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Let me start by saying that I struggled to watch this drama as it aired, though I paced myself as best I could. This drama was weird to experience for me. Although I finished it the day the last episode came out, I did so without any joy (much to my disappointment).
On paper, the show should've been right up my alley. You get three strong female leads, supported by male leads who never steal their limelight, up against a threatening enemy who really hurt two of our protagonists... Yet, the story fell flat for me. I found myself easily distracted. As a result, one-hour episodes took me almost three hours to finish.
Technically speaking, the main plot was well structured even if predictable and most questions were properly answered. Of course, there were also some subplots introduced at odd places and dealt with a bit offhandedly (like the bullying, for example) which we can mark as flaws.
However, it was evident from the start, that this show required effort and patience for me to sit through. I found the humor a bit too silly and the plot a bit too boring. I thought I'd get into it as the story progressed, but I was wrong. I felt the show couldn't commit to a tone and therefore I didn't find my footing as an audience.
Perhaps I watched this show when I was simply not in the mood for this type of drama? Or maybe this type of drama is simply not for me? At any rate, one thing is for sure, if you aren't enjoying this show by episode 3 or 4, chances are that --like me-- you won't enjoy the rest.
MAIN CHARACTERS: Not very deep
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Although I appreciated this show focused on three female leads, they were still not fleshed-out enough for me to perceive them as more than a caricature. Don't get me wrong, there were moments where I thought I'd empathized with them (and I should've!) but there was a disconnect for me between what I was being shown and the acting. That meant that when characters cried, I wasn't moved.
Baek Chan Mi: She's a badass lady who is obsessed with her job and, within that, revenge. While I appreciated all the badass fighting scenes she starred in, I often found myself distracted by her acting. Partly because my brain kept telling me there was something strange with her face (surgery, I supposed) but mostly because I simply couldn't connect with her in any scene.
Im Ye Eun: She's the team's rookie, a single mom without a family who struggles to step up to the plate and help out her teammates. I liked her character but felt she lacked dimension. She was nice and smart, but she wasn't memorable. I expected her to grow even more confident, but I don't think she did at all.
Hwang Mi Soon: she's the oldest of the team, the breadwinner of her family who has to pretend she has a regular job. Although she was often used as comic relief, her acting stood out to me. I found myself feeling a bit bad during her moments of vulnerability. Unfortunately, her issues were a very small part of the plot.
SUPPORT CHARACTERS: forgettable
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The support characters were forgettable, really. The only one I found charming was Byun Woo Suk, the ML's secretary. He got a bit of development towards the end of the show and those flashbacks made me wished we'd gotten more scenes between him and Yoon Suk Ho (the ML).
PORTRAYAL OF ROMANCE: childish, but a bit toxic
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There are three romantic relationships depicted in the drama, each pertaining to one of our leading ladies.
Baek Chan Mi X Yoon Suk Ho: their relationship relied on their childhood connection. Chan Mi used to be Suk Ho's tutor and childhood friend. This relationship has the most screentime and development, mostly through flashbacks provided through the epilogues. Although the romance is mostly sweet, I found it a bit boring. Towards the end, however, there are some questionable scenes where Suk Ho takes control of the relationship which didn't settle all that well with me. Let's just say possessiveness shouldn't be confused with confidence, less so with love.
Im Ye Eun x Gang Woo Won: take the following with a grain of salt, as this relationship was popular based on the comment section of the show at the time this aired. That said, I didn't like it. Woo Won can be described as a man child, one who often gaslighted and manipulated Ye Eun to get her to do his bidding. I'm not a fan of characters who are incapable of accepting their emotions (emotionally incompetent, if you will), and even less of those who push their emotions on someone else. Though I'd hope Woo Won would grow as a character, the truth is... he didn't. But then again, none of the characters really grew, so no surprise there.
Hwang Mi Soon x Nam Bong Man (I had to look up his name, and I'm assuming I'm right and this guy was Mi Soon's husband. Please correct me if I'm wrong). Anyhow, this relationship was depicted as realistic but... problematic. Mi Soon never seemed happy to be with her husband and when he started to suspect she may be having an affair, the entire thing was treated as a joke. So, naturally, I disliked that the issue was never really brought up or talked about.
OVERALL: On the fence...
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This is the first time that I struggle with putting my thoughts on paper. I opted to write a review rather than leave a comment so I could try, as much as I could, to give a snapshot of how I feel about this show.
