Reviews

My Heroic Husband Season 1

I just completed Season 1 of My Heroic Husband.

The beginning of the story ties into the ending. Ning Yi's journey from becoming a Matrilocal husband to really falling in love with Tan Er is a sound love story. The importance of brotherhood and have one's back is shown throughout the story. If you understand Sun Tze's Art of War, you know all the tactics are deployed not only as a cloth merchant but also as a conquering Jing strategy. The weak crown Prince of Wu and his weak personality are shown. His Ministers and Generals' disrespect is why the previous Emperor doubts before he died to plan a Secret division and gave a secret eredict to Minister Qin.

Although the bandit arc is long and tedious, there's a great significance as to why it went that way. Corruption, disloyalty and even cunningness have always been in ancient Chinese literature. If you can understand this, you know why the bandit arc is of great significance to Ning Yi's story. He had to make a hard decision; let Lin'an fall or be killed for trying knowing that he at least tried. Xi Gua (watermelon) will be a significant support cast for Season 2, and I can see that she will either join Ning Yi or be killed off in Season 2.

The end is a cliffhanger and explained what happened to the person who betrayed Ning Yi initially. The ending is left with Ning Yi in Season 2 to be near the end for him, and it'll be interesting what his tactics are of conquering Jing.

I can't wait for Season 2.

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My score is all over the place and so was this movie. From the beginning until the last 1/3; it was very, very good and this is where my high score comes from; however, somewhere, the story kind of lost me for a few frames and I wasn't sure where they were going with the story. However, the acting was great! A good actor works with what he has. I must say, thanks to this movie, I'll look at Kim Soo Hyun a lot closer now. When he was playing his Dong Gu , he was absolutely phenomenal! The rest paled in comparison. Park Ki Woong, was good but I just couldn't take my eyes off that freaking orange hair! Lee Hyun Woo as the youngest was badass from the beginning.

The action in this movie was well-orchestrated. Every action scene was definite and distinctly different. All of these actors should do more action movies or dramas; they really excelled. Again the biggest hole in the movie was the story towards the end. But be warned. If you are looking at this movie strictly for the actors, I think the ending might be a big disappointment for you but otherwise well worth the 2+ hours. BTW, starting to wonder if the Korean film industry just think SK police are stupid. Just saying.

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Steve Jobs on Crack

Where would you even begin with this crazy hot mess? The first 3-4 episodes were acceptable despite moving too fast and creating many gaps. However, as the drama unfolded, it became clear that it was biting off more than it could chew. Right off from episode 5, the drama became an irrecoverable mess. The pacing was erratic, jumping between weak fabricated plot twists, jarring narrative and bloated segments with no sense of cohesion. The drama was throwing everything at the viewers to see what sticks. Action, thriller, fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, melodrama, the drama couldn't decide what it wanted to be nor it managed to mix any of them well. The characters felt like caricatures rather than fully developed individuals, and their motivations often seemed arbitrary, inconsistent and generally weak. If the drama wanted to go for stupid ridiculousness then why not raise the stakes to match? Not even the ending could measure up to its intent despite its "supposed" twist.

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Magical. Whenever someone talks to me about “fate” I think about bright stars, hearts, and sweet candy (not that this series doesn’t have none of the above)… needless to say I’m a skeptic about true romances, and that’s coming from a person whose guilty pleasure is romantic comedies. Perhaps I enjoy living outside of my slightly jaded reality by experiencing the made-up drama world? In any case, although in Fated to Love You (abbreviated to FTLY just for short term sake) sent me into a spiral of apprehensive, “did that just happen? How impossible is that!” moments, I love the fact that even the most coincidental meetings can send us on an unexpected life path, which is why literally fell in love with FTYL, every ounce of the jaded heart in me. Now, I will keep this review to a minimum, and I won’t spoil this series for anyone that hasn’t seen it because there's just too much to look forward to people, so if this genre is your cup of tea, then I'll try and convince you to at least watch FTLY because it is actually a pretty magical experience.

