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Ready-made. Still worth seeing. Social satire about status & by all means climbing up social ranking
"Remarriage and Desires" tackles a central theme of South Korean social life: who should I, can I, must I or do I want to marry? Marriage, family and status throughout the centuries have been forming a magical triad in this Confucian shaped country - a triad which can decide how happy or unhappy life will become... Yet, these days within the framework of the short-timed everyday life and performance-oriented professional life in modern South Korea there is simply no time for naturally meeting someone and dating. However, the right choice is crucial. So instead of spending time, you spend money and thus can be matched up professionally. This actually has a good tradition in elite circles, where matchmakers were already in high demand during past Joseon days. Arranged marriages - whether devised by shamans, personal matchmakers, professional matchmaking agencies or parents - are widespread today and have recently become trendy even among the less elite classes of society. ... As a good choice can decide everything..."Remarriage and Desires" takes this subject into the grotesque - in a satirical guise with a proper breeze of Makjang. A stately squad of spiteful, greedy contemporaries at the highest ranks are brought together to tell a bitter tale of revenge on revenge on revenge. The bad news first: the Netflix production unfortunately does not get beyond a script that has been polished for the international streaming audience and that also seems to be off the shelf. The good news: KDrama is even good at telling such ready-made stories, too. By the way, it's the intensity of the female leads who are allowed to rock the makjang-show: Bad, worse, the worst... and there still is worse (The men rather become victims and ornaments.)
My criticism: Scheme-F. Ready-made.
The heartbeat get´s lost. The depth is missing. It's not really possible to develop an emotional closeness to the protagonists. Overall, "Remarriage and Desires" thus comes across as somewhat distant and stiff in comparison. As a spectator you will feel less sympathy (from the inside) and instead watch more (from the outside).
You might binge through the (only) 8 episodes pretty quickly. But without the nuances, something is missing. For me at least. I didn´t feel an emotional bonding growing of any sort. Too bad.
However! the KDrama is still worth seeing as a satirical social study about the South Korean middle and upper class (or a general would-like-to-marry-into-the-still-higher-class class).
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There's only one bad acting from a supporting character, so it didn't affect the story. I liked how realistic the business feels (although it's still a drama), and how the events happened. I wish the main couple got together sooner because at some point the FL rejects the ML because of some misunderstandings, but he made it clear he wanted her, so there was no point avoiding him. But if we ignore this tiny detail, it's an amazing drama.
We have many steamy kisses and affection, I was so happy about that. I loved the leads and loved their chemistry.
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This review may contain spoilers
Before you start the review, it's going to be a long as review because I just like to spoil everything for everyone. lmao, jks. pls read on :) Story:
The synopsis isn't even right. I swear that is google translated or like when it's like do you want to translate from thai to english lmao. Anyway, I'm going to write two synopsis; one, where it's short and maybe won't make sense, lmao & the second one, obviously the whole story plot for those who enjoys major major massive spoilers.:) So pls choose...
1. Kiew's mother has cancer and under some circumstances they both end up living in Peat's house. Peat, not understanding and doesn't even want to hear an explanation from his father assumes she is the new mistress, (due to the fact that his late mother had just passed away not too long ago) & that Kiew is the love child who had come to take away his fortunes. He decides to make their life a living hell so that they would leave, but no matter what he does, they didn't leave. After some problems, Peat leaves Thailand to Korea to study & at this point no one knew where he had gone. Four years later, he returns to Thailand and starts working at his father's company competing against Kiew, as his revenge scheme.
2.