Though I didn't like it, I can't easily encourage you to skip it. Based on the comment section, I may be in the minority (and trapped in the twilight zone) when it comes to this drama. I can safely say I didn't hate it... but I also didn't enjoy watching it (from the first episode to the last, my indifference remained).
Why did I continue to watch, you may ask? Because I WANTED to like it, given so few dramas have more than one female character in their roasters, let alone acting as their leads! I gave this show a chance and I don't regret it, though a month from now, I'll probably not even remember this story, the characters or the acting.
So my best and only advice would be to watch the first 3-4 episodes and see if you liked them. If you're engaged by then, you'll probably enjoy the rest of the show. If, however, you found them boring or found the humor lacking, then you may be better off skipping this one.
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1Mythical worlds, demonic realms & human tragedy mixed with luminous impulses + even humorous tones
'Island' is a KDrama released on streaming platform TVing.Alas! The unspeakable bad habit à la Netflix is obviously spreading rapidly: break series into half and then wait a couple of months before the story continues. Really? It's frustrating. Not just for me, obviously. And not for the first time. Same here. KDrama has always been doing great with solidly telling a story in one season, how long it may take... (In that sense, going global turns out to be an unnecessary step backwards.)
I would also like to mention in advance, I was a bit disappointed. Something was missing. A spark of whatsoever. Maybe another streaming-platform-malady: a compact binge-worthy story is often (I think) paying the price by losing some of its intensity. The story doesn't grab me that much, I rather watch. So there's a loss of potential there (I think).
Still it is entertaining to watch and has its moments.
In "Island" time and space become relative in many respects. What the still remembered past is for some, a past, long-forgotten life it is for others. What is a demon for one person can be a human being for another, since both forces are at work. What is 'here' can be a completely different place at the same time. The KDrama provides insights into archaically cruel initiation rites for demon hunters and also presents a contemporary exorcist who combines youthful KPop freshness and traditional priestly garment. There are also the traditional haenyeo - female divers who for ages have been diving just like that for abalone and the like. (After "Everglow" and "Our Blues" Go Doo-shim has probably subscribed to this role for life :-) so it seems...)
Well, demons are rarely a pretty sight when they do show their true colors. Yet, assigning "Island" to the horror genre to me seems exaggerated, as zombies & co. nowadays regularly show multimedia presence. Let's call it fantasy. Still, it's pretty gloomy overall. The night is in no way inferior to the day when it comes to screen time. In addition, some people fall victim to gruesome, demonic transformation processes and sometimes, if possible, hunt for human flesh themselves. The good news: there is no shooting around. Rather, the sword is drawn. Either in forged iron decorated with rich ornaments, or the lightsaber, or the crucifix, which should also not be underestimated thanks to its symbolic power, or - if all else fails or no one else is around - a few movements versed in self defense should do.
(Note: Some may locate the KDrama with its demonically inspired story in the world of fairy tales. In the tradition of Buddhism, however, evil in the form of demons (who prefer to eat human flesh) has its solid place. Likewise in the ethnic religion of shamanism, which is still practiced in South Korea today. Eventually the Catholic Church has also recognized the existence of demons with the tradition of exorcism of devils or demons since ancient times.)
Apart from the exorcism of demons, "Island" also contains complex and dramatically intertwined relationships, karmic guilt and the principle of hope. Then there are feelings that are far more than just sympathy. And in it, underneath and around, there is humor and depth, heart and pain, plus something for the eye.
"Island" combines a KDrama-like successful mixture of moods that knows how to unite mythical world, demonic realms and human tragedy with luminous impulses, heroes in a wide variety of robes and even humorous tones. The pace might pick up at times, yet the KDrama isn't about frenzy, but more of the grave kind. It offers an epic story, that transcends time and space and is excellently entertaining at the same time, if you are not deterred by the somewhat spooky characters that inevitably appear every now and then.
With the first season alone, the story (unfortunately again) is not yet told to the end. So it could break down quite a bit in the course of the second season. However, I doubt it. In any case, I'm looking forward to it.
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EDIT: After the end of Season 2:
Luckily the story doesn't collapse. It consistently ties the threads to a coherent ending... or: who knows what the end would look like... I would say, a third season might not be completely absurd...