Sure, for some “fate” may be an elusive term, it may be non-existing in our time and space for others, and perhaps at the end of the day “fate” is for the wishy-washy people that can’t get out of a peculiar disillusionment of love (only viewing it as perfect) and would rather live dream-like state. Still, in this instance, I prefer living in a dream-like state while watching some drama’s, in this case, what FTLY you has is a combination of metaphors, life lessons, joys, emotional pains, and of course endless possibilities concerning the belief (and questioning) of true love/destiny.

STORY:
Although FTLY was adapted from the Taiwanese version, it definitely lived up to its expectations for being a lighter, more romantically charismatic series. From the beginning to the conclusion of the series, the melodramatic edge to the story filled up necessarily when needed for the plot development, and found that it didn’t drag along the story relentlessly, which was a positive aspect to this series. The humour/comedy in this series is one of the best entertaining factors in this series; I suggest that this is its strongest point for being funny even in times when there were serious moments.

CHARACTERS:
Lee Gun: You will always remember Gunnie. There are many reasons why, and I'm sure those that have seen it are probably going to agree. His bright, sometimes enigmatic appearance/expressions on screen right from the beginning brings this series into a often sweet, but charming edge. He is not the regular main lead trope that constantly berates/belittes the main lead girl. Gun is actually a decent human being. As a male lead he treats Mi Young with sympathy and respect, which I thought was commendable. Of course given the circumstances, all the characters express and act on certain things because of events, but Gun is admirable in his character. If anything, this makes this series redeemable because of the fact that Gun isn’t the stereotypical kind of male lead.

Kim Mi Young: Ahh, Mi Young, my heart bleeds for this woman. She indeed goes on an interesting journey of self discovery and independence, from a “post-it” girl to a wonderfully, talented girl that has the rest of the world ahead of her. Watching a character blossom into their own individuality, while grappling with emotional pains was visceral but also bittersweet. I really felt a “realness” with these characters, and Mi Young especially. The acting just felt natural, definitely not forced. I enjoyed Gun and Mi Young’s chemistry, so in addition to these interesting back histories of each character it was nice to see a couple on screen convince me of their bond.

Daniel: He was breath taking. His character is un-predictable, especially in correlation to Mi Young. Of course I couldn’t help myself by *fan girling* anytime I saw him or Gun on screen just smiling and of course, existing. But there was depth to his character, and I thought at least emotionally speaking, that there was nothing I didn’t like about his character. At the risk of spoiling any more details about these characters, I must say that there are plenty of reasons to watch this series. Aside from the good laughs, good cries, and overall good impressionable moments/dialogue; these characters are sure worth while watching over the course of time. I can go on and on about how wonderful they all are, but I’m pretty sure you get the gist!

SOUND/OST: Simply beautiful. I was already enjoying the music by the second episode. There was a combination of upbeat to melancholic music in terms of the atmosphere/mood of the series, which I thought was played out well. Most of all, the sound was memorable for certain moments in the series. You expected a certain theme/song for certain characters and then certain scenes with characters interacting. It was thoughtfully well done!

OVERALL IMPRESSION: From start to finish I fell in love with this series. It has a refreshing element to it in the sense that the humour and romance was balanced very well. I mean, I found myself bursting out in laughter for certain things Gun would say or do, and I'm sure if you have a funny bone that you'll enjoy it as well. Aside from the melodrama aspect to the drama, I do believe it did justice to audience members in keeping the story line engaging. I guess I was indeed fated to love this series even before it started because I still haven’t gotten over how wonderful it truly is.

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The royal Princess Ja Myung Go,an epic drama in korea, is not just a legend.. it is true story of how love blinded the crown princess of Nakrang La Hee and betrayed her own country for Gugeoryo's crown prince Hodong, she sold her country for love. In the koreanovela, they added the fictional character princess Ja Myung, the half sister of La Hee, who in the drama made as the girl who Ho Dong really loves. In fairness to Ho Dong, even though he is so hateful in the story for using La Hee in revenge for Ja Myung's turning back in their love, thus, wanting to get her country Nakrang, have suffered emotionally... having to be the one to kill Ja Myung's father and can't do something to save his wife La Hee from death, i believe that in spite of the truth that Ja Myung is the one he love, he must have in return cherished La Hee.. how painful it is for having no strength to move on.