The story is about Peat & Kiew (obviously), they first meet each other in college and I guess you could say love at first sight. Kiew's mother has cancer and under some circumstances they both end up living in Peat's house. Peat, not understanding and doesn't even want to hear an explanation from his father assumes she is the new mistress, (due to the fact that his late mother had just passed away not too long ago) & that Kiew is the love child who had come to take away his fortunes. He decides to make their life a living hell so that they would leave, but no matter what he does, they didn't leave. After some more problems, Kiew's mum ends up at the hospital and ends up having an agreement with Peat's dad to let him adopt her. She becomes the adoptive daughter and more shit happens and Peat finally leaves Thailand to Korea & no one could find him until Kiew ends up in Korea for a university trip. There, they patch up and starts to understand each other until news broke out that Peat's dad adopted Kiew as his daughter and the heiress to the company. & so again, he lost the trust that they had just been bonding over. Four years later, he graduates and returns to Thailand on the same day that Kiew was introduced into the company. His dad not knowing he had came back was shock to see his son at the introductory but was glad and happy that he has returned. Peat openly announces that he has come back to take back what belongs to him & so the beginning of revenge begins. More problems happens and then he ends up in the hospital due to a motorbike incident where he finds out he is actually not the son of his dad. Feeling remorse for all the bad things he had done and said to his father and Kiew, he leaves the hospital and a search party ensues; Kiew finds him and they fight and ..... the moment of truth where he confess and tells her everything, the reasons why he started his revenge and basically everything. He takes her to his late mother's house where their love blossom into something more, but little did she knows and including everyone, was that he has started his revenge again (spoiler: because he read something from his mother's diary). They get caught in BED, yes BED, together and so Peat decides to marry Kiew to resolve it. //
Okay, stopping here because this is basically the entire drama, just that I haven't explain what happens after their marriage, but you can already guess it and I did write it, saying he takes revenge again, but this is another different revenge scheme as he gets marries to her. When I watched this live on the website, it was a real cliffhanger to me because obviously I couldn't understand Thai fully but maybe to some of you guys it might seems repetitive which I'd say it is because this drama is a revenge drama and so obviously it'll just be revenge right? But I actually really enjoyed this drama, even though it is really tiring to watch at some point but like it's not that bad and it has the highest ratings for it's time slot compares to others. There are some episodes where it takes soooooo long to just get to the point, and I felt that was really unnecessary, the first couple of episodes flew by really quick which made me draw into each individual characters and made me want to stay and see what's going to happen in the next episodes. & guys, pls let me know, was I the only who could not watch ep 23, like I just laughed throughout the whole episodes? Like there was something about it that was really off. but ep 24 did justice for me so oh well, haha, even though I did felt like it was a bit rushed especially from 23 transitioning to ep 24 it was like bam bam bam, like there wasn't that feeling of feeling bad for Peat but oh well. & oh, I lived for Khata's and Pa's scenes like, it just made me happy seeing them have banters at each other.
Cast/Acting:
Kiew: She is your typical nice, caring woman, knows right from wrong and doesn't give headaches to the parents. I really enjoyed seeing Bua play this type of character and so different from her character that she played earlier this year. There isn't really anything for me to critique because she is good at her role like I don't think I wasn't unhappy with anything she did in the drama.
Peat: omg, where should I start, lmao. yes he has the look and yeah that's preetty much it. lmao. jokes aside but I never really read the comment, I only do so to see if a drama is worth watching but there was so many saying that he only has the look and they couldn't really get through the drama. Honestly, it wasn't that bad like his acting, at first was kind of off and plus in episode 23 because I just couldn't take it seriously but other than that it was pretty good. Like his character is supposed to be an arrogant, jerk, self centered, only love myself kind of dude because of the lack of love he got from his dad and plus his mother bought him up like that, and feeding him with lies about his dad, I mean half of them was true and half of them was not. Some even said he was misogynist but I don't think his character is supposed to be portrayed like that. Like you can clearly see that he has Chaya as his girl friend and plus he loves Kiew so I don't know what definition yalls be using for misogynist, lol. His character was pretty tiring to see at times but trust me yalls, it actually is pretty good. The fact that he was just so driven with anger, and revenge just made him forgot who he really is, to his friend, he is a really warm-hearted young man, who speaks his mind and straight forward when he doesn't like something.
Kriss: I would say Kriss is the mysterious person in a group of friends. haha. He is someone that you wouldn't be able to tell if he is sincerely happy or being annoyed. Kriss' character is someone that would do anything for the person he loves aka Chaya, he does everything to make Chaya happy. I would say that Kriss has so much anger building inside from all the things that Peat does to Chaya that he starts to revenge Peat as well. But the truth is, I guess he just wanted to be notice by Chaya and to make her realise that Peat isn't the one for her. He actually is a really kind person, who helped Kiew in a lot of hardships & in the first half of the drama, he wasn't taking sides, he knew when to side with his friends or when not too. Especially when Chaya becomes Peat's supposedly "mistress".
Chaya: This girl was a really sad character. She just wanted to be noticed by Peat and she stood by him through thick and thin. I would totally blame it on Peat, he knew that Chaya loved him for so many years but he never once told her that he doesn't like her in that way. When she shows him affections he just brush it off sometimes and doesn't really say anything. At some point I was really annoyed with her character, like it was that good that I got so annoyed and just couldn't really comprehend with it. Basically as a nang rai, you guys would understand what her role is, but like I didn't even blame it on her because she was just a girl, in love and just wanted Peat to her self. Oh, spoiler, she get's leukemia and I thought she was going to stop her craze love for Peat but no, she sides with Kriss to take revenge. That's what got me real fucked at this point.
Khata & Pa: You don't really get to see these two character a lot cause they were the support character but I lived for their scene. Khata is that friend that is always stuck in the middle and doesn't choose sides. He lectures his friends to make them realise that they are doing wrong shits. but nobody gives a damn. haha. Pa is that best friend any one could ever ask for. She chooses her friend in a blink of an eye and is ready to fight. I can't say a lot because not a lot of scenes revolves around them but like most of the scenes you see is they being together and always having banter which was the best. haha.
Music:
I really enjoyed the music. Especially the opening and ending song, after I went to read the lyrics it made more sense.