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My biggest problem with this drama wasn't the blatant lack of chemistry amongst the three leads (I would've been content with the romantic storyline being dropped all together), but rather how uneventful and contrite everything felt. I felt like the writer expected the viewers of this drama to be imbeciles like it's character and thus tried to throw together a bunch of cliches and call it a functioning story. It moved so slowly while also managing to feel extremely repetitive. I felt like I gained nothing from the sixteen episodes that I watched.
I believe its hard to criticize acting objectively, especially when you have a bias towards a certain actor. I was disappointed by the extremely weak performances of our leads. I do genuinely believe its not entirely their fault, but the characters felt so one dimensional that no amount of sad music in the background could evoke any kind of emotion from me. I was a fan of Choi Si Won in She Was Pretty and looked forward to this being his project fresh out of the military, I'm not sure if its because he's out of wack due to his scandal amongst other things, but I was left so underwhelmed. Then we have Kang So Ra, whom I first watched in Doctor Stranger and never felt like she was lacking in anything, however her character here always had her walking around with a question mark on her face that I wonder if the directors note was to always look confused.. Gong Myung, I had never seen before (I never made it long enough in Bride of Habaek to see his character) and with him I can say that I can see potential in his acting, but as for the character here? Always looking like a sad wounded puppy and that's it. The secondary characters seemed like they were just doing the bare minimum. Side note: Lee Jae Joon literally plays one of two characters: the painstakingly sweet guy or the vengeful evil guy.. kind of a one dimensional actor it seems.
Now I wouldn't say this was the worst drama I've ever watched and its not particularly terrible, its just aggravating, plain and goes around in a circle. The only thing I enjoyed was the OST and that the main leads were good looking. I would never rewatch this unless someone is offering me a million dollars to do so. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone unless you're a huge fan of the leads and even then it might still be difficult to get through.
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Amazing story that says "no thanks" to cliches by being truly realistic and relatable.
I waited to watch this drama because I wanted it to be close to ending so I could binge it-- and a couple days ago when I started I just couldn't stop.Apart from the fact that the characters are ACTUALLY relatable and do not lack common sense, there is a very explicit gender role reversal situation going on. Toxic masculinity? Not in our male leads and support characters! They are all incredibly sweet and when it's the case, they compliment the female characters they are with beautifully.
Have you ever caught yourself going "UGH WHY DID YOU DO THAT YOU COULD'VE JUST TOLD THEM HOW YOU FELT" to the screen when watching a kdrama? You will not have that problem with Run On. The characters communicate with each other very well, even when sometimes they have difficulties expressing their emotions properly or may need some time to think things through. And in that vein, the conflicts characters have feel real and you can always understand their decisions even if you wish things were different at the time.
And one very important thing: there are no love triangles, and the drama is infinitely better because of it. I have been watching so many dramas with annoying love triangles that feel utterly pointless, and watching this one cemented my feelings on the fact that love triangles are a nuisance that overstayed its welcome. You can have conflict and compelling relationships without them, and Run On is the perfect example of it.
I can't wait to see what the writer of this drama comes up with next-- because this was an incredible journey.
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This review may contain spoilers
Another Finale, Another Disaster.
Imma just dive into it. All that suspense, built-up, for what? All the back shots, Wayu’s constant suffering, for what?Talking about the big reveal first. Personally, I feel betrayed and conned by this. Because I was extremely hyped and excited to see Pha’s comeback but i never expected to see a 40 year old looking man with an illegal hairstyle. I don’t know how to say it without sounding shallow but Pha was not it for me considering that his looks had to compensate for all the shit he put Wayu and us through . The way Pha was portrayed throughout the season, I expected someone at par with Thanu’s looks at least( for fair competition purposes) . Now that i’ve got that out of the way, moving forward.
MarkKit did not get the screen time they deserved at all, considering this season was supposed to be devoted to them. Once they got together, the whole focus completely shifted to the Wayu, Thanu, Phai debacle, which was very disappointing because considering that the second season is going to be about them anyway, more time could be devoted to MarkKit, they were the saving grace of this season for me and I loved watching them on screen but their screen time kept contracting with each passing episode. In fact, I would’ve loved to watch more MarkKit than the whole extremely unpleasant Tong and Pok scene in the finale which was just torturous to my eyes. The finale didn’t feel well planned at all and it felt as if most scenes were fillers just to delay the big reveal till the end of the episode.
