picked a character that I loved and could root for. Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?? For her to pick a character that I liked! I loved her character, and she feels so real and relatable. She has her own story, and feels like her own character not just a pairing to dong Yoon, no she's her own person too. Her story had a great message to all people dating and *spoiler* it's ok to date multiple people, you don't always know what you want, and sometimes it's better to wait*spoiler end* so few dramas portray this, and so few movies, so I'm glad this one did! Thirdly, I personally love the ending. Both characters grow, and I think it really turned out for best. Again, if any confusion message me, and I can maybe clear things up, or we can have a healthy debate lol. Overall this drama special  was definitely well done, would have no problem rewatching! I reccomend to all out there!

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This is a pretty good drama. There are both positive and negative points (only a few) in it, in my opinion.

I've been thinking of watching this for a really long time, but I didn't really have high hopes, cause I had read some negative reviews about it. I started it on a whim and turns out I was watching it the whole day and couldn't wait to finish it.

Story: I really liked the plot. When I first read it, I thought ok girl falls in love with her boss, that's new... But the way their relationship develops, the whole story in general, the characters, not only the main characters but also the supporting ones, their stories are all very nice and interesting and I really really enjoyed watching it.

Negative point: At some points you might think that things are dragging out too much. And in my opinion they do. This drama could have fewer episodes. The other negative thing, is that the episodes are really long. If you like watching a drama after it's completed, like I usually do, and wanna watch more than one episode a day, you'll probably get a bit tired at some point.

Acting/Cast: 9/10. Almost everyone was great. Aaron played his role sooo well!!! The other main and supporting actors were extremely good as well. Also, there are many good actors in this, like Hsieh Isa and Shen Meng Sheng. At some point I thought Kuo Puff's acting was too much, but yeap, only a couple of times. This doesn't get a 10 out of 10 from me, cause I didn't really like Lin Lyla. She is the main antagonist in this. Although you'll probably really really hate her, I think it's the character. Ding Jia Yu is probably one of the worst antagonists I've seen in all 6 years of watching asian dramas. I think the role was too big for Lin Lyla, she wasn't really good. But I just checked her profile and found out she's really young and this is probably her 1st drama (how did she get such a big role?) so I think, and hope, she'll improve in the future.

Music: I don't really have much to say, I really liked most of the songs. Too bad Aaaron only sang one song in this drama.

Rewatch value: I'd definitely rewatch this drama. It has both funny and sad sences, and some really cute and sweet ones. You can definitely fall in love with the characters, not only the main ones, but almost everyone. They are all so unique and cute in their own, adorable way.

Overall, I really liked it and I'd recommend it. Really nice story, very good cast and music. Eveyone did a good job in this drama, you should give it a try!! ^_^

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As bad as Jeon Jong-seo's veneers.

I made some notes as I was watching it because I had questions, and some of the things I found answers to, other things are still a mystery.

And I'm all in with a spoilers on this one so be warned.

Why did Do-Hans boyfriend get beaten up, when his family doesn't know he's gay? I never found the answer to that, I assumed the people that went and threatened the boyfriend were people that his grandfather hired? But since he kept saying nobody in his family knew he was gay, I don't know who threatened his boyfriend.

Ji-Han and the car accident. So the mother left her husband and had 2 more kids, did I miss the part where these children had a father in the picture? What happened to him? Jow did the reporter driving the car get involved in all of this? And her ex-husband was chasing her and caused the accident, but somehow the grandfather blames himself for that. And hates Ji-Han for know reason. And the father is still hanging around I thought? Why isn't all of this animosity directed at him, since he did a hit-and-run.

Why did Ji-Han come on so strong that he was going to seduce her away from his older brother, only to then freak out when he had feelings for her and have such a guilt trip about betraying his brother?

Why does he want his brother to run the company when his brother doesn't want to and he doesn't seem to want to either?

And after all of that tumultuousness why is the grandfather like yeah I don't care if family doesn't run the company anymore.

Where did Ji-Han go for a year? What was he doing all that time?

Why in the end does it show her getting married to someone else and Ji-Han showing up and running away with her? That was incomprehensible.

