This review may contain spoilers
As A Webtoon Reader
My review for the most part is going to be coming from someone who read the webtoon and LOVED it.STORY: I know they finished this before the webtoon ended, I know they couldn't add everything because it would make the budget too high. That being said, some of the changes felt pointless. They missed the timing for some characters' deaths and then gave them pointless deaths that did not live up to their deaths in the webtoon. They added the female character and basically stripped Wook of everything that made him a good character. For Eun, they made her mean and it really ruined the sibling dynamic between her and Hyuk. For Hyuk, they rid of his "funniness." My main problem with the story is the damages they caused to the character's relationships with each other. Hyuk and Hyun's friendship was nonexistent, instead, Hyuk just used Hyun as a dog. Hyun and Jisu's relationship was switched out for Hyun and Eun. Eun and Wook did not have their friendship. Wook and Yuri's relationship was barely there. I am just disappointed with how they handled the webtoon relationships.
The monsters were watered down. In the webtoon, they were hard to kill are were always a threat. In the drama, they were easier to kill and kinda just disappeared in the last two episodes... I kinda wished the "Do I Look Good?" monster was here, they teased us with lines relating to him, but he never came :( The CGI was pretty good, the best has to be the "I Can't See" monster, he looked VERY real. Protein, the running monster, and the spider monster were goofy-looking sometimes XD
If I were to not have read the webtoon, it would not have been bad. BUT, I would have been confused on some parts because you need webtoon knowledge to understand somethings.
ACTING/CAST: they all did their parts perfectly. They all acted so well. Kudos to everyone because wow.
MUSIC: I am not gonna lie, some times the music just did not fit. I wish they would've had more intense songs instead of always using Imagine Dragon's "Warriors."
REWATCH VALUE: I could rewatch it, but I probably won't. I do not rewatch things often
OVERALL: As a webtoon reader, I am disappointed and would give it a 7.5/10. As a drama watcher, I am satisfied and would give it a 9/10. UPDATE: after rethinking it, I changed by overall to an 8/10
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Like Rita, I found this drama lovely to watch and well worth my time every single episode. Unlike Rita I am actually a fan of Hockey. I grew up in a Hockey family. My father coached and my brothers both played hockey and in turn now coach their sons. Never once did I feel the action on the ice was fake or poorly executed. The team spirit and pride of the players was also something the writer and actors captured quite nicely.
The story and plot played out in time with the 11 episodes and I never felt bored or as if the plot was dragging. The writer really captured the feeling of the players, their motivations, dreams and fears. I have to wonder if he/she was either a player or came from a hockey family. If not...I'd be surprised.
Kimura Takuya and Takeuchi Yoko had amazing chemistry together and more importantly, with the rest of the cast. Kimura Takuya as Haru was particularly good. He was so natural as Haru...so confident in his role that I might have trouble seeing him as anyone else. The love story between Haru and Aki is wonderful! They were what most people aspire to in a love match; comfortable with each other with a friendship that comes easy and a necessary undercurrent of passion. Lovely!!
The soundtrack is by Queen. One of my favorite bands when I was a kid. The tried and true anthem We Are The Champions was only one obvious fit for a sports driven drama. A lot of their other songs "I Was Born To Love You" spoke perfectly to, not only Haru's love for the game of Hockey but also his love for Aki.
My re-watch value is a 10 because I would enthusiastically watch this drama again. It is fun and such an easy, entertaining story. 11 episodes long and does not drag. If you don't like watching sports dramas I promise you this one is a perfect blend of the right elements. This is about the characters and the love story set within the world of Hockey.
I recommend this drama very highly. So much fun to watch!
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My village is still recovering the aftereffects of this season
I might sound more emotional than usual. I’ve fully accepted that this will be a sappy review filled with praise, so buckle up.This season was… too good. I adore Yumi and all her cells. Every single one of them has such distinct personalities, and the writing team truly did wonders here. I found myself cheering on literal 2D animated cells like they were main characters. That alone says everything.
I was initially very scared of the 8 episode run. I was convinced it wouldn’t be enough and that I’d be left unsatisfied, but it didn’t feel that way at all. The story feels complete in my heart. Would I have taken one more episode? Absolutely. But that’s just my greed cell wanting more Yumi and Sun Rok content.
This season made me laugh so much, just like the previous ones, but what really stayed with me is how much I’ve grown attached to Yumi as a person. Watching her across the seasons, seeing her change as she got older… I genuinely feel like I grew up with her. I felt so close to her, her feelings, her struggles, the way she processes things. Not because we’ve lived the same life, because we definitely haven't, but because she felt so real to me. Her emotions and her reactions made so much sense to me and her honesty and vulnerability is what made me connect to her so deeply, and for this, kudos to the writers.
The writing of this show is so honest, witty, and personal that it genuinely felt like reading Yumi’s diary. And I love that. It’s such an original way to tell a story that is, at its core, very ordinary, but that’s exactly what makes it special. Yumi isn’t perfect. She has flaws, fears, insecurities, and she makes mistakes. She’s lived, she’s learned, and she’s grown and that emotional journey is what makes this show hit so hard for me. I loved how grounded in reality a lot of the moments were.
Now for this season specifically; Kim Go Eun was, as always, phenomenal. She is Yumi. I genuinely can’t imagine anyone else playing her. Her look this season was also adorable, I personally loved the pixie cut, she pulled it off so well. What I loved most this season was seeing a more mature version of Yumi. She’s grown, she’s a bit more guarded, but that hopeful, bubbly core of hers never disappeared. It was just… quieter at times. But still there.
And her cells? Icons. The Naughty cell continued to be the showstopper and the cause of so much of my laughter. The hunger cell...I’m convinced if I ever peeked into my own cell village, my hunger cell would look exactly like that.
I also really appreciated seeing the contrast between Season 1 Yumi and Season 3 Yumi, while still recognizing that at her core, she’s the same person. That consistency in her character was so comforting.