Now onto the part I did like, evil Sandee. I dig it a lot and not just because it adds spice to the basic love triangle plot, but also bec I really want SandeePhai. It’ll be refreshing to watch Phai with someone who actually cares for him and doesn’t treat him like an option. It was also not cringy and engaging according to me. Also, the build up to the final scene, it was well done. Wayu receiving messages, red and white roses from Pha and Thanu. The whole sequence kept me on the edge of my seat and it was exciting to watch.
I’m not going to lie, this season was good entertainment and it got interesting in between but the finale was not as appealing to me. I’m still looking forward to Pha’s redemption arc and what season 2 has in store for us. ( except for the love triangle, of course). i’ll be praying.
ALSO, if i didn’t mention it before, MarkKit KINGS I STAN
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This review may contain spoilers
Guys, pals, fam. Where do I even start with this mess.
The BIG ASS issues with this drama are:
- Toxicity
- Nonsense (both for the story and the characters)
- Lack of Consequences
(- Editing too but not as bad as the rest)
Let's start as usual with
GENERAL
• NO COHESIVENESS WHATSOEVER
1. Character's personality, their relationship, and the situations in general happen/change however and whenever the plot needs them to.
Ex.
a. Sarawat & Tine's friends become friends but then they're rivals but then boh
b. Fangirls hating on Tine but then suddenly shipping them together with no apparent reason (it's not character development, sorry)
c. Green appearing and disappearing accordingly to what the story needs
I could go on but this review is already going to be long as it is.
2. Double Standards.
A big point in the TOXICITY issue is how relationship are represented.
Green stalks and harasses Tine, in the EXACT SAME way Tine does with Sarawat at the beginning, or Man does with Type FOR THE WHOLE TIME, or even PhuKong does with Mil.
So why is it that when it's Green the one doing it, it's annoying and "dangerous" (Tine's words) and we hope he stops, but when it's the rest of them it's funny and/or romantic? That's NOT how it works!
• GIRLS REPRESENTATION
Three (3). It's the number of girls with an actual working brain we get to see during the drama. The rest of them (A LOT) are either weird (Tine's exes), a brainless screaming crowd or become brainless screaming people the moment Sarawat appears.
It's just really sad.
• EDITING
It's really confusing sometimes. It's not easy to understand if you're watching a flashback, a dream, the present, the future or what.
Also. I'm sorry but I HAVE to mention this. THE SEQUENCE OF TINE SEEING SARAWAT EVERYWHERE IN EP 7.
That edit is just HORRIBLE.
Tine sees Sarawat everywhere without a real reason, without a good bgm emphasizing the process of Tine realizing and coming to terms with the fact he misses Wat, without even having the time to reflect on it. It's just bad.
( My Engineer did a way better job in the same situation, but the "missing" was about a frogging gift box. I feel ashamed in behalf of 2gether ' staff, honestly)
• ACTING
.... Y'all remember Sarawat used to smile too, right?
WHERE TF WAS IT IN THE LAST 6 EPS??
Especially when with Tine I remember seeing it maybe once, when they were both on the couch while Type was "sleeping" in the bed.
That's it.
I honestly don't know what happened to Bright, or to his acting coach for him to have almost for the entire second half of the drama this sort of facial paresis.
Maybe it's just that they didn't get the note that while the drama progresses and we get to know him better, he should start showing MORE emotions. But okay, whatever.
I kinda liked Win tho, especially the emotional scene in ep 10. That was good, and a cute scene as a whole.
I hope they'll both get to improve and act in other series in the future.
Gunsmile and Taptop the gems of this series, bless them.
• GENERAL NONSENSE
to name just a few examples:
1. How Sarawat says in front of Green & screaming fangirls that he and Tine are only friends just to tell later in the same ep that he likes Tine. In front of Green & screaming fangirls
2. Sarawat not letting Tine talk even if he's supposed to be secretly in love with him already
3. Whatever happened in the bg during Phukong's interview in ep 5
4. Sarawat beaten up because some girls liked his ig posts??
• TOXICITY
Direct consequence of the "double standard" problem I talked about, or together with it, is the narrative this series is normalizing:
"No doesn't really mean 'no'. They're just playing hard to get, and if you keep doing whatever you're doing they'll eventually love you back"
Do I really need to say how wrong and creepy and dangerous this belief can be?
And not just that. There are a number of bad behaviors normalized. Stalking, harassing, catfishing, getting drunk WAY too often...