Ja Myung loved nobody else but Ho Dong, like what she said, he weighs heavy in the scale of her heart, but she chose her people (it's like rather frightening to have one person powerful in your heart).. onthe other hand, he weighs lighter in the scale of La Hee's heart, yet she chose him coz it's the truth, a simple little truth that holds her happiness, so why ignore it?... Oh, how can love built one's hope and dreams yet ruins one's life at the same time,,, there was no happy ending at all, but if dying together (Ja Mung and Ho Dong) with one sword struck between them, for that last embrace, is the happy ending, and so be it.

I hated Ho Dong, but pitied him as well.. in any case, will the ending of the story change if Ja Myung stayed as Puku with Ho Dong, if La Hee didn't loved him so much or Ho Dong only lead an ordinarylife.

''does love needs to be greater than desires?
or desires' much greater than love?...''

''will you fight for your love or choose what is more good for the many?''

In the end, there's only one choice to make... and last chance to be with the same feelings again... until death. I suppose it's a story about fighting and letting go of those feelings, in different consequences... but theirs led to their own destruction.

I have to agree that the ending have disappointed some of it's viewers, especially knowing that the planned episodes were cut due to low ratings and they have to make the story short and the ending revised as usual, yet i can say that they won to make it all heartbreaking.

I think that it has a much better story than QSD, unlike the latter which revolves around the main character.. i liked it how JMG made a bird's eyeview of everything, everyone has it's own story to tell.

Not to mention it's OST's Love Is Not A Crime and By Myself.. Oh so lovely songs, so pensive indeed.

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Have you ever been to a Japanese sweet shop?

When I first came to Japan, I had no idea about their original sweets. Most of their media also focus mostly on western pastries (specially French). There was one particular shop I go to and they sell all kind of sweet stuffs, I picked up something that looked like a chocolate muffin one day. Little did I know what was waiting next! Rest assured, it was not a chocolate muffin. It was a wagashi Manju bun with red bean filling, a mouthful of surprise! Is it the best thing I've ever tested? Not sure but it was damn good, couple it with surprise effect, it was one of best experience! I go to that shop every other day to pick up a few of them :)

This drama was like a manju bun hidden among all these vanilla, chocolate pastries. I was just looking forward to kill a couple of hours with a rom-com, ended up spending two days straight in front of my laptop, with a leg cramp, dry eyes and a warm heart (in between, I managed to drag my thesis to hell, that's another story).

Moral of the drama:
'Love will come through, it's just waiting for you' - Travis

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Viewers will be quick to compare this drama to “Something in the Rain”, which shares the same Director, Writer, and Male Lead, and they would be at no fault for doing so. Like SitR, One Spring Night utilizes a slow pace to portray the relationship between the main leads. However, the pacing and characters of OSN are superior to SitR because of their steadiness. I recommend this drama to all kdrama watchers and promise that you will also slowly and steadily fall in love with the leads episode by episode till the very end.

Story:
I will be honest and say the story outline is similar to SitR, focusing on a relationship that is heavily critiqued by the leads’ friends and family. I believe there are 2 key differentiators which are the strength of the supporting stories and the methodical pace of character development. The supporting cast gets a fair amount of development throughout the drama, and they, themselves, change instead of folding into 2D one directional characters. This actually adds to the “slowness” of the drama as precious time is diverted away from the main leads.

However, I do not find fault in the slow pace. I admit the 16 (32 halves) episode format changes the standard for pace, but I also believe that there is a range of acceptable pace in kdrama. I find bigger fault when the writer/director strays away from the slow pace to try to close certain plot points or make characters behave erratically, which OSN does not suffer from. If anything, OSN is not shy in leaving interactions with little explanation and limited expose/monologue.

This may make it harder for viewers to buy into the relationship between the main leads, but I thoroughly enjoyed the romance that resembled something out of real life rather than a kdrama. One lead doesn’t have to save the other or be connected via childhood past to develop feelings for one another. OSN is the closest example of a life-like relationship in a Korean drama; any more and it would be no fun as a drama (you know you’re trying to escape reality watching kdramas).