Kim Jae Won as Shin Sun Rok was also genuinely perfect casting. He embodied that role so naturally, and considering he’s still relatively a rookie, acting opposite someone like Kim Go Eun couldn’t have been easy, but he held his own. Their chemistry felt effortless and real. I adored him.
Shin Sun Rok as a character? By far my favorite of Yumi’s boyfriends. Straightforward, proactive, emotionally present… just a genuinely loving partner. His naughty cell was also… yeah. An experience. You go, Yumi. And him being a cute reindeer? I was smiling at my screen so much my face actually started to hurt. If I get smile lines in the future, you're picking up the tab sir.
Also, if you watch this show for anything, let it be for the version of Sun Rok we get in the later half. I fell for him right alongside Yumi. I get it girlie. I fully get it.
I won’t spoil anything, but the way he handled things in the final episode, his attitude, his care, the way he approached Yumi… A MILLION GOLD STARS. Truly.
I also really appreciated that we didn't get into any unnecessary side plots/characters because the 8 episode run is already quite short so I definitely love that the showrunners kept the focus mainly on Yumi and Sun Rok.
Sun Rok’s cell village was also soooo good, there was so much personality and so much humor there. Whoever did the voice acting deserves a GOLD STAR, especially his reason cell. The tone, the delivery… I fully lost it every time his brain just short circuited and the animation was also so good, I couldn't stop laughing. But beyond the humor, it also added depth. His village made him feel just as layered and real as Yumi, which is something this show consistently does amazingly well.
For the story itself, I thought season 3 was very well paced, the change in relationship dynamics felt very natural, and I don't think I ever felt frustrated watching this season at all. I am someone who has a bad habit of fastforwarding some parts of shows, but this season was amazing. They didn't waste even a second. If anything, I wanted more. Honestly, I could’ve watched them do absolutely nothing for 10 more episodes and still been completely invested because I just love these characters so so much.
I think my review will forever remain biased, because I feel so much for this show and for Yumi, but I think that was also only possible because of the superb work everyone has done all throughout the seasons. While I can say that it's possible to watch this as a standalone, it would be such a shame for anyone to miss out on the adventure of seeing how Yumi became the person she is in season 3.
Her story was beautiful and made me both sad cry and happy cry many times, in the best way possible. This show will always have a very special place in my heart and I'll definitely be rewatching it from time to time.
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Well I'm just glad to be watching a show in which REDACTED doesn't die by the end!
I really loved watching this show. In fact, I couldn't stop watching it! It's possibly (probably) one of the best shows of the year. With a raw storyline, amazingly complex characters, and competent production, this show is a good option for a mature and gut-wrenching experience.Throughout the watching experience of this show, I noticed a lot of viewers were upset by characters not being easily categorized as good or bad, or judging characters too harshly, or just being upset that the romances were not cute. So just upfront, let me tell you. This is not your next Love is Sweet or Begin Again, or even Go Ahead (though that show is pretty close, content-wise). This show is raw. It's like an open wound. It goes for realism and it exposes the characters' faults on purpose. Actions have consequences in this show and everyone is a bit more complicated than meets the eye. I could write pages on character studies alone but this is a show review, so I'll stop!
You should watch this show if you like:
1. Mature stories. No black and white morality to be found here or cutesy characters whose bad decisions only lead to quirky shenanigans. Nope. You make a bad mistake here, you go DOWN!
2. Good acting
3. Later 20th-century history
4. Family dramas
5. Generational stories
Summary: The show follows the Qiao children as they struggle to survive in their father's home after their mother dies in childbirth. Yi Cheng, the eldest, makes a silent vow to never lose his dignity no matter what he faces in life. He struggles to raise his neglected siblings, keep them fed and in school while also following his own ambitions of raising himself out of his bad situation through education, all while maintaining his pride. As the story progresses and their lives get complicated by mistakes and tragedies, the siblings stay close together like the threads of a knitted sweater!
Plot: The plot is simple. It's life. It starts in 1977 and ends in 2005 and the show is committed to historical accuracy but other than that it shows the characters, their love life, their triumphs and failures with little judgment. You will hate some decisions and you'll love others. It's chaotic and illogical, the way that real life is. In real life, sometimes people make bad decisions and they commit to them longer than it makes sense to do so. It's the same in this show. I personally found everything in the story tolerable and nothing made me so angry as to make me want to stop watching. Everything flowed naturally. Nothing was dragged out and nothing was wrapped too fast. The pace was great and it helped to keep the viewer interested. Each episode is packed with one event after another to the point that missing one episode might lead to missing entire arcs!
Acting: Perfect. All across the board, everyone was amazing. Special shout out to Liu Jun who played their father. His character was a jerk but he played him so well that I was just so impressed by this veteran actor. Also, the young actors playing the Qiao kids in their childhood, especially the young actor for YiCheng, were amazing. Guo Zi Ming made me tear up more than any other character in the show. Kudos!
Music: I actually loved the music for this show. Especially the song called Wild Bird which I have been listening to on repeat since I watched the first episode. I can sing along now!
Production: It was near perfect. Gorgeous cinematography, meticulous location setting, attention to details, historically accurate objects but also experiences, symbolic lighting (happy homes colored with warm colors and unhappy ones with cold ones), (almost) perfect continuity. Most importantly, I think the production wasn't as expensive as it seemed and that it was just very well-budgeted.
Rewatch: I wouldn't say no. It was a very endearing watch and I particularly enjoyed certain parts that I would love to watch again.