CHARACTERS
• Tine
He's often showed as just dumb. And that's really sad. Even the time he cut the pick in half, it would have been so easy to make it an act of ingenuity to affectionately make fun of in the future but the way it was shown, it just made Tine look stupid.
Also there is no character development, all his flaws are there for the whole drama.
Ex. He was selfish and irresponsible when he paid Phukong to go somewhere else, and again later when ditched the music club because he didn't need Sarawat anymore, and when he went outside alone in the dark during the trip ecc.
At least he's coherent I guess
• Sarawat
Complete opposite to Tine, he changes his behavior CONSTANTLY.
From distant and reserved, to affectionate and clingy to distant but also flirty to caring to uncomfortable...
It's a rollercoaster and it doesn't have a logic development
• Man
I hate him and I'm not even sorry.
Helps Wat getting Tine drunk, stalks Type and keeps following and harassing him even after Type VERY CLEARLY tells him he's not interested, catfishing him in the meantime.
He's not a good character.
• Type
He deserved better. I knew he would eventually end up with Man, but he really deserved so much more than a liar creepy stalker as love interest *sigh*
• Gunsmile and the rest of the friends
I don't even remember their names, that's how important they are in the show.
Tine's friends especially don't really do a lot, except maybe constantly going after girls and sometimes randomly giving an advice that the plot needs to "develop".
They also don't have any consistency in the way they act, but I blame this to the writing of the plot more than to them as characters.
• Mil
He doesn't have the space he needed. For Tine and Sarawat, he is an asshole that keeps bothering someone who already has a bf and doesn't know when to stop.
But he also seems to have morals and be kind. No space to develop it tho
• Phukong
Another stalker in the series.
Doesn't really have a plotline besides trying to become Mil's bf
• Green
Green doesn't make sense as a whole.
I appreciate having a semi-good representation of a "feminine" gay, even being seen as strong when he goes against Tine's masked friends in ep 1
But... He doesn't want anyone to know he's dating P'Dim but he has no problem to follow Tine everywhere being super loud and direct? And if he broke up with P'Dim for 2 mins ecc... Why was the whole question still going on in ep 7?
Last point.
RELATIONSHIPS
• Sarawat/Tine
I have no idea where their chemistry went from the moment they became official. They look progressively more awkward and uncomfortable being around each other. To the point where they seem to be almost forced or in pain when together, and far more comfortable and happy with their friends. Hello?? Aren't you supposed to be a new couple who just moved together (way too fast too, if we have to be honest)?? Where is the intimacy? The tension? The love??
They also have NO communication nor trust.
In ep 12 for ex. First Sarawat turns his back to Tine even while being well aware of him feeling upset. Then he reassures him the following morning, just to act suspicious and hiding things from him immediately after. And don't let me start with how Sarawat with the help of his friends makes Tine get drunk so that he can post a suggestive pic on Tine's IG to declare to the world he's taken.
Should that be romantic? Cause it's NOT. It's creepy and a BIG red flag.
But as with everything else, this action has no consequences.
Like when Sarawat promises not to let their friends know they're together yet, but announces it to them 0.3 secs later instead. Or really anything. No consequences at all.
• Man/Type
I won't repeat the whole "creepy obsessive stalker" thing, but let's talk about how the infamous dinner went. Type tried to tell Man not to go, but Man completely ignored him (as per usual) and decided to go. During the dinner he talks about Type and tells to Type's coworkers things it's absolutely not his place to tell. He doesn't know if Type is friend or even comfortable with them. It's so disrespectful towards Type. After that, Type STILL tells his colleague to stop when he was making fun of Man and tries to protect him.
And people hated on him because he left with his co-worker. OKAY.
(I think he should have walked home or taken a taxi and left them both there)
EXTRA
They are red sometimes when drunk. I promised to give extra points for this so here I am.
And another one because they wash hands after using the toilet.
I appreciate the little things ?
CONCLUSION
What can I say. This drama started up in my top 10, but from ep 4 on it started going down. A pity, honestly. Especially because I love the "fake bf" trope.
Even putting the toxicity aside, the complete lack of consequences for literally anything that happens completely destroys any tension even when you are supposed to feel it. And things keep happening without a real reason, completely random.
I honestly have NO idea what show the people praising this, the acting, the story, the relationship and so on are watching, cause it can't be the same.
