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The filming angle is particularly accurate when portraying "vertigo" from the female lead's view point. Also great music that heightens moments of hopelessness and depression.
Chun Woo-hee carried another big role after Han Gongju, and she totally delivered. I have always been her fan, and although she had more famous projects like The Wailing/One day/Argon/Be Melodramatic, I still think this is her BEST role to date after Han Gongju. Hope the film can get Eng sub soon, and I really anticipate her next films to get released (Anchor, Rain and Your Story)
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SWEET AND HIGHLY RECOMMEND
This drama is my FAVOURITE now, it deals with friendship, family, college, career, love and everything. Every episode is bitter sweet with a lesson at the end and it makes you want to do better and live better.The 4 girls are absolutely different in every aspects yet they stick together and solve every problem they come across even though they constantly get discouraged, fail at the end they make it or take it as an experience.
Fan Xiaoyu is the glamorous rich one among the lot but you can see her struggling with life and trying to be independent, she have too much confidence in herself its both her advantage and disadvantage and she's hella loyal and supportive of her friends but she's self-willed resulting in chaos. Xia Langlang is the tomboy and she have another outlook towards life, it seems like she's the one with more knowledge about society and knows what to do in situations since she was forced to grow up too soon, though she herself is stuck too sometimes but she don't quit either.
Yang Jiaqian aka big sister is the nerdy one with idealistic views and righteous attitude, she never steps out of the line of her morals no matter who is at the receiving end. She prevents fights from breaking out and keep everyone together. She may seem meek with her protective attitude and shyness at times. Huang Fu Shumin is the little princess of the group and she really live upto that, born in an overprotective family, she don't quite know to fend for herself and she may annoy you during the beginning but she is the one with more character development. She's kinda childish, dramatic yet pure at heart, do the best for people around and the blunt one.
All of the main leads have some sort of family issues and none of them is more serious than other and them dealing with it gives us an insight about their lives and others who go through same.
OST- All the songs in this drama are so touching and the songs itself have a sweet emotional feeling and 10/10 for that.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND, YOU ABSOLUTELY WON'T REGRET WATCHING THIS.
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No angst, no extremely evil characters, no overdramatic FL or an extremely unrealistic ML.
Just a simply and lovely romance with good acting and enough drama to keep the thing going for a couple of hours.
Acting is great here, if you are familiar with the ML you will know you are going to watch some good acting, the FL was nice too so it was nicely done.
The whole story is cliché which is the norm with VDs but this is one of the good dramas.
Recommended ~
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ACTING/CAST: Cute cast and I'm a fan of Gun (Poonsawas Atthaphan) so kinda biased. They did a nice job. The kissing was kinda amateurish and juvenile, except for one midway through that I can't spoil for you.
MUSIC: I liked the music, especially the one for the credits. No song was English subbed in the version I saw.
REWATCH VALUE: Yes, it's cute with a sappy ending. I'll watch it again with a friend, and probably again just to watch the cute actors, especially Gun.
OVERALL: Cute BL romcom that can be slow paced but safe (nobody dies, no major catastrophes, etc). Only thing that annoyed me is that they've been together for a year now and Gump is coy about being kissed (unless drunk)? Bah.
NOTE: In the bundled special edition, DVD 2 contains a photobook (24 pics), an interview, music video, teaser, and trailer; only the trailer is subbed. The MV is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE! SQUEE!
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The story is of a woman whose father left her all his gambling debts. After running away and living like a homeless person she eventually meets a billionaire who runs a company. He agrees to pay off her debts if he marries her and becomes "mother" to his six grown adoptive sons. I think its absolutely hilarious, Even though the plot can be a bit silly its still somehow believable. This drama is great. Its got a really good mix of emotional scenes and comedy. It had me laughing and crying but mostly crying with laughter!
All the acting is great, three of my favourite actors in one drama? yes please. Horikita Maki is really good as always and Yamamoto Yusuke is just his usual crazy self.
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This drama takes you on an emotional roller coaster. It is simply magnificent.
Plot: When I first stumbled upon this drama I thought that it was going to be fluffy and light but it wasn't. All most all episodes are filled with angst. They made my heart really heavy. I liked that it did not focus on romance (not including BROMANCE). This show made me laugh one moment and cry another.
Cast: 10 out of 10. The teachers were incredible. The students were incredible even the desks were incredible . Im gonna keep an eye for Lee Jong Suk and Kim Woo Bin in the future. They made me go all mushy at the BROMANCE moments :)
Ending: Super neat. All the conflicts were neatly solved and pocketed away yet it left me a bit unsatisfied as there were question running through my head about the future. I wont go on because if I do I may ramble on and spoil it.