Negatives: Characters make bad decisions a lot but I thought they made sense in context. While bad decisions, they still made sense for the characters. It's a bit hard to keep track of the passage of time. It's probably easier for Chinese people to figure them out because the show touches on important historical events but even so, there were certain points where time moved in loops (as it so often does in cdramas!) and it was a bit confusing but it didn't harm the show. It was just surprising to learn how much time had passed, once we did get a date. Some scenes were censored and there is some propaganda in the show. The censored parts do not redact from the quality but they do raise questions of "what if"s. The propaganda is light and harmless for the most part. One or two subplots lead nowhere in particular but given how packed the show is, it's fine. Qiqi gets WAY less screen time than everyone else. Not sure if it was a good thing or not because what we got from him was so sad and upsetting that I wish we hadn't had that either!
Overall: Highly recommended. I don't usually enjoy modern cdramas. This show stands out with its near-perfect everything.
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Thrilling. Unsettling to some extent. Additionally to an enthralling story you get great acting.
"The Cursed" puts Korean shamanism at the center of events. Shamans play their role again and again in KDramas - even if they are only indirectly present in the form of yellow adhesive talismans in red Hanja writing for fertility, luck, prosperity, etc. But in "The Cursed" they actively determine what happens. The shamans are distinguished by their spirit conection and/or have inherited their practice. To this day, Muism or Sindo - the shaman religion - is firmly rooted in everyday life as the oldest popular belief system.So you inevitably have to deal with magical rituals, shamanistic practices and (in this case) evil spirits who quickly possess people or e.g.. rather curse them. It is quite somber and frightening considering that mere human ability has little to counter these forces and practices.
Viewer ratings have more than doubled over the course of the TVseries. For South Korean audiences, the KDrama obviously struck a chord. For me it was an intense drama. Thrilling. Unsettling to some extent. Generally, I would recommend it, if you are open to face another realm besides our rational reality. Additionally to an enthralling story you get great acting. (No romance, though...)
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Acting/Cast: Acting is good enough, including the kid actor who acted as the teenage son. Park Hae Jin's acting is okay though I can tell he needs more experience working on his facial expressions while working with foreign actors & actresses...or it could be his portrayal of the hero who is 'numb' to feelings- a character who was hurt by love and views marriage as a practical arrangement for his career. He's also a brilliant businessman, often able to overcome whatever tricks his mother (the CEO) and her cohorts planned to keep him in line. In the end, the entire board was supporting him and his ideas, which made his mom admire his ingenuity but also frustrated that she could no longer control him. There are parts where you can see the glint of playfulness and genius behind the hero when he plotted to trick our heroine into accepting him. The heroine is well selected - she's cute (not beautiful per se) and has an air of 'common-ness' in her. She is assertive but kind and often would rather avoid conflict than to explain herself to others. To her, the hero is the biggest conflict she wanted to avoid as she knew he would complicate her simple life. Hence, she did all her best to avoid him - switching jobs and place of residence and even went into hiding!...but our hero's tenacity and persistence finally won him the woman! :)
Music: Nothing that stands out.
Rewatch value: Not too bad, considering there are some scenes I would like re-watch. Those are the ones where the hero pulls out every trick in his book to get the heroine. Pure fun.
Overall: To those of you who are used to the 'polished' look of Korean dramas and the brevity of Japanese dramas, you might find this drama (and any melo Chinese dramas) hard to swallow. The Chinese excel in making 'real' dramas, depicting as close to possible, the reality of life and relationships. There will be no fashion show, ridiculously good looking (and heavily make up) actors and actresses here. Even the so-called HD quality is no HD quality. Extremely 'rustic'. Equal weight is given to addressing family relationships and friendships and work life besides the romance story. For a Chinese melodrama, this is not a bad one to be watching. Overall rating: 7.5/10.
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Flowers centers around the business of our girl's (Kang Hye Jung - Oldboy, Love Phobia, Welcome to Dongmakgol) parents which is nothing but setting up funerals for the deceased. Well, what do you think? Depressing, Sad, Sappy? If you think that way, then I'll try to make you think other way.
Flowers is not a melodrama. It doesn't put the characters of the story in extreme difficult situations so as to appeal to the emotions. It isn't a family drama, it may not even feel like a drama ! It will be hard to believe that its a show which deals with death and is actually hilarious and funny without being jokey and gag based. It touches you emotionally without making you sappy. You will feel the characters in your heart and yet you wont cry. It will provide you lots of hilarious and humorous moments. You won't feel dull at any point in the series.
The cast is good with our leads fully absorbing into their roles. You will probably remember Cha Tae Hyun (My Sassy Girl). He is the main character in this story and I think he was perfectly cast for this role. His exaggerated facial expressions are always funny but you won't find them ridiculous here. They will rather feel as honest feelings. The lead actress Kang Hye Jung is very natural in her acting. She just steps up her acting skills in each episode. You will feel like living in the drama. The second leads are OK. The parents are awesome. There are 2 more elders who would sometimes feel annoying but their screen time is small.
Doesn't your all time favorite drama has the most beautiful music? Remember 'Coffee Prince' and 'Shut Up: Flower Boy Band' ! Well, Flowers doesn't reach to that level but there are just enough scenes where the background music matches perfectly with what is going on in the screen. In fact, it is the OST that keeps your tears away. Its the exact opposite of OST of '1 Litre of Tears' where you cry because your heart, Aya and the background music all resonate to the frequency of 'tears'. In Flowers, it resonates to happiness and smiles. To your surprise, you will come across a 90's english song.
I have never rewatched any drama till now. Not even my top favorite one. But I feel like I can always return to watching this show as this is JUST NOT sad, even when talking about death. All other good shows leave me in a state of helplessness when I finish them and I don't know what to do ending up in an existential crisis for few days. But Flowers left me satisfied and happy in the end.
Overall, I will give this one a '9'. I would have given this a 10 if not just for that 1 single episode where I think it paced up a little giving away its charm a bit. But the show made up for it in the last 5 episodes.
Additional thoughts - There are few episodes which tell a smaller story and work well in moving the characters in that small story as well as the larger story of the series in itself. You can compare it with the episodes of 'Reply 1997'. Now wasn't that amazing !