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zero boundaries and a lot of trauma
Overall: at times I liked the faster pacing, but there was too much pain/trauma/ignoring boundaries. This was an adaptation of MAME's book which I haven't read (but believe she writes bodice ripper type books with the fictional mouth says no but body says yes). There was already a Thai adaptation. I tried to review the Japanese version based on its own merits. 8 episodes about 15 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/4928/love-in-the-air-2024-e01Content Warnings: rape, past gang rape, sexual assault, intimate partner abuse, trauma, non/dub con kissing/touching, manipulation, harassment, manhandling, kidnapping, violence, blackmail
What I Liked
- fast pacing (though the first couple could have perhaps used more development/screen time, and less with the past stuff for the second couple)
- hair drying was cute
- the dream kiss
- NSFW scene in episode 4 was fairly well done (though more enthusiastic kissing from 1 person would have been nice)
- Kai was a supportive friend
- non cliche female character
Room For Improvement
- not really sold on the chemistry with either pair, Kai and Fuma actors should have been switched and Fuma's hideous suits made him look younger
- starting in the present and then going to an extended flashback
- the "plan"/nonsense approach
- the spanking was cringey
- odd progression with the flashback in episode 5 and then the devotion in the present, felt very "because the writer said so"
- (neutral) the hyper/over acting type character
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Finally, I strongly recommend everyone to spare 20 minutes to watch this as its only fault is being so short; It will make you crave for more.
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The story, is not original, seeings how its been done before, however its not like the drama either. I liked the movie because, it was lighthearted, and I was in major need of the fluffiness of it. It's upbeat, and not to serious.
Chemistry wise, could have been better. JGS was very adorkable in his role as Momo. You don't actually believe he is a pet, but you can see the cute qualities of a pet in him. He maintained his pride as a man, while being what she needed.
For "Momo" to supposedly be a dancer, I was very disappointed. There wasn't enough dancing. And, the music seemed sub-par to me.
I would re-watch this, if after a spat of really sad melodrama's, I need a pick-me-up.
Overall, not a bad movie, but not a great one either.
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Such a sweeeeeettt heart touching romance drama!!!!
I've never really written a proper review on any of the dramas I've watched but this one's special. I loved this drama so much, like the plot, the vibe of the drama, the acting of the leads, the chemistry, everything was so perfectly done! I loved how the main couple's (tbh the side actors as well) acting was so natural and just flawless, no cringy stuff at all. It sometimes felt as if I was a third wheel while watching their sweet scenes lmao. Nevertheless, I'm definitely recommending this drama to everyone who might come across this review. Especially to those who love "all-sweet" romance, no cringe, no misunderstandings, no love triangles, no meanies to break the leads apart, supportive friends/family type of dramas- this one's for y'all. :)Was this review helpful to you?
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A Train is Coming ......
The Devil Punisher is a 2020 romance fantasy supernatural drama co-produced by Sanli and Netflix. This drama includes some elements of mythology. I was originally really pumped waiting for this drama to finish airing since the synopsis looks pretty interesting. I ran here after finished watching the drama, and all I can say is it is a train wreck.In Chinese mythology, Zhong Kui is a demon fighter (you might have seen pictures of him posted on doors). According to legends, when he was a mortal, he lived during the Tang dynasty era. He participated in the palace examination, however, due to jealousy, the prime minister framed him and he took his own life. Meanwhile, Meng Po is known as the goddess/ grandma who cooks forgetfulness soup so that souls who reincarnate will have no memories of their past life, thus there is no grievances nor resentfulness. This drama narrative revolves around Zhong Kui and Meng Po as lovers that transcend over time.
It all started after a hateful spirit burned a bridge in the underworld realm and dragged Meng Po to the human realm. Upon arriving at the human realm, Meng Po memory was erased and her heavenly aura was sealed, making Zhong Kui unable to find her for a period of time. Shortly after finding Meng Po, Zhong Kui and Meng Po crack stranger supernatural cases together, and in the process of it, Meng Po falls for Zhong Kui once again. However, not long after problems start to brew bigger. The problems they were solving were like dominos that lead to one another, which ultimately lead to the big plan and the villain. The villain in the drama is really predictable, after watching a few episodes, I am pretty sure that most of the viewers are able to guess who is the big bad boss.
This drama was funny and interesting in the first few episodes, I laughed quite a few times watching the earlier episodes. However, it got really draggy and it has a lot of nonsensical plot and plotholes in the middle of the drama. The climax lacks intensity, and the ending of this drama was really rushed and full of nonsense. Why go all around circles, ups and down when the problem/ trial could be solved easily. For real, the problem-solving in this drama was really funny and nonsense. In addition, one episode of this drama is around 1 hour long, which will probably make some fall asleep or really sleepy while watching this.