Overall:
If you think this is some sort of infidelity or incest drama, you are WRONG gurl. go watch it. :)
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1This review may contain spoilers
It's really so interesting all by itself ... Gotta sayy
This is one of the cutest series I have ever seen , the characters are so cute their action are driving me crazy , I don't just understand why it have to be this much cute , well I thought I don't like university romance so much but after watching it I realised I really love this kind of story lines .And the second couple took some time to sort out their true feelings , actually the main problem behind their disagreement was Van's toxic behaviour .
He couldn't stop myself from doing things that are harmful for a healthy relationship .
J and Jin I love them , turned out Jin secretly liked J from school days till university , he's such a good actor , idk how could he even hide that and pretend to hate him
J was such a tease when he got to know about his feelings before , but who knew that he'd fall even harder .
J at times didn't even care about his life and focused on saving jin's life , It wasn't pity that he had for jin but the love
I love the Intro waohhh the title song is firee Turns out it's you
~ The OST totally hooked me , I can't believe all the songs were differently sound beautiful . Crush on you by Sea is my favourite one for sure
At the ending they concluded the story pretty well .... Both the couples were so sweet and loving I am going to miss it , I used to wait for it every sunday now I don't have something like this to watch .
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Three Blind Mice.
The Chinese title of this drama 天行健/Tiān Xíng Jiàn comes from a profound phrase 天行健, 君子以自强不息 from the ancient divination classic I-Ching. Loosely translated, it means in a dynamic world, gentlemen should constantly strive for improvement; to be virtuous. In the context of this drama, it alludes to how three very different individuals struggle for relevance against the overwhelming tide of history.This production's rich historical and cultural texture has been widely praised by history buffs. The nostalgic opening sequence seamlessly weaves in scenes from the drama with real footage from that era. It is set in early 1911 which was a pivotal time in modern Chinese history. By then, impoverished by civil strife and foreign incursions, the Qing dynasty was on its last legs. While clearly the time of emperors was ending, China's struggle with what form of government it would adopt went on for almost 40 years. In this story, the court is divided between conservatives (Imperial Household Department) and reformists (Prince Qi); both of whom are trying to preserve some form of constitutional monarchy. Tongmenghui led by Sun Wen (Sun Yat-sen) are rebels who want to do away with the monarchy and go down the path of a democratic republic. The powerful Beiyang Army, (then led by Yuan Shikai, the unnamed fisherman) was a deciding player in Chinese politics right up to 1949 and beyond. At the time, foreign powers including the Japanese, actively meddled in Chinese domestic affairs. Thus while there are indeed too many factions, this accurately depicts the landscape at the time
There is a lot to unpack as this is equally a plot and character driven story. A map leading to a fabled treasure is stolen from the palace. The various factions realize that such a fabulous treasure could make a meaningful difference to the success of their cause. Thus begins a mad dash of a treasure hunt that entangles three individuals who are disenfranchised by the changing times: the personal guard of the deposed Guangxu emperor, a swordsman in the age of guns and a Confucian scholar after the abolition of imperial exams. Can these three blind mice grappling with their own outdated ideals be trusted to see the bigger picture and ensure the treasure ends up in the right hands?
Men Sandao was once the emperor's guard who dared to love a princess. He was imprisoned when the emperor's Hundred Days' Reform failed. Twelve years later, he is freed on the condition he retrieves the fabled treasure that is desperately needed to shore up the national coffers. He is pitted against Zhuo Bufan, the leader of the impoverished Rongtian sect who seeks the treasure as a means to make his sect famous. His nemesis Dagu constable Wang Jialuo doesn't care about the treasure; he just means to hunt down and hold Zhuo Bufan and the Rongtian sect accountable for nine murders in his county. They are all flawed and obsessive characters who are smart yet frustratingly intractable in their beliefs. Even Men Sandao, the fullest and most intriguing character remains true to the only two things that matter to him from the beginning to the end. Similarly, Zhuo Bufan refuses to ditch his cause until his cause abandons him. The greatest zealot is Wang Jialuo, who is the product of everything wrong with the Confucian exam system; a tradition so steeped in rote learning over original thought he is utterly incapable of operating outside of the Qing code.
Men Sandao is Qin Junjie's best role to date, one he delivers with a mastery that matches the stagecraft of the many veteran actors in the cast. The way he habitually held his hands as if they were still in shackles moved me as much as the forlorn tear he shed at Guangxu emperor's grave. His natural chemistry with the rest of the cast elevated the character interactions all around. Despite their conflicting agendas, Men Sandao shared a mutual respect and understanding with Zhuo Bufan and was also able to manage the more difficult Wang Jialuo. I laughed uproariously at how he turned Lucky into his lackey and enjoyed his spirited debates with Liu Lin. I could tell he saw a lot of his younger self in her and their relationship was the one I found most moving. All of the roles that mattered, including the villain roles, were well executed with many memorable scenes featuring Prince Qi, Cunqing and Zhong Haichao. Lin Anjing was the only notable weak link in an otherwise stellar cast.