And if you see this show, then do watch out for the flowers (I mean literally; there will be just a single scene for 2-3 seconds where a character is shown with some type of flower).
This show is indeed well executed. I just didn't wanted it to be so underrated.
Thank you for your patience.
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This review may contain spoilers
Ok so this review is dark and full of spoilers. aand I'm going to vent a lot my frustration so you may hate me if you liked this drama. Then just don't blow your bubble and stop reading now. xDI found this drama on netflix and at first it was our typical, full of cliché (and occasionally cringeness) love story: marriage contract between a poor thing who has a desease and the only donor compatible: the youngest and richest CEO of CEOs history that every woman would like to approach - but for some reasons he doesn't seem to be attracted by anyone, and rumors have him being in a triangle with his secretary male assistant and his male actor friend.
Asians are rather conservative about lgbt so none of them is actually gay, or at least bi. Bi would be a nice plot twist.
But instead we had a really shitty plot twist that will make your jaw drop underground.
Well the signals were there and some bells happened to ring for me, but I know that dramas are often a bit extra, so I wouldn't imagine what was going to happen.
First of all: she had to beg him several times because even tho he was on the donor's list (it means he signed himself in) he didn't want to agree to save her life. That's quite nasty for a premise even for the tsundere archetype to be honest.
Then as they start to "fake" their marriage (he asked her to marry him in exchange of her life, basically. She tought he was gay and needed a cover up - but that's her assumption, not a deception.) he starts to be a bit too controlling: he stated she - a grown woman - was forbidden to drink alcohol (not getting drunk, just to drink a beer for instance), was forbidden to wear skirts over her knee and things like that.
Actually the very alarm for me went on the moment she was walking at the mall with her friend and some guy stole her wallet, only to come back minutes later scared with that same wallet intact, begging forgiveness. How did her hubby knew? Wasn't he supposed to be at work, doing all that office stuff? (seriously I am always amused to see how much free time heads of conglomerates have to roam around instead of directing thousand people in dramaland. And they just sign stuff or scold people when they're rarely seen at their workplace LOL)
Some time passes and they spend lovely time together, they say cheesy stuff and flirt all the way.
And then the ugly thruth: we get to know that the marriage in fact was the masterpiece of the dick moves to approach a girl you like: he stalked, photographed her, got reports about her FOR TWO FREAKING YEARS and planned ahead the whole marriage thing by bribing doctors and forging documents about her having leukemia, when she was just anemic!! That would be GENIAL if only this drama was tagged under "thriller". But it's a rom com instead. How romantic! Let me spread some rotten flower petals here.
Because asking her for a coffee was too mainstream? We get to see in flashbacks she wasn't a cold, difficult to approach person, the exact opposite!! In fact he fell for her because they met by coincidence and she helped a stranger (him) without asking anything in return.
Even with his turbolent past with a severe father and a uncaring mother (she was a real bitch, let me say it moreover because she seemed a poor victim of the father too when she tried to steal his son's company at first occasion. wtf.) I think that's not logic at all. And also why his loyal assistant didn't warn him about the consequences, about how frong this was?? He planned to deceive her and confess the truth only when she had already fallen for him so she would forgive his actions: yeah sure, feed that to the dogs.
If only that she did exactly as he planned.
She discovered the truth, she got angry, she told him how suffocating is his behavior, HE LOCKED HER UP IN THE HOUSE WITH TWO GUARDS "FOR HER SAKE" when she wanted to leave and after couple of episodes they're back together. No consequences, no therapy.
Not to mention he begged her, telling her he wanted to change and after all that, she discovers he bought her apartment in secret. Psycho much? Hello? You didn't learn anything from all that mess?
But let's being serious for a second here because yes it's a fiction, it's a drama so "over the top or die trying" is our national anthem but I felt rather disturbed to see how lightly all the matter was treated. The friends, from both sides, just said: "oh, that's not cool" and that was it. Leaving aside the fact he didn't yell or hit at her, he, in fact, abused her. This was plain domestic abuse. He said what every perpetrator say in this circumstance "it's for your own good, I did it for you".
For the rest of the drama I kept being disturbed by it, I kept thinking the target of this stories are teens and they are easily influenced by everything around them. (It's not an asian only thing, I can use "after" by Anna Todd as another bad example.)
I just don't think it's a good idea showing manipulative characters justified and forgiven like that, without at least some therapy. Yes, he's a victim of his father too and I am prone to be more comprehensive, but it's not enough for me to excuse him or giving him a second chance right away.
I think it's also disrespectful towards all the people out there who are abused by their partner, trapped in this nightmare.
You may think "yeah but it's just fiction!" and I may agree with you except that seeing often those things as normal and romanticized even is very harmful for young minds. If he wasn't rich and handsome would you be on the same page as now?
Here's a really fitting example of what I'm trying to say: we're all educated that pink is a feminine color. A boy would be ashamed to wear pink (Jia Fei was more convinced that Wen Li was gay because he liked that very color) but isn't it just a pale hue of red? That's how our brain works: we get used to things and finally think they're normality. Ling Yi Zhou himself is a perfect example: he's so used to be manipulated by his father he thinks he's normal to treat his partner as some pet.
I was sad to see people willing to cheer for them at the end, while they were so severe to the second fem lead girl who basically did the same thing to Ling (she ipnotized and drugged him to forget his wife so she could stand a chance. This reminded me of Tom Riddle's mother. She tricked a guy to love her with a potion and when he woke up he left her pregnant with the dark lord. That would be a great lesson for both An Ran and Ling Yi Zhou).
I liked how Xia Lin and Chu Yan's friendship developed and that left me with the infamous second lead syndrome. He started as a bitchy rival, then he learned to respect her as a person and they become friends, they talked about stuff and helped each other: sometimes she rescued him, sometimes he rescued her. The true example of an equal and sane relationship.