The characters in this drama are straight so bland, they have no personality or whatsoever. I don't know if the characters were written in that way. And I'd like to give a slap to En Xi, she acted so bratty and took everything for granted. The actors and actresses' acting was emmm, it was like a child's play. I watched one of Mike He's dramas, Cambrian Period, but his acting does not give me any impression, meanwhile, this is the first Ivy Shao drama I watched. Their acting was downright bland, I am sorry to say this but I feel like all of the actors in this drama were just reciting lines. I mean yea the male lead looks hot and the female lead looks cute but they have no chemistry at all. I always laughed at their kiss scenes, I feel like watching 2 fishes kissing every time they kissed...
This drama got a pretty huge subsidy from the government, however, I wonder where all those budgets went. The production, the cinematography is so terrible it looks like a high school kid production drama. I don't know if because it is shot during Corona or what but it is terrible. I have no words on how to describe it, I The CGI was average, not too bad but not good also, even though there were some terrible CGIs. And even if the cinematography is terrible, I am still kinda looking forward to the actor's outfit but again, their outfit is soo bland.. And the historical/ period costume, makeup, the hairstyle was horrendous; I am sure even a small production period drama did it better. As for the BGM and OSTs, there is nothing catchy in particular.
I thought I'd give this 4.5, because there are some cases that were pretty touching (but still not well-developed), and for their comedy element in the early episodes, and lastly for the character development. The only character development I see throughout this series is Zhong Kui and Ouyang Kai. Their character develops as the story arc progresses- Zhong Kui became more "sympathetic and more humane", Ouyang Kai became more "mature".
I thought of dropping it halfway, but I kept on watching since I was curious if the story takes a better turn but It does not. Overall, if you are a fan of the actors or genre, go ahead and watch but for me who is not a fan of the actor nor genres, it is a waste of time and energy.
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I enjoyed the beginnings - quirky, good cast, interesting storyline, et al. I found that as the story progressed it did somewhat lose track of the beginnings, but not terribly, and the main love affair kept on track very nicely. It differed enough from the real history of this king that I didn't worry about the kids (shown in the first episode) too much & just wondered about the resolution.
Well. What resolution, I ask myself after finishing this? What happened? How? I don't know. I highly suggest one NOT watch the last 10 minutes of the final episode. Make up your own ending & watch the credits roll. Go read the book, which has a satisfying, logical ending. Don't expect to have any questions answered by this sageuk :(
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This review may contain spoilers
A cold general meets a bratty annoying girl... fluffy with lots of skinship romance...
What I like:1. The typical fluffy arranged marriage romance with LOTS of skinship n kisses between the male leads... n the main leads stay true to each other from the start till finish...
2. There isn’t really second male/female lead draggy plot... somehow the passing people become couples with others n don’t have any real interest in the male leads, just some misunderstandings but got solved quickly each time... at least there r 5 couples got together at the end of the drama...
3. The romance is cute enough that I finish this drama... the ML is just so romantic to FL...
What I don’t really like:
1. The FL character is a lil bit too annoying... I get that she is supposed to be young n at first her behavior is kinda acceptable, but somehow after being married for a while, she is just the same childish girl who gets into trouble repeatedly without even realizing it... she always blames her husband when things don’t go her way or if he doesn’t agree with her, n he always apologizes in the end, superb ML character I guess.. I almost dropped this after her repeated antics, but somehow managed to finish this just for the sake of the romance n curiousity of how it’ll end...
2. It got boring plot wise at some point, but still watchable...
Overall the drama is light, so it’s recommended if u just got out of an angsty drama n need a bit of happy times... n it’s a happy ending, the satisfying one where everybody is happy, including some of the small villains...
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Groundbreaking Bl drama ( 1st Omegaverse)
I was shocked at the budget foremost, amazing. The story is amazing and did not expect an omegaverse to ever be adapted.This drama drama is pioneering a new era like Tharntype did in 2019, the budget is amazingly high, music, characters, storyline, everything is amazing. This is a drama where months from now everyone will start producing omegaverse, but will not meet the quality and will probably start mass producing to copy. I wish I had started it sooner, only at episode 4 while everyone else is 10 episodes in. The characters are very handsome and alluring as well.
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