I've seen the FL in Ballerina. And she seemed well cast for that, her features are kind of sharp and she's not very expressive which made her seem tougher and kind of emotionally stunted. I did not like how she portrayed the character in this drama. She really does not emote, and I don't speak Korean but I know words, and I couldn't understand her, was she mumbling? I need to ask a native speaker because her voice was really hard for me to track. And I'm not kidding about those veneers they were distracting me so badly because she couldn't fit her mouth over them. Whoever styled her gave her the boxiest outfits, stringy hair, they really downplayed her attractiveness. I think another actress would have been a lot more cohesive for this role, I don't think this is her genre.

She had this wonderful capacity for ad libbing or stepping into a role with confidence and I wish they would have played that up more, because that part was interesting when she used her skill set like that.

It was bizarre that she was faking a marriage to her friend, but they never spoke, they never even pretended to like each other, it was so incongruous. There should have been some scenes where they awkwardly held hands or made some attempt to be into their own wedding. But really all we saw was her trying on dresses and him saying she looked nice. They really needed to add some connection there between those two characters.

Sometimes I'll lose focus in a drama and miss some key points, so they might have stated the answers to some of the questions that I had but I truly don't know 🤷

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Just your typical fast paced, manga based romance movie.

I watched this movie because I want something light, though I got what I want still the pacing in this story bothered me. I haven't read the manga and I have no idea how is the development of each character there, so this movie got me scratching my head because some scenes doesn't make sense like suddenly one character likes another character, not enough development to make that believable. I also have hard time connecting to these 2 main characters, not enough scenes for me to truly understand their actions, the pacing is just too fast. Also, some characters are wasted like minami hamabe's character, I thought she is part of the main cast, but felt like she's just a cute stray kitten who walked passed me, no idea what happen to her after. It's still a pretty good movie though, fun story, cute moments, lovable characters.

Technically, cinemagraphy is nice, Iove the camera work during those cute scenes. Music is also good, nice songs, though I felt it has too many songs, I think I heard 4 songs played throughout this movie. Acting is also good, you have both suda and tao as main lead and you can never go wrong with them, they also have great chemistry in this movie.

You might love this movie more than I do if you read the manga or if you're already familiar with the characters but it might be enough for you to love this if you are only after for a cute story, lovable characters, great kissess and good ending.

Check my Blog for other reviews & other JDramas stuffs. (｡◕‿‿◕｡)
https://thatjapanesedramaguy.blogspot.com/

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I am so happy I watched this drama! I had been holding it for a while because I wanted to watch it in a relaxed state of mind. It is a fairly refreshing drama. It has a very captivating plot and most of it fairly original. While exchanging of partners in movies not unheard of, this drama presents that concept in a whole new light. It has its shortcomings, but I think this show truly deserves a rating of 10.

In some aspects, I can say this show comes close to being genius. Hats off to its writer because he wrote one of the most challenging stories involving romance that I have come across in quite a while. I can say that the first seven episodes were absolutely not predictable. I am generally very good at guessing things, but this show proved me wrong every time. Even after a certain 'twist' at the end of episode 7, I was pretty sure about the outcome of the story and even that left me in surprise. This is the reason why this show has very few dull moments. There is always something that you won't see coming in every episode that takes place that thoroughly makes you laugh. It is a rather bold drama compared to regular Jdramas with few scenes of intimacy. It would appeal to a more mature audience. Also, people tired of cliches should definitely go for it.

This show has a good cast and the acting department was quite good. There were a couple of characters that came off as annoying- especially Usami but there were lots of other things that kept me occupied. Dynamics between all characters have been explored fully. The ending felt sort of forced, but even that ended up being funny. Every time a serious situation sprouts up, it eventually turns into comedy. It is a very lightweight drama. I loved the role of Matsuda Shota the best because his character was that of a playboy photographer. He carries out roles of bad boys pretty well. His female counterpart was ridiculous but I kind of fell for it too by the end.

Also, the psychology involved in the story is pretty interesting. Almost every theory they put forward made sense and could not be argued against. The psychologist's character was a freaking genius. He very splendidly changed his shades from good to bad and back again. Airu was also a solid character among all females. Right from the scene where they all get stuck in the lift, she became my favourite.

This drama has great comedy, good romance and great entertainment value. It makes you laugh without being too ridiculous, gives you romance without being cheesy and entertains you till the end. This is a highly recommended drama!

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