There is never a dull moment in this well-written screenplay that seamlessly fuses multiple interlocking character stories into the action and adventure. Told with dark humor, wit and irony, the narrative does not shy away from blood, violence and sudden death. Though a bit a bit heavy on slow motion and close ups, the action scenes are intense and well shot; with the occasional dose of bizarre humor. I laughed hardest at Wang Jialuo's Tarantino like foolish bravado in the face of certain death and his absurd resurrections. But laughter aside, I really didn't much care for him or Zhuo Bufan and their romantic entanglements. The only characters I rooted for were Men Sandao, Gege, Liu Lin and the ubiquitous Lucky with his uncanny knack for popping up just when needed. Though some characters got endings they didn't deserve, the ending overall is quite fitting and not surprising. This is ultimately a dark story, reflective of the times. One of the better dramas of 2024 for me that deserves more attention. I rate this 8.5/10.0.
Scroll down for more detailed spoiler ending thoughts.
MAJOR ENDING SPOILER COMMENTS
I found both Zhuo Bufan and Wang Jialuo's ending very fitting and oddly justified. Make no mistake, Zhuo Bufan was not a great guy. He betrayed many jianghu codes of conduct in his quest for greatness and sacrificed his sect members with callous indifference. It is no wonder they turned on him. He arguably would have never really given up were it not for the fact that the Rongtian sect was no more. He also conveniently forgot he promised Wang Jialuo that he would settle accounts with him and tried to ride off into the sunset after abandoning the treasure hunt. There was so much blood on Zhuo Bufan and Huo Qin’s hands including Wang Jialuo's shifu and the poor, heroic Tan Xian that there had to be consequences. Of course Wang Jialuo was no better and ultimately also betrays his true love and his beloved Qing code in his obsession with closing his case. It is both ironic and fitting that he was his own judge and executioner. It cracked me up that Men Sandao went after him in case for the tenth time he didn’t really die dead.
The most undeserved deaths were those of Lucky and Liu Lin, who were the true heroes of this story. They represented the best, most idealistic and hopeful voices of their movement and the future their world had to change for. Their deaths were not necessary and far more cruel and pointless than telling us that Men Sandao and Gege never reunited after Fujian. In any case, there were no lasting good outcomes for anyone during that time in history. Any survivors would have had to face an ugly 40 years of civil war with Tongmenghui ultimately ending up on the wrong side of history. So it has to be enough that they fought the good fight that led to the movement’s finest moments. RIP Liu Lin and Lucky Hao Han who was definitely a hǎohàn/好汉/good guy but just not that lucky.
X
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Finally something decent (even more) for our hungry brain after Crows Zero era.
HIGH & LOW: The STORY OF S.W.O.R.D is a comprehensive entertainment project by EXILE TRIBE that encompasses various forms of content media. Aside from the members of EXILE TRIBE, there are a lot of high quality cast for this drama, not only actor & actress but also other musician & models. So visually, you will be pampered with a lot of candy eyes with great acting too.
As written in the synopsis, it’s all about fighting between organization in a certain town. But the core story in this first season is about friendship and brotherhood, and more like a prologue to introduce each organization and the story base. Later, there will be HIGH&LOW Season 2 and HIGH&LOW The Movie. Let me summarize all the organization first:
=Organizations Before SWORD=
1) MUGEN
In this story, MUGEN was told start from the second generation, led by Kohaku. Other main members: Tsukumo, Cobra & Yamato. The strongest organization.
2) AMAMIYA BROTHERS
Only consist two members, Amamiya Masaki (Kyaaa Takahirooo! *oops please excuse my fangirling) & Amamiya Hiroto. They’re fighting against Mugen.
3) HYUGA GROUP
Hyuga Group is a part of GURYU GROUP (I think Guryu Group is kind of strong group but in outside of Mugen’s domain) & they’re not that popular. Hyuga Group fought against Mugen in order to make their names well known, but Hyuga Group lost and abandoned by Guryu Group.
=S.W.O.R.D=
1) SANOOH ASSOCIATION
Or Hoodlum Squad, led by Cobra (ex Mugen). Other members are Yamato (ex Mugen), Noboru, Dan, Tetsu and Chiharu. Cobra, Yamato & Noboru are childhood friends. Sanooh doesn’t have specialty or aiming any particular thing, the association just made naturally by the members who are good in fighting.
2) WHITE RASCAL
Their specialty is always white (as white as their name XD). Led by Rocky, his main subordinates are Golden Bomber* members (Bito, Aizawa, Shimura & Enari). Despite being famous with their madness, White Rascal also known for always protecting woman who have been hurt by men.
*) A visual kei rock band
3) OYA KOUKOU
School of Yankees!. The leader or they rather call it as Class Rep (lol) is Murayama Yoshiki. Just as other typical Yankee school, the one who rule the school is the strongest one. Murayama Yoshiki played by Yamada Yuki, he can pull his yankee expression but his height sometimes a little bit distracted me. He looks much shorter & smaller than his friends, in contrary he is the the strongest and unbeatable.