I applaud the director/screenwriter for running it back by producing such a comparable drama within one year. They improved on all areas of the plot from SitR and remained true to their style instead of bending to every criticism levied at SitR, which I still ranked at 7.5. I look forward to their next projects with a small longing for something more different.

Acting:
Let’s begin by looking at the Male Lead since, again, it's easy to compare to SitR. Jung Hae In’s acting is markedly improved from SitR. This may be due to his growth as an actor, the improved writing of OSN, the chemistry with the cast, more trust from the director, or some combination of all of the above. He displayed a wide range of thoughts and emotions throughout the drama, and I was especially impressed with his acting when facing the second Male Lead.

Similar compliments can be said for the Female Lead, Lee Jung In. And her chemistry with the male actor was amazing. The biggest evidence of this being how electric the dialogue between the 2 felt; Their conversations conveyed more chemistry than any of their skinship scenes. The acting of the 2 main leads really complimented the direction of the drama, which heavily focused on interactions rather than monologues.

The supporting cast also performed admirably. For example, seeing the FL’s mother in OSN can be quite a shock after watching SitR (or vice versa), but she still nailed both roles and truly deserved to be part of this cast. The FL’s sisters were also great and their acting really conveyed how their characters were shaped by their shared upbringing (and I have a soft spot for “sismance”).

Music:
Funnily enough, even a good chunk of the OST is sung by the artist who contributed to SitR, Rachael Yamagata. Although English in Korean media is improved, it does not compare to having a native English speaker. This should significantly improve the drama viewing experience for international viewers given that some subbers do not sub Korean lyrics.

The actual music works very well with the story and pace. I thought each of the songs in the OST carried tension, even the “happy” song. This tension is well utilized because the story does not have the outrageously tense moments of a thriller or typical melo, so the combination of the story and song was important in conveying conflict and emotional resolution.

Rewatch Value:
There is a high rewatch value for this drama given that it covers a multitude of nuanced issues. Even as a native Korean speaker, I plan to go back and rewatch the drama to better understand and enjoy the conversations and chemistries between all the characters.

The next episode previews were the worst part of this show, so I look forward to not having to deal with them now that it is fully aired.

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This thing is just absolutely garbage

This story is clearly an inspiration and an insult to the actual Novel and Webtoon. It says that its a "live action" version of the actual orv, but it's just a "inspiration", cause the "live action" version is a version which they did what they think are right to them, just because she's a woman doesn't mean she's just a healer. Not just that, wdym that one of the MAIN character is a SIDE character? He's the main character in TWSA and should be the main character in this story too. Bihyung/Dokkaebi also looks like a ugly ass fucked up gumball filled labubu. I rather buy a labubu then buy whatever that thing is. No hate to the actors and actresses, but YJH is taller than KDJ. KDJ isn't a bully, he's the one who gets bullied, also wdym he SAVES the world? Isn't he supposed to sacrifice? I might not finish the novel or webtoon, but I know better than to make fans upset. Fuck this movie. I hope the next webtoon, novel or both adaptation you do is better than this. I hate YJH and LJH shipper just because of the cast, their family, so please, and don't just go giving 5 stars just because of the cast. A movie isn't just about its cast, but about the work that had been put in by the directors/team. But I would rate this a -1/10. This surely isn't orv but its sure something that came out of your mouth when you forgot about the plot. how did you think of him as a bully? I just found out that he(KDJ) hates TWSA, ok what... HE READ IT FOR YEARS, WDYM HE HATES IT? HE'S THE ONLY ONE WHO KEPT READING IT TILL THE END. IT'S ALWAYS THERE THROUGH HIS UPS AND DOWNS I MEAN. Sorry if my grammar is bad , English is my second language or im being mean, but im just tryna be brutally honest. Everything that is written is all imo and everyone has a chance to give their own thoughts in this movie!(edit)

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Aside from amnesia, the story of mistaken exchange babies is perhaps one of the most used in drama history especially HERE WHERE I LIVE (PHILIPPINES). So it is mind-boggling how the director makes it FRESH if this was done by some Filipino director there will be lots of crying families cursing each other children became delinquent etc. etc.