Rewatch: Definitely.
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My guess is that Kim Sun Ah meant to play Jenny Jang as poker-faced and cold-blooded, but instead, she came across as robotic and with such an emotional backstory and such a fast-paced and plot-twisting story her being emotionless for the majority of the drama, besides a few restrained crying scenes, got old really quick. I felt like she was going for a similar vibe to Jang Hyuk as Pil Joo in "Money Flower" (which I LOVED) but he had so many emotions that were always noticeable right below the surface while Jenny Jang just seemed like she was on depression medication from the first episode until the very last episode only occasionally looking slightly shocked when something didn't go her way, or smirking and sneering slightly when pleased. Luckily so many of the other cast members are really exceptional and they are what kept me interested enough to keep watching.
If I had to choose a favorite character I would be torn between Jang Mi Hee and Park Hee Bon. Both of their characters are far from likable but their greed and ruthlessness were addictive to watch.
Jang Mi Hee is praiseworthy as the head of the Deo Group Kim Yeo Ok who puts success in her business before anything else, including her family. I loved watching her devious smile as she crossed lines no one would ever expect anyone but a sociopath to cross. Great villains are my favorite and she definitely falls into that category. If Jenny Jang had more of a personality and was less passive-aggressive their scenes could have been so much better but Yeo Ok's performance still shines. I also loved Park Jae Young as the Deo daughter Ye Nam. Her irrational greed and jealousy were so frustrating to watch that I wanted to reach through the screen several times and shake the hell out of her. I'm not used to seeing her as a villain type instead of the "quintessential bff" but she was perfect in this role. She didn't just play up her annoying and whiney characteristics but I also empathized. Even if I didn't like her I cared about her story and at times pitied her. I also loved her rivalry with Jenny even though she also carried the emotional weight in their scenes together too. I hope to see her in more roles as a main character.
The next characters that deserve praise are Kim Jae Young as Sun Woo who takes loyalty to the ultimate level, and the determined and strategic Go Min Shi as Lee Hyun Ji. I really loved their performances and complicated relationship. The scenes where they get to know each other better were some of my favorites in the whole drama. Jae Young nails Sun Woo's puppy-like loyalty but also his bad@ss qualities, and I found myself rooting for him much more than Jenny. I think that's because unlike Jenny he had moments where he was vulnerable and human, and that along with his backstory gave his character a lot more depth. I also loved that Hyun Ji was seemingly innocent and idealistic but usually one step ahead of everyone, and I liked watching her character evolve from being used to using others. I know Go Min Shi from one of my favorite dramas (The Smile Has Left Your Eyes) and I look forward to seeing her in more dramas. I think these two deserved way more screen time together, and their chemistry and storyline kept me interested when the rest of the plot lost some of it's spark. I wouldn't call the dynamic between these 3 a love triangle (or love square if you include Kim Tae Hoon
as Jung Hyuk) since there really isn't any romance in this drama, but it's more about devotion and support for each who they love with each character dealing with their own form of unrequited love.
The rest of the cast was good too but I wonder how much more I would have liked their performance if they got to play against a main character with more of a personality. The plot is also pretty fast-paced for the most part and has a good amount twists but as the drama went on things started to get more repetitive and less interesting until I was ultimately bored and no longer excited for the next episode to come out. Still, many of the twists are really well done, especially the first major backstory reveal which was jaw-dropping. And I didn't love the ending but the ending does make sense and wraps the story up pretty neatly, although it felt a little rushed even if I was definitely ready for it to finally be over.
Another petty complaint I have is that the "Secret Boutique" this drama refers to is mostly a glorified office and not worthy of inspiring the title name. I wish I could see more of the Boutique in action. Maybe that would have made the fact that Jenny built it with nothing more interesting too.
Would I watch this again? Maybe. I'm not sure if knowing what is going to happen would help me lower my expectations enough to like it more or just bore me for the second time. I would be curious to see if I missed anything since there are so many elements to this plot, but watching Kim Sun Ah's lackluster Jenny would probably be even less interesting the second time around. It also doesn't help that I didn't love the ending. Meanwhile, Yeo Ok is such a fascinatingly sinister character that it might be worth it just to watch her in action again. Who knew that stroking a cat and drinking tea could be so dramatic!