For me the perfect ending would have been her escaping with him and the controlling dude being on therapy and then after few time trying again to have a relationship with another woman in the right way (or die, while trying to kill the girl and his friend who "stole" her), I think I will pretend that happened and forget about this whole stuff right away.
if it wasn't clear enough I won't recommend this at all xD I would rather keep watching the same old stuff full of clichés without abuse :/
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Perfect reflection of Corporate Affairs; Quite unique as a drama.
Let's say that ON THE VERGE OF INSANITY is the office Kdrama of the year 2021 or probably the best Office drama out there? I mean you ain't gonna find another Kdrama with pure office affairs (95%) in the story, so yeah!This drama is realistic enough for the audience working (or have worked) in corporate sectors to relate and reminisce their life as employees or employers. The drama touches various sides & shades of a regular corporate life such as: responsibilities, work pressure, competition among peers, colleague relationship, management techniques, job hunting, dismissal, resignation, worker layoffs, corruption, etc, etc.
STORY & PLOT:
There is no solid plot here to back the story. It's more of a slice of 'office' life Kdrama portraying the day-to-day life of people working in Electronics Industry at various positions and designations. But of course for the story's sake, the drama is set up in a time period during which the company is going through critical phases of financial downturn and rounds of laying off plus shutting down of branches.
Hanmyeong Electronics, famous for it's high-tech home appliances, is one of the top 3 Electronic Product Manufacturer in South Korea. The Company enters into a moderate financial crisis to tackle which the Head Quarter decides to shut down few of it's business departments and lay off more than half of the people working in those branches. So the major plot is all about the attempt to throw out the people and sell off a particular branch which also includes the competition to develop products and the efforts of survival in the company.
The story itself starts with these procedure in one of the semi-urban branches. Dang Ja Young, assigned to lead this is then transfered to another rural branch to reorganize and execute the selling off of another branch. Choi Ban Seok, an expert developer at the company is transferred from the previously vanished branch to this branch is forced to work with Dang Ja Young in the HR team. Han Se Kwon, a greedy and highly ambitious person always putting effort to climb the ladder, can go to any length get his work done.
The drama also portrays dirty sides of business and corporate sectors. People trying to drag each other down to save themselves, some others plotting tricks to humiliate others for personal grudges, some trying to gain from crisis, some committing corruption in the greed of money, etc are very well shown that implies the need of countermeasures to stop such deeds. OTVOI also emphasizes on hierarchy complexes in corporates as well as mistreatment and sexual harassment, which are some of the concerning issues in all kinds of workplaces.
Obviously, Dang Ja Young and Choi Ban Seok are the leads but there's no definite couple. There's no romance storyline which is totally fine but in the last 4 episodes there's a subtle portrayal of a developing closeness between the 2 leads.
The drama has few side minor storylines about office dating, personal and private lives of the main characters, friendship between adults, etc.
CAST & ACTING:
It's obvious that the drama isn't getting it's well deserving recognition internationally because of the cast but what matters are the acting skills of the actors and in this regard all the main and major characters are actually very good. It's sad that such a good and realistic story isn't getting the attention but I must say it's not everyone's cup of tea.
The story revolves around mainly 3 people though there are plenty of side and supporting characters with a fair share of screen-timing.
1. Dang Ja Young played by Moon So Ri is a workaholic long-term employee at Hanmyeong who aspires to become an executive director by the meana of her work. He has given her 100% to the company and has strived for its progress. She does whatever given to her as a responsibility and is very rationale. She's brave, competent and knows how to get her job done well. Despite the difficult road traveled, she never gives up. She finds herself in a tight spot after being appointed as the HR team leader of a branch soon to be sold off.
2. Choi Ban Seok (Jung Jae Young), a senior hardware developer with 20+ years experience has been successfully saving his spot in the company. He's very excellent at his job but mismanagement of company disgusts him. He gives up an international offer and after bring transferred to another branch he joins the TF team but soon after framed and shifted to HR, a dept he's no idea about. He still hangs onto the job and tries to learn. Fortunately, his skill gets him back to the R&D dept but he still faces issues from people who are jealous of his skills. His character and personality in this drama is something to love and respect. What a man!
3. Han Se Kwon (Lee Sang Yeob), the TF team leader and a prominent face of the company, is also the ex-husband of Dang Ja Young. As a person who's high ambitions he can literally do anything to stay at the top. He's very insecure of his skills yet clever enough to create opportunities for himself out of crisis and sly enough to escape out of downgrading situations created by him. Seeing Choi Ban Seok's skills and confidence he constantly tries to bring him down by playing cheap tricks. He keeps stopping lower shamelessly as the story progreses.
Choi Ban Seok is a family man with a daughter and both lives with his mother since his wife's demise. Dang Ja Young after divorce, lives with her friend Shin Jung Ah and has a mentally disable father at a nursing facility. She's divorced from Han Se Kwon who's currently dating a co-worker. Shin Jung Ah (Cha Chung Hwa) and Shin Han Soo (Kim Nam Hee) are siblings.
The drama has also some other good actors like Cha Chung Hwa, Ahn Nae Sang, Kim Nam Hee, Jo Bok Rae, Kim Joong Ki, Park
Won Sang, Park Sung Geun, etc. Other than these popular faces, there are also many young faces which are new & old as well as some known faces who did their roles well with the screentime provided. The character arc of all the major and minor character are very well-done.
DIRECTION & EDITING:
Given that this is the debut of the director, I think it's very good as well as suitable script for him. He's been able to do his job well hence creating good opportunities in furure. The screenplay editing also gives the vibe of perfect office environment with light comedy dominating intense moods. Background sound scores are very less giving it a urban drama vibes which I think is a good decision. In fact the OSTs are not utilized that much but that's very fine with me. One notable editing device is that for the later half of the drama, the episodes end with a prologue and in the next episode the story goes back to a day or two back that eventually leads to the scene where the previous episode had ended. I recall seeing this device in no other drama.