4) RUDE BOYS
They dominate and protect a Nameless Street, a town where people who abandoned by their parents lives, hidden and dirty. Led by Rocky played by Kubota Masataka (Kyaaa *oops once again please excuse my fangirling ;-). They declare themselves as a family who protect each other. Their specialty is parkour, this is that makes their fighting skill more artsy. This drama use a lot of camera angle, epic setting and a lot of ikemen with abs XD. Visually, I like this team, maybe because the members are actually athlete and model, whenever they walk together and make a way, it looks like they’re walking in runaway even with rag-like fashion that they wore, they can pull it off nicely. Kubota Masataka looks so charismatic with messy hair, too bad he has a weakness,what is that weakness? Well you better watch and check it by yourself :p.
5) DARUMA IKKA
Led by Hyuga Norihisa, forth son of Hyuga (played by Hayashi Kento). Alongside with Totetsu Brothers (Toutetsu Ukyo & Toutetsu Sakyo, both were kicked out from Mugen in the past) they formed Daruma Ikka to make a way for their revenge towards Guryu Group and the remaining Mugen member. I think this is the most unique organization. As their name, Daruma is their icon with blasting red color. Even when they fight, they’re using Daruma and drums as music accompaniment. Hayashi Kento looks deep but madly and vengeful here, for me it’s such a rare to see him in that kind of character, so it’s cool!.
=Organization Outside SWORD=
1) IEMURA GROUP
Iemura Group is one of the Guryu Group, the main leader is Iemura Tatsumi. With other 8 leads member, they’re called themselves as Nine Dragons. This organization is more like executive people who dominate a lot of field, including black market and greedy, so they own a lot of money. Basically they’re a bunch of rich uncles with suit and necktie.
2) MIGHTY WARRIORS
Led by Ice. This organization hasn’t been told a lot in this season, their main movement will be told in season 2 later. So, more Exile Tribe member are coming, yaaaay!.
2) STRAWBERRY MILK
The one and only girl gang. 4 members, Junko as the leader (she's so cute and funny), Asuko and Twin Towers (member of E-Girls). I love these girl, they're so funny!
There are so much red line right? All SWORD organization make their own world, never touch each other in order to keep peace in the town. The main story is started in Sanooh, Sanooh is the center of the whole story that connects all of the organization. The conflict appeared between childhood friends (Cobra, Yamato and Noburu). Noburu who just released from prison, but rather than go back to Sanooh he joined to Iemura Group. Feel betrayed, Yamato tried to persuaded Noboru to go back to Sanooh. Because he knows that Iemura Group is greedy and merciless. Noboru is trusted by Iemura to take over SWORD authority, but each SWORD organization refuse. This situation raised misunderstanding and betrayal between them. In other story, Chiharu (before he joined to Sanooh), who is actually a student in Oya Koukou, beaten up by his fellows but then he was accidentally helped by Yamato. Chiharu pled to join Sanooh, but this makes a conflict between Oya Koukou with Sanooh.
With 23 minutes average duration, you can enjoy fighting scene around 50% of its duration with great music accompaniment. HIGH&LOW also contains some sentimental, sad and funny part.
The editing, I’m so sensitive when it’s come to this point whenever I watch movie/drama. HIGH&LOW succeed this series with dramatic color correction, point of view and angle for each organization differently which is emphasize each organization’s character.
The fashion, since there are big companies who backing up the casts, they give all out in fashion too. Each organization has their own fashion style. No matter how you look at them, it does look pricey and detail from head to toe. They use a lot of expensive motorcycle and cars. One more thing, all the cast are looks neat and clean, this is one of the reason that I enjoy this drama. Or maybe they‘re just handsome and charismatic :D.
And now about the music. The music itself plays as the biggest part here, it makes this drama looks more appealing and nice. In fact, EXILE TRIBE’s album is also part of this HIGH&LOW project. There is not much I can review here because it so cool and perfectly matched with the drama. It’s EXILE TRIBE you know, what do you expect is what will you get. Each organization has their own special music background. The combination between music, fashion, editing, camera view and the cast themselves makes this drama looks like a MV. I love to re-watch this drama especially in some part like when a certain organization present themselves with powerful soundtrack, or just enjoying the each actors acting, their close up face, their cool movements even their poses. Sometimes I feel like are they doing photo shoot or what??. Seriously, their visual is on high quality level despite this is about delinquent story.