Overall this is a standard ruthless rich family power struggle makjang flavored with revenge that started off strong but just couldn't keep up the momentum. This really is the worst family ever on so many levels, which I found to be extremely entertaining, but because it centers around a female lead that I became indifferent to it's hard for me to recommend this drama without that warning. There's still enough to the story that I would recommend it to people who like rich family melodramas in general, it's still probably better than most in that genre in many ways, especially if you binge-watch instead of waiting on episodes as I did (which kept getting delayed). If you enjoy watching people casually do the most heinous things in the name of greed and power then there is plenty of that. I liked that I was never really sure who the good and bad guys in each situation were. It's also beautifully shot, like a film, with some scenes being visually stunning and haunting at the same time. As Aalia's Masquerade played for the final time I realized that this drama did deliver on what it was trying to do, even if I did still feel let down. Some viewers may also like Sun Ah's performance way more than I did, so it's definitely worth watching to judge for yourself. I think of this as Money Flower lite, which isn't a bad thing. It's also good to see such a female-dominated plot in general, with all of the men playing supportive roles to the women in this drama. This drama may be guilty of a few tropes but it being a female-centered drama around business and power is refreshing and unique. That alone may be enough of a reason to watch.
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Well-executed and acted roller coaster ride of emotions.
*re-posting from the movie/compilation version, since this has a lower rating and I actually watched the 6-ep version*Subjective Gut Rating: 9.25 (going to be generous and rounding this up to 9.5)
Wow.. I had zero expectation going into this as I haven’t watched “Unintentional Love Story”. I was just hearing good things about “The Time of Fever”. Am I glad I watched it! It’s been a very long time since a Korean BL made me feel all the different emotions. The last one was “To My Star” Season 2.
The plot is really simple. But what this drama excels in is its execution, acting and the range of emotions that it brought out of me. I was smiling, giggling and crying throughout these couple hours. It’s a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
The acting of the two main leads and their chemistry is electrifying. I can feel their innocence, confusion, shyness, happiness, sadness, desperation and hurt. The two kiss scenes were beautifully shot and full of tension. Go Ho Tae and Kim Dong Hee are like yin and yang, and complement each other so well. Ho Tae is outgoing and wears his feelings on his sleeves. He’s not afraid to push through the thick barriers that Dong Hee put up. Dong Hee is gentle and mature, but there are moments when his teenage self couldn’t resist the temptation of touch or a teeny bit of jealousy.
The ending leaves it up for viewers’ interpretation. I would have loved to believe that they finally expressed their honest feelings for each other in the future. I am not sure if “Unintentional Love” will provide me with more happiness from this pair, but this drama makes me want to check out the other story to see more of Ho Tae and Dong Hee.
I am rating this a high 9.25, from a subjective and objective point of view. If a drama makes me feel this way, it deserves at least an 8.5. Coupled with excellent execution, it deserves high ratings and rave reviews.
Completed: 9/22/2024 - Review #489
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It's about a song saving the world, about random events that can lead on to something great. Watching this movie is like zooming in with a photo lens,coming to the focus seeing everything around it. And it has a song, Fish Story. All I can say that it's the only Japanese song I listen to, makes you shout "punk is not dead!"
So, if you are waiting for something to blow your mind, this is it!
Ending with the opening verse of fish story,
"The story of my solitude,
If my solitude were a fish,
It would be so enormous, so militant,
A whale would get out of it."
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This review may contain spoilers
The Good:Kefei and Dawei are redeeming characters that offer perfect relief for the some of the more dense story lines.
The ending was funny, to see them all gossiping at such an inappropriate time made me laugh.
I loved that it wasn't a happy ever after story per se.
The Bad:
There were a lot of forced interactions and grabbiness in the first few episodes.
Ziyuan is a limpet. She's an unbearable character throughout the entire show.
Weiwei constantly flip flops between having a backbone and not having a backbone and it's exhausting to watch.
The Downright Ugly:
The writers use shock tactics and then never explain the point. For example Kehuan and Ziyuan broke up because she aborted his child. It's never explained why and it's said in such a matter of fact way. A second example is agreeing to sleep with Kehuan for a discount on the house, admittedly she didn't do it in the end but what was the point.
Also what was with the weird kinky handcuffed to a bed dating party in the first couple of episodes?
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The story line is basically the same as the original. There wasn't many boring moments; the story was executed very well. But, I think Mike's character is a lot better and more vulnerable than Rain's character from the original. I don't really remember the original version in details since I watched it many years ago. So I don't really wanna compare the two. Still, this drama added more fun and enjoyable moments between the two leads.
As for the acting, I like the two leads especially. Their acting is so realistic and they have so much chemistry together as well. Right now I am shipping them together.
The music in the drama is a very perfect match for the drama as well ,especially the theme song "Oh Baby I". I am impressed that Mike did all the work for the OSTs, just proved that he is so talented.
I am not sure about rewatching it for the story but I would rewatch it if I miss those two interacting together.