The movie is slow, but it is so realistic that you feel you're not watching a movie. I love how the family handles the situation and how the parents realize about themselves when they exchange the child.

IF you don't like a slow artsy movie then it's not for you.
IF you want something different then it's for you.
IF you want to relax and stop thinking about your daily work then it's for you

I don't cry in this movie..this is NOT a tearjerker movie...but the effect will last long.

The scene when a father was holding a camera and browsing at the pictures taken by his 6 yr old former son is what HITS me.

[ koreeda style is this......he will make you walk calmly slowly THEN a f*cking truck
came and hit you in the end, the damage will stay with you for months ].


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

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Seasons

Everything is everything ,
What is meant to be,will be
After winter,must come spring
Change it brings,eventually
-Lauryn Hill



This is a random quote but I think it aptly describes what this drama meant to me.I have watched multiple dramas in all languages but nothing has touched my heart as close as this one.The journey of Ding Xian and Zhou Xiyue was a truly memorable one.If anyone asks what is the best thing about this drama it is the realistic portrayal of the difficulties of youth.It describes the various feeling of rebelliousness,friendship ,love and most importantly chasing your dreams .The feelings have been totally brought into life by the actors .Excellent would be an understatement for their performance.While in the first half I couldn’t take my eyes off Zhou Xiyue ,the second half was totally Ding Xian’s forte.
While many argue how Ding Xian was blindly following ZX ,I would completely defer.As in one of the Kdramas Run On they say your dream or destination need not necessarily be a career or any other materialistic thing it could be a person as well.No matter what anyone says you can follow whatever your dream is if you can take the responsibility for it.
The story was simple .It has been told time and again but the freshness with which it was presented made it special.Unlike most dramas where the leads wear different apparels for each episode here we see a simplistic portrayal of the daily school and college life of children from simple average families.The fact that even these simple details were taken care of makes the drama different from many others in the same genre.
The angst in the middle of the series upset many viewers but I totally think it was necessary because that made every character realise what is important to them including the main leads and supporting leads.Morever in real life there is nothing that comes easy.
I could go on and on but the rest is for you to watch.While many of my opinions could be biased on my view of life I hope you have a great time watching this series
And last but not the least Chen Zheyuan and Xu mingjie ,you couldn’t have done it better.

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Dimples! Dimples! Dimples!

Please don't think me superficial but my goodness Fluke Pongsakorn Wongpian has got dimples for days. When he smiles his face lights up. He is Thailand's Park Bo-gum. This is the first BL series that I have seen him in and he is doing an excellent job.

If you love watching a beautiful relationship develop, you will love this.

The development of the romance between the lead characters is so wonderfully and convincingly managed. I am truly appreciating the skill of the actors in playing their parts. I have re-watched the end of episode 7 over and over again. Beautifully done! Less happy moments do come but it is wonderful watching the gentle, beautiful love develop between Mork and Tawan.

I am also loving the wonderful chemistry between all the different love connections in this series. I love the BL Cinderella (lovers from completely different walks of life) aspect as well. And, I really appreciate that they decided to have three different romances going at once. As for the three biker friends they provide jokes for days. I did not want this series to end… but it did and I loved every moment I spent watching it.

Honestly, I want to thank the BL producers coming out of Thailand. It took me a long time to start watching their BL series but I can officially say I am now addicted. Wonderfully produced films, with great actors and beautiful romances. Even the less stellar productions are far superior to anything I have ever watched on the famous romance channel whose name I will not write here.

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Don't expect much, I admit this is not for all people. Heard a lot of bad reviews from the comments, saying it's boring and a waste of time. Others found it disappointing. The first 10 minutes was odd to be honest, because I expected a serious vampire gore movie (kissasian even had the melodrama tag on it). But as the film went on, I actually became interested in the main characters (esp. So Nyeon) because they were funny.

Plot: 6.5/10
It's more like a parody rather a serious one (as we all thought). This movie gave an indie feel and I liked the calendar shots which signifies a new chapter. I loved the story between Ran and So Nyeon. The story was funny in it's own way. The overall plot is light and sweet. I think people would actually like this if it was written better. The ending was loose and plot-