And here the list of the songs that included in this drama, it could be more than this but these are so far that I know:
J SOUL BROTHER - MUGEN ROAD
PKCZ feat EXILE SHOKICHI - WHITEOUT
GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE - RUN THIS TOWN
DJ DARUMA from PKCZ [VOICE OF RED feat.GS] - DARUMA FAMILY
THE SECOND from EXILE - ONE TIME ONE LIFE
DOBERMAN INFINITY - DO OR DIE
DOBERMAN INFINITY-JUMP AROUND 8
E-GIRLS - STRAWBERRY SADISTIC
ACE OF SPADES feat HIROOMI TOSAKA- SIN
Ryuji Imaichi - FOREVER YOUNG AT HEART
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1One of the best action, comedy and fun packed dramas!An Absolute Masterpiece
This drama is a pleasant surprise, it has everything I was looking for. Suspense, adventure, action and comedy are superbly balanced. The story is super captivating and entertaining.YGM is extremely fascinating person, it's mind boggling how he manages to be a failure at studies despite being a committed and hardworking student. Its very commendable that even though he has fantastic talent in martial arts, he insists to pursue his dream of achieving what he wants. I love how incredibly witty, bold, brave and zealous he is. He appears to be a nerd, but very ironically he is anything but that which throws his opponents off. Making them believe that he is a weak person and then underestimate him. Anyone who messes with him or his family/friends finds out!
While YGM is trying to realise his own dreams, he is unintentionally solving the root problems of the high school. His determination to fight through bravely in the face of discouraging, oppressive, brutal and corrupt system, is inspiring others to do what they always have wanted to do. ML and his study group team mates teaching all the villains the lessons they deserve in very creative and hilarious ways is extremely fun and satisfying. His goals, dreams and actions are helping his teacher LHG achieve her goals of reforming the YTHS for the better and getting justice for those who were oppressed, deceived, used, bullied, belittled, framed, threatened and harmed.
YGM's chemistry with all the new friends is very smooth and dynamic. It's very impressive how all the characters are improving and developing subtly. They all are supporting each other, becoming more trusting, understanding and reliant on each other - becoming a caring family and a very formidable team. All the actors have done impeccable, immaculate and remarkable jobs of portraying their characters perfectly. They have brought the webtoon series' characters to life very cleverly. The iconic scenes of the series are executed astonishingly well.
The fight scenes are the heart and soul of this drama, they are very innovatively and expertly choreographed to perfection. I am absolutely stunned by the unique and powerful and at times funny fighting style of ML. I find it very hilarious that ML's mom is also an awesome martial artist too. An apple doesn't fall far from a tree. It's making me very curious about ML's uncle.
Sun Cheol and his grandfather's story is so touching and beautiful. Its really heart warming how YGM and his friends are saving these lost and trapped souls in the deep dark abyss. He is not only capable of protecting himself but everyone around him. He always extends his hands and holds firmly those who need his help.
This drama is very unique in showing that in this day and age while many students take oppurtinities for studying and peaceful environments for granted, some students around the world like the ones at YTHS were at serious disatvantage. There are students in this world who have to fight very hard to be able to study or follow their dreams. The motto of study group is "i will create opportunities even in hellish situations", its there to establish hope for those kinds of students so they can be encouraged to pursue their dreams.
This drama also shows that although violence is bad but at times its vitally needed when innocent people have to fight to protect people and things precious to them. Martial arts and fighting ability is a tool of self-defence and to protect. The study group members in order to realise their dreams, had to go as far as to face not only school bullies but corrupt teachers, headteacher, deciplinary committee, unsupportive parents, killer street gangs, corrupt police, paparazzi and hidden political agendas. In addition, they had to fight their own inner demons, personal handicaps and socio-economic difficulties to latch onto the hope and motivation to be able to pull through and never give up on themselves and others. The moment you give up on yourself and others is the time you have truly lost. PHU believed firmly that struggling against corrupt embedded system was futile thats why he never tried to change himself but forced others to feel hopeless and fearful like himself under the tyranny of his dad. YGM chellenged his beliefs that he and his friends, family, teachers and good people will show him that people/situations can be changed.
The 'Back Packer' and 'Hood' OSTs have become my most favourites ones, its very impressive that this drama's OSTs are rap-based which perfectly suits ML's badass and awesome personality. These OSTs are spectacularly supporting the fight scenes, enhancing their impact many folds. The opening OST's art work magnificently conveys the idea that this work is a live action of a webtoon series.
I'm very eagerly waiting for S2, I must find out what transpires next and how this best school squad overcomes many new challenges in their way to success. I highly recommend this drama for action, thriller and comedy lovers, it's 100% worth the watch!
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Jang Geum is not an ordinary drama because it was actually based in real life. In history, she is known to be a palace cook turned into royal physician but of course, like all history books made drama, producers has their ways in tweaking with the story line so a lot may have been changed. Setting that thought aside, I have enjoyed all 60 episodes of Jang Geum because in every episode, there are always different conflicts. In which will be solved on the next episode or the next. It keeps me on my toes and I just couldn’t help but get addicted to it. I like the thought that Jang Geum had great mentors so she could become the person whom the king trusted her to be. Then she also had different support systems: mainly King Jungjong, Capt. Min Jung Ho (the love interest), Yeon Saeng (her best friend), Lady Han Baek Young (her mentor) having this people around her she was able to survive the harsh world within the palace. Set things straight and become the Dae (meaning great) Jang Geum that she is known up to this date.