Many people might say it's boring because of the lack of a intense solid plot and urban editing but I'm very pleased for the fact that it is very realistic and throws light on real life events and issues in the corporate sector.
OSTs:
My only problem with the OST collection of this drama is that the production has unreasonably put Han Se Gwon in the poster of 4 tracks when he's an utter trash. Whereas Choi Ban Seok is featured in only one poater wtf. Also, Seo Na Ri, Han Se Kwon's girlfriend is got a place in one of the track posters as well as shown as one of the 4 main casts in the main drama poster z WHYYYY? She doesn't even share more screentime than side characters.
Okay, so OSTs are actually nice. The urban comedy drama doesn't use OSTs in the screenplay that much given the office environment to give off the perfect vibes. My favourite ones are "find me" by PL and "please" by The Daisy. The former is a jolly track creating moods for doing your work and the later is a softcore feel-good song. Other likeable ones are
"trace" by KLANG
"vacuity" by The Lime
"I dream of you" by Seo Sung Hyuk
"man's Love" by Kim Jin Woong
ENDING:
Last 2 episodes of the finale week are very good as well. One of the major twists that happened in ep 15th made me both sad and angry which also led me to expect something dramatic enough to turn the tables. Well, tables weren't turned as a countermeasure, rather the scenario led to a new beginning. I was sooo happy tbh watching the last 15mins of the 15th eps, it has quite a few time leaps, small or big. The 16th eps was even more dramatic (not so realistic) but I guess that was a reward from the writer for all the sad elements we had been witnessing throughout the last few episodes. Anyways, sooo glad it was a sorted, reasonable and happy sending.
CONCLUSION:
The best thing in "On the Verge of Insanity", for me, is Choi Ban Seok, a personality that I will aspire to be. He's confident, morally upright and is always focused. His way of talking and behaviour acc to person were so on point, I fell in love with him. Dang Ja Young is surely an inspiring character with a lots of traits to learn from, loved how strong she is. Han Se Kwon is a character that should be hated and openly shamed. It's unfortunate cheaper people exist in the corporate world for real.
Again, I am sad this drama isn't doing well internationally in real time but hopefully people will recognize later. The drama is definitely a very good work, if not excellent. The way it throws light upon harsh truth of corporate affairs and the measures to tackle it are very real.
Overally, this drama is nice and deserves a place in the top 20 Kdramas of the year 2021. PLEASE watch this and I am sure that'll be worth spending time on. I binged it in 2 phases but I am sure the episode by episode progression of this drama would have been quite interesting and anticipating for those who watched it ongoing. This will go down as one of the best Office Dramas that Korean Drama Industry has ever produced. That's all.
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"In this vast universe, all mortals' lives move in parallel lines, alone and ahead.
When somehow the lines meet, the moment of encounter, even if it was fleeting, is a miracle."TLDR: A Balloon's Landing was both beautifully written and beautifully executed. Definitely worth a watch, hell a rewatch even. Also, Guava is the best gps in the history of humanity.
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This movie is about a novel writer, Tianyu, going on a journey to locate the Bay of Vanishing Whales where he believes, and has been told in a letter years ago, that he can find a paradise. Does it sound slightly odd to go looking for a paradise and put your whole faith into a letter? Probably, but once you discover the reason behind this, it no longer sounds as odd. Many of us have moments in our lives where we feel completely lost and emotionally detached from everything (and in what he was suffering from, depersonalisation is common), not so much different from a balloon drifting aimlessly and looking for a place to land, yearning to call something home. And all I can say without giving away any spoilers is that, Tianyu is the same and have been feeling this way for quite a long, long time due to his past. Both that letter and the 'paradise' is what tugs at him, becoming his sole focus and (although a bit flimsy) connection to the ground and life itself.
He meets A Xiang in this same journey, perhaps exactly when he needed someone the most. A Xiang who initially started out as the seemingly not-so-reliable tour guide he never asked for, ends up becoming the person who helps him find his landing and feel like he belongs somewhere. These two are opposite in nature yet fit together like puzzle pieces, as differently shaped as these pieces might be (as in different pasts, goals, personalities and perspectives) they still belong to the same jigsaw puzzle; once they meet, they're bound to click in place. Perfectly. Because some people are just meant to be and they're definitely one of them.
Storytelling-wise, it was an experience for sure! almost made me feel as if I'm on a journey with Tianyu rather than just watching this. One of the things I absolutely adore about this movie is that it shows, not just tells. The characters won't grab the camera, look you dead in the eye and say, "I currently feel [insert] emotion, I am [insert] type of person, we are doing [insert] thing." They let their actions speak, their expressions speak, even the shared glances and comforting silences between them speak for itself. All of that makes each scene feel so alive because they actually seem like real people going through real situations, and the entire cast portrayed their characters so naturally which only made it even more believable. Plus, the seamless integration of weighty themes with a touch of humor felt perfectly balanced, it didn't undermine the very sensitive topics it dealt with imo.
It also played gently with the old-time romantic idea of destiny, but without making it the focal point or trying to convince everyone that their entire lives are predetermined, instead it showed that change is possible, that relationships evolve, and that love doesn't need grand declarations to be profound. Honestly, what I saw and felt in this movie was simply love that felt like home, it wasn't the steamy kind, it was simple, quiet, but undeniable love and it goes without saying that both types of love can be beautiful on the screen. Love comes in many shades, there's too many people in this world to expect everyone to love and express their love the exact same way. I wouldn't call the relationship in this movie 'subtle romance' either when it mainly just didn't have any breathless make-out scenes or bed-breaking bedroom encounters that'll make their neighbours think there's an earthquake, since it doesn't really fit my definition of subtle when it had enough intimacy that didn't make it even slightest bit of ambiguous to me. They are 'only friends' the same way historical gay couples are friendship goals to historians and they are about as 'straight' as Sappho’s poems about women. There was no love triangle, no unrequited love, just mutual love for life and for each other with the best gps dog (Guava) in the world making a cameo.