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Beautiful, moving series, with actors who deliver a fantastic performance
PLOT: The FL, raised by a master in isolation, runs away to the mountains and meets the ML (masked, at the head of a secret army). He is also a close advisor to the emperor and investigates "suspicious cases" (he wants to clear the name of his father, dead and unjustly accused of treason). His opponent (ML2) is a noble at the head of another army, and his mother is scheming for him to accede to the throne. The 2 MLs will get closer to the FL, fall in love with her and compete for her favors. They will also gradually discover the secrets of the past.+++ a bunch of great actors: Ren Jia Lun, masterful as always (ღ˘⌣˘ღ), Landi Li and Jeremy Tsui
+++ Coherent, realistic story, with a well-conducted plot.
+++ Flawless production: rhythm, sets, costumes, grandiose landscapes, beautiful fight and war scenes
+++ Great OST
# Sad ending (as Chinese screenwriters like, glorifying the death of heroes who sacrifice themselves) expected in the storyline, but... I don't personally like those. I'm not watching dramas to see/hear about depressing things, with a lot of suffering and no happy ending.
=> Very beautiful, moving series, with actors who deliver a fantastic performance. However because of the ending, I won't watch it again.
********************************************************************
PLOT: La FL, élevée par un maitre en isolement, fugue dans la montagne et rencontre le ML (masqué, à la tête d'1 armée secrète). Il est aussi un conseiller proche de l'empereur et enquête sur les "cas suspicieux" (il veut laver le nom de son père, mort et injustement accusé de trahison). Son adversaire (ML2) est un noble à la tête d'1 autre armée, et sa mère intrigue pour qu'il accède au trône. Les 2 ML vont se rapprocher de la FL, tomber amoureux et se disputer ses faveurs. Ils vont aussi peu à peu découvrir les secrets du passé.
+++ a bunch of great actors : Ren Jia Lun, magistral comme toujours (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) , Landi Li et Jeremy Tsui
+++ Story cohérente, réaliste, avec une intrigue bien menée.
+++ Réalis° sans défaut : rythme, décors, costumes, paysages grandioses, belles scènes de fight et de guerre
+++ Super OST
# Fin triste (comme les aiment les scénaristes chinois, glorifiant la mort des héros qui se sacrifient) attendue dans la storyline, mais ...
=> Très belle série, émouvante, avec des acteurs qui délivrent une performance formidable. Cependant à cause de la ending, je ne la regarderai pas à nouveau.
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I LOVE
When I first started watching this show, I didn't really expect much, but let me tell u I got MAJOR butterflies from it. Most people are pretty annoyed of the FL (Sang Zhi) when she was younger in the beginning, before the time skip to the main story. Which makes sense, bcs she is basically supposed to be a bit spoiled and immature kid, kind of how Jiaxu first saw her as nothing more than something like a little sister. You just have to keep on going for a few episodes if this annoyed you, trust me it's worth it. Once you get to the main story you will be jumping and squealing, at least I did, I know some people look for different things. I really loved seeing Sang Zhi grow and become more mature, as well as seeing Jiaxu's feelings start to change when he realizes Sang Zhi is no longer the little sister he remembered. AHHH it's so cute. I do feel like the plot wasn't as strong, since there really wasn't much other than the romance between the leads. I wish the delved into their dreams or goals more, since it didn't really seem like Sang Zhi had much. She said she did, but that was more of a result of her wanting to be around Jiaxu. I wanted to understand her more as Sang Zhi, not just a girl who liked Jiaxu since she was 14. I know she liked to draw, but I don't fully understand her dreams. I guess Jiaxu kind of did, but not so much Sang Zhi. Another thing I do wish, but it's not too important. I wish there was saucy scenes, but its rated G so we can't have, but that's okay. Nothing too saucy, but kind of like that scene from business proposal hehe jkjk. It is their first relationship so both of them aren't as experienced, so its cute. I guess it is more of a cute innocent feel-good TV show, definitely good to watch when you're feeling down. It is my favorite drama I've seen in a long time since it was totally swoon worthy.Was this review helpful to you?
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An inspiring tale of entrepreneurship
What I loved most about “My Destiny” was the entrepreneurial and ambitious side woven into the story. Instead of focusing only on romance, the drama highlighted hard work, determination, and building something meaningful through persistence and vision.Tan Song Yun gave such an inspiring performance, portraying a woman who balances emotion, independence, and ambition so naturally. Her character’s growth, resilience, and drive made the story feel refreshing and motivating. I especially appreciated how the drama showed the realities of chasing success — the setbacks, sacrifices, pressure, and personal growth that come with pursuing your goals.
It’s the kind of drama that leaves you feeling inspired to work harder toward your own dreams.
If you enjoy dramas with strong character growth, ambition, business-minded themes, and heartfelt storytelling, “My Destiny” is definitely worth watching.
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