Oh and yeah, not to forget the romantic moments between Jang Geum and Jung Ho. Watching them in all those lovey-dovey moments was worth every tears I’ve shed for this drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
LORD KNOWS THE AMOUNT OF HOURS I SPENT LOVING THIS SERIES. IT HAS TAKEN SUCH A BIG ROLE IN MY LIFE THAT I'M CLUELESS OF WHAT TO DO NOW THAT IT'S FINALLY COME TO AN END. I WAS INTRODUCED TO THIS 2 WEEKS BEFORE IT WAS AIRED AND I AM FOREVER GRATEFUL THAT I CAME ACROSS THIS BEAUTIFUL MASTERPIECE. While others found Shaofei's character to be annoying in the first part of the series, I actually adored him to no end. He's so courageous and that's admirable. The fact that he doesn't hide his love for Tangyi is also truly amazing. This isn't no damn i-like-you-but-i-won't-say-anything-at-all. NO! This is the complete opposite. He's so loud about loving Tangyi and we seriously need more dramas like this. SHAOFEI FTW.
Tangyi is such an amazing, flawed character. Good gracious, he's the whole package. Tangyi's my favorite character out of everyone although he can be impulsive. He's such a good lover too.
Now moving onto their romance. THE LITTLE MOVEMENTS ARE JUST AS PRECIOUS AS THE KISS SCENES! I love the scenes where Tangyi is just caring for Shaofei and his little baby is just holding his hand, stating that he's God and nothing can kill him except for a canon ball. Like okay, Shaofei.
I really had no interest in the other two couples to be very honest so I have no opinion on them.
BUT, everyone has to watch this drama. It's packed with so much shit that you're swimming in your feels and yall don't even know it. Sure we were clowned most of the time but it's worth it.
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An Under Appreciated Drama with Good Ending
When I watched the trailer for this drama, it looked very good. I was disappointed when I started watching. As it was tagged "tragedy", I was expecting serious and somber performance. The "tragedy" tag was later removed.The beginning of the story is comedic. Everything is silly, stupid and crazy, including the villains. The male lead looks villainous; the female lead cute with large watery eyes which tear up easily; the supposedly villain silly and funny. I was confused - is this supposed to be a comedy? I couldn't decide to continue or drop.
Ten episodes in, the mood changes. It becomes serious and intense. No more silly characters. Every character becomes mature and somber. Though there are still holes here and there, the plot thickens. I begin to empathize with the male and female leads. I even begin to love the supposedly villain who turns out to be an undercover. My heart begins to break with the pain General Wei Kuang is going through - his lost love, his love for the country and his predicament.
The building up of the story is important. Skipping episodes may make you confuse with why the characters make the choices as they do. Therefore, one may need to have more patience with the earlier episodes so that you can enjoy the later episodes better.
The final episodes are good compared to many other dramas. There are no unnecessary deaths. The evil doers end with what they deserve. The good people are rewarded with the fruits they sow. There are many lessons learned. There are also heart-wrenching moments, especially with the main characters, and one can feel the pain and sacrifices they make for the good of all.
This is a pretty good story. The main couple have been true to each other from the beginning till the end. Their love for each other never wanes, only stronger. They sacrifice for their country and for each other. They fight all the scheming and darkness hand-in-hand. They are open with each other, never holding anything back. There's never been any annoying misunderstanding between the two (many Chinese dramas love misunderstandings which I hate).
I love this story and the acting. My heart feels for General Wei, his pain when he returns from war and finds his love gone. But he never stops loving her, neither she loving him. It's a very touching story which you may enjoy.
I have truly enjoyed this drama. It may not be the drama of the year, but I feel it deserves our attention, and for us to give credit to the actors who have done a pretty good job.
Yes, this is one of those rare historical dramas that deserves to be watched and enjoyed.
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Story: So if you've read the manga, watched the anime, or have seen either the Korean/ Japanese version you already know the story. For others the story may seem a bit weird but it has a lot of heart and it totally grabs your attention. Its a romantic comedy so its a story based around love.
Acting: Ahh soo much better than the Korean version, much much much better. Though the cast wasn't as pretty as the Korean version they were excellent actors. I already liked Matsumoto Jun from Kimi Wa Petto but this story made me fall in love with him. The main female Inou Mao is SOOO SOOO SOO much better than Goo Hye Sun and her horrible acting. I love the cast, and I thought the girl who played Shisuka was GORGEOUS! She was so pretty.
Music: I really liked the music it was cute and catchy. But I got annoyed after they played it over and over again.
Rewatch: Definitely will watch again when I'm in the mood for a good romance drama.