Along with that, the cinematography was gorgeous. The beauty of this film lies not only in the characters and their journey but also in how it's all wrapped in the atmosphere of the movie. I especially loved how there wasn't constant background music, sometimes it can be an overkill and there's some scenes that require silence or at least a quieter background so the characters' expressions and dialogues can do all the work. The cinematography, colour grading, and musical score was all perfect. Every element of A Balloon’s Landing worked in harmony, watching it felt like curling up in a warm blanket when it's really cold and listening to the soft sound of the fireplace. Just perfect.
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All in all, there's a paradise, but it's not by the Bay of Whales, it’s in this movie.
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1Sword in hand, righteous in heart. 手中握剑, 心中有义.
It was a windy and snowy day. Lei Wujie, a young swordsman wanders into a remote snow-capped inn. Xiao Se, the richly garbed innkeeper is set upon by bandits. The valiant Wujie intervenes and a fiery battle ensues. Appalled by the destruction, Xiao Se travels with Wujie to Xueyue City to collect usurious compensation. Along the way, they are caught in a vicious multi party melee over a mysterious golden coffin. They are swept out of harm's way by Wuxin, a powerful and enigmatic unordained monk. Thus begins the adventures of a loan shark innkeeper, an intrepid airhead and an irreverent monk. On their journey, they make as many deadly enemies as they do lifelong friends. Sword in hand, righteous in heart 手中握剑, 心中有义, the young friends set out on a quest for justice and their vision of jianghu or the martial world. In jianghu there is no absolute right or wrong, just an individual sense of morality and righteousness; the higher values that each swordsman is willing to give their life to protect.This addictive, high fantasy wuxia captures the spirit of rivers and lakes and the thirst of the wanderer to see where the skies end. The hilarious banter and unlimited friendship between the trio and their ever growing circle is immersive and exhilarating. I love that despite his superpowers, Wuxin needs Xiao Se to bankroll their travels and Lei Wujie has no sense of direction and gets Xiao Se lost all the time. Xiao Se (萧瑟; desolate) is a lonely and guarded character with a subtle air of loss and disappointment cloaked in sarcasm and arrogance. From the first instance he shares a curious understanding with Wuxin, another itinerant character with a cryptic past. They are both brilliant, complex and somewhat broken characters seeking answers and redress. Though younger in years, Wuxin is a wise, almost omniscient old soul, who is more at peace with his past than Xiao Se is. They find solace in Lei Wujie's simplistic, pure hearted idealism; his fearless youthful optimism and sense of invincibility. They are the core that attracts other great talents such as the redoubtable eldest martial brother Tang Lian, the strategic Ye Ruoyi, the divine healer Hua Jin and the sticky as fly paper Sikong Qianluo.
There is a lot to unpack in this story, beginning with the abundance of flamboyant and formidable jianghu characters. My personal favorite is Baili Dongjun, lush brewmaster and first city lord of Xueyue City. The prequel 少年白马醉春风 The Young Brewmaster's Adventure chronicles the youthful adventures of the colorful older generation of martial heroes. This explains the richly defined jianghu universe of legendary heroes and weapons and the fully realised characters with deep relationships and substantive backstories. Many surrounding characters are heroes of their own sub-plots that unfold alongside without seeming to digress from the main storyline. Loyalties notwithstanding, all five sword deities are moving and fascinating characters that make me want to know how their journeys begin. This drama is said to stay true to the original and the well loved manhua. This is likely due to the involvement of the novelist Zhou Munan (周木楠), whose prose is witty and simple, yet profoundly zen.
As the heroes converge on the capital, Tianqi City, the plot takes a political turn. The emperor is ailing and they are caught up in the battle for the throne between Prince Bai and Prince Chi. They race against time to unravel the old conspiracy that led to the downfall of Lord Langya many years ago. Fans of Langya List 琅琊榜 or Nirvana in Fire will recognise immediately that beyond the ranking of heroes, large chunks of this story pays homage to that masterpiece. The plot climaxes in an epic and heartbreaking denouement that reveals all the hard truths. While some villains could be better fleshed out and get off too lightly, the ending ties up all loose ends. Nirvana in Fire left me inconsolable but I am uplifted by how this version of the age-old battle for the throne story ends. Heaven's will does not always prevail over man's will; we have a choice in whether to take the lonely road or the one that is filled with friends.
It is obvious from the production values that the budget is modest at best but money is spent in all the right places. The styling of each characters is distinct and eye-catching and their weapons are badass. The fight scenes are intense, well choreographed, fast moving and exciting; the hallmark of a good wuxia. Each sect and swordsman have signature battle techniques and advantages that are well conceived and awe inspiring.
The acting is impressive and anchored by charismatic portrayals and compelling chemistry between Liu Xueyi's Wuxin and Li Hongyi's Xiao Se. Both characters are by far the fan favorites. Many characters were so well portrayed they deliver lingering impact beyond their screen time. The only notable exception is Sikong Qianluo, a cartoon character that has zero chemistry with Xiao Se. Someone must have sent them the wrong script because they seem to be acting out the role of the lovesick fangirl accosting a celebrity actor. But romance is peripheral in this saga and there are more riveting ones such as Li Hanyi and Zhao Yuzhen's story as well as that of Tang Lian and Fairy Rui.
This is a must watch wuxia, one that delivers all the best loved aspects of the genre. It has small flaws but I enjoyed it too much to want to pick at them. I will just leave it at that it would have been nice to see more of Wuxin and while the final fight scene was meaningful and satisfying, there were a few other clashes I would have loved to see. All considered, I am happy to rate this 9.0/10.0 and crown it the best wuxia of 2022.
PS - Don't forget to watch the 5 minute special ending episode.
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A once in a blue moon treasure that is enchanting, magical and extremely addictive
After being sorely disappointed by the infamous 'Descendants of the Sun', I've learnt that the 'hype' surrounding a drama does not always translate to an enjoyable watch for everyone. So when this massively popular show popped up under my radar, I wasn't sold yet. At the time, I didn't get why 'The Untamed' was so popular and well-received. The synopsis seemed messy, the cast did not consist of any veteran actors, and the production value was not very high. But after digging a little deeper and reading reviews and recommendations, it seemed as if everyone was loving this show. So I decided to give the show a chance to live up to its expectations. It only took a few episodes before I was completely hooked and now, 50 episodes later, I can confidently say that 'The Untamed' is one of the best Asian dramas I've seen to date. This show has cemented a place in my heart and I feel torn having to part ways with Wei Wu Xian and Lan Wang Ji and the cultivation world.Story:
Not trying to take anything away from the acting, execution or production of the show, but the story is what elevates this drama into the tier of the elites. The plot is complex and the synopsis does not do the story justice. The show is based on the BL(boy's love) novel 'modaozushi' (魔道祖师), with the only major change being the lack of on-screen BL scenes. (mainly because of Chinese censorship. For me personally, this wasn't a particular drawback, because even without the direct display of affection, I interpreted the relationship between our male leads as something much more than just friends. Moreover, there is so much more to the story than just the relationship between the two male leads.) The generous 50 episodes means that the show can set the background and flesh out all of the characters thoroughly. The show may seem a bit slow-paced at first, especially in the few episodes of introduction, but then it rapidly picks up momentum and stays that way for the rest of its run. The show will take you on an epic adventure filled with action and battle, but also goes far beyond just that. There is an emphasis on relationships, whether it'd be friendship, sisterly/brotherly love or romantic love. Although the major focus of the story is the 'bromance/love' between the two main male characters Wei Wu Xian and Lang Wang Ji, the rest of the characters are interesting and layered as well. The storyline is well-paced, exciting and balanced, setting a solid foundation for the show to build upon.
Acting:
The voice actors for the characters were phenomenal and bought depth and emotion that most normal voices just cannot achieve. There are many notable mentions for the cast, but let's first talk about the two male leads. Xiao Zhan who plays Wei Wu Xian brings his lively, playful and good-natured character to life. Wei Wu Xian is portrayed in a way that makes him very easy to like and to root for. Xiao Zhan conveys his emotions through his vivid facial expressions and gives a very natural performance. Wang Yibo who plays Lan Wang Ji may come across as a little stiff and emotionless at the start due to his polar-opposite personality compared to Wei Wu Xian. But he softens up throughout the drama and I found Wang Yibo's ability to convey with his eyes particularly impressive. A standout for me was Meng Ziyi (Zoey) who played the character Wen Qing, a top doctor of the Wen Clan. Her character was strong and independent, and although she has a cold, harsh exterior, she has a good heart and righteous intentions. My view on her character changed drastically throughout the drama and I went from initially disliking her, to her becoming one of my favourite characters. And to top it all off she's very pretty.
Cinematography/Effects:
The visuals of this show are splendid. The production value may not have been very high, but the show was still very aesthetically pleasing to watch. Lotus Pier and Cloud Recesses, the home of the Jiang sect and Lan sect, were breathtakingly beautiful, especially the amazing natural landscape. The special effects were nothing exceptional but they served their purpose and did not look exaggerated or choppy. The decorated robes worn by the characters gave them a noble, majestic look. The editing and directing was done well and the show was consistent and smooth throughout. In terms of the overall viewing experience, this show is very beautiful to watch.
Soundtrack:
The soundtrack of this show is easily one of my favourites. The obvious highlight is the duet by Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo "无羁 / Unrestrained". I really liked the use of traditional instruments in this track, especially the bamboo flute. It was also a nice touch to have a solo, duet and instrumental version of this song. Even though the three versions are similar, the duet felt more powerful and emotive, whereas the instrumental was less pronounced and more of an accompaniment. I also grew to like the bamboo flute as an instrument because it can bring out so many different emotions, especially the sad and reminiscent ones. The sheer number of tracks released also prevents the soundtrack from becoming repetitive and allows different tracks to be used generously to establish the mood and enhance scenes.
Sometimes the best things in life creep up on you unexpectedly, and all it takes to discover them is a bit of patience and an open mind. Just like how one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, before you decide this show isn't for you, give it a watch. It only took a few episodes of 'untamed' magic to shatter my assumption that the show wouldn't be to my liking. 'The Untamed' is a rare gem that lives up to the hype. Definitely give this drama a shot and discover the wonderful world that awaits!
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One of the most important points of this drama is that is answers EVERY question it posts in the beginning and throughout the series, it has not even once made me hang and guess (not that I wasn't trying, but I mean before the answer was given :P).
The fantasy plot was the main reason I started this drama and it did not disappoint me. The detective story went on very smoothly and I like that my guesses were wrong, I like being surprised by the drama.
To say anything about the acting is really unnecessary, as I enjoyed every second with JunKi and MinAh, they are brilliant, but their brilliancy is mostly seen not in the general picture that I would write about if talking about their acting the drama overall, but in the little moments, and maybe that moments will even seen to you not that important, but I was gasping for breath (note: JunKi's acting when his father was reading the Royal Order, MinAh's acting when she was telling him she did not want to leave him in 19th episode). Also Yun Woo Jin - fell in love with him... I was crying for who JooWal had become and how perfectly he portrayed the pain and fear of that poor person. I'm going to follow this guy now!
I am almost sure the music crew of King2Hearts was working on this, as I got the same vibe from the score. Absolutely matched with the feel of the drama, bravo~
I am going to miss my dark-mysterious-ghostly-but-lovely Arang ^^
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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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