Forget the Korean version of the drama, why wasn't this my drama. Why did the Korean version have to be my first drama and ruin Kdramas for me for a while. If you want pretty sets and pretty actors go to the Korean version, but if you want awesome acting and true feelings this version is THE BEST!! LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEEE
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Looking at the ratings made me feel like this drama is seriously underrated. Currently at episode 10, and I'm loving it to bits! Episode 1 started a bit slow, but it was crucial to understand the different personalities of the tourists. By the way, I loved the ahjummas! Wish they were part of the tourists also, which would have made it more interesting and funny to watch.
The supporting characters' relationships seemed cliche at first glance, but as they delve deeper into their background stories, it made me realise that this drama is all about "Don't judge a book by its cover" and the different kind of relationships between the tourists.
I found the pace to be good. I loved how they focused on each pair for each episode. I loved the back stories and the progress of relationships so much! I loved the male lead's character here. It was so unique. I'm glad he wasn't a typical CEO or this good looking handsome guy with a narcissistic personality. His character was hilarious and so were his interactions with people in France. There were so many misunderstandings about him from the very start which I found to be funny. I loved his character so much!
And for the elderly couple, at first I really despised the ahjussi. He kept yelling at everyone and complaining about everything. I felt really sad for his wife. But once I saw the backstory, I kind of understood why he behaved in that manner. I could also tell that he changed slowly throughout the course of this drama, though not to a drastic extent, which seemed realistic enough for me.
For the young couple, I thought they would have a happy "honeymoon" dating period in France. But man was I not expecting a deep relationship with misunderstandings and communication problems. Their relationship changed a lot throughout this drama as well.
And for the main couple... I loved the progress of their relationship. The misunderstandings between the two of them were hilarious. And man, Jung Yong Hwa's kisses have gotten A LOT BETTER. I hated the fish kisses in "The heartstrings".
There were so many unexpected twists which I really loved. Overall, it was an awesome drama to watch!
For those ONLY looking for romance, don't start this drama because the main focus is not the romance but the growth of the characters and their relationships. It was a really good refreshing drama for me.
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A little formulaic, but cute
The acting and dialogue are good, and there's no useless uke. The wardrobe is spectacular, and it's an easy watch.Maybe too easy a watch - I don't have any clear memories of the earlier episodes, so it's a bit forgetable. A few things that stand out is that despite the large power differential, the characters are equals, which is a refreshing change from the Thai formula.
There is an unfortunate plot trope in the second-to-last episode that it would have been very nice to avoid - it's a real stinker - and their relationship changes a bit fast, so I think it could have used two more episodes, and I'm starting to worry that BL writers are all alcoholics, but all-in-all it's a cute series, the leads are very attractive, and you can't really go wrong by watching.
But you're unlikely to remember it a few weeks later.
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First things first. The music: Absolutely amazing. I love the way they make the music the epicenter of everything in this drama. Sure, it has a cast of wacky characters, but when it comes to the music, everything else just goes to the background. You forget the silliness and instead get lost in the musical atmosphere.
Secondly, character-wise I think Nodame is by far the cutest most silly and lovable female leads of all time. Chiaki, is just an absolute stud in this and I fell for this guy instantly. Some might complain about the romance between the two characters, calling them childish and what not. But I found it to be so entertaining and enjoyed ever minute! The rest of the characters are hard not to love and I found myself wishing a happy ending for each and every one of them.:))) (Especially disco guy! Hahaha.)
It was because of this drama, that I started playing the piano again. I had given up on it in high school, but this drama brought me back to it and helped me appreciate the world of classical music once again. :)
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This review may contain spoilers
Mankind's greed has no limits....
I've been anticipating this movie, for quite a while now and I have to say the wait was worth it.If you're one to get easily emotional, then get ready to grab your tissue box, because BoGum's doe eyes will make you cry and feel for his character, Seobok, who amid everything was still innocent and yet treated so unkindly by humans, through all his life. To never know kindness, love or trust, and see himself as nothing but a specimen with a purpose.
It truly depicts the lack of humanity when it comes to study and use animals for such, also the greed of those who fear death while seeking for a way to prolong their petty lives.
"It scare me to think of dying, but living forever is scary too."
Kiheon and Seobok both share something in common here, they both fear the unknown that lies in dying, and yet they are also afraid of living.
"What should I believe to not be scared?"
The symbolic value and moral grounds this movie works with are deeper than one can assume, and mainly questioned by the two main characters, along their journey, were their fears and doubts are exposed.
"Do you think dying... is really like sleeping?"
"Maybe."
"Then how come people aren't afraid to fall asleep? It's like dying for a while."
For some it might be the typical collaboration between Korean/American plot with the whole experiment and survival, however it's GongYoo and BoGum's acting that takes the prize.
Special effects too in a way when it comes to production.
The OST is nothing out of the ordinary for me, although quite right into the emotional scenes.
Not going to lie, it's quite an emotional ride.
The message in plot is more than it seems.
Its all about acceptance and resilience.
And knowing what's wrong and right.
"It's beautiful."
"What is?"
"To be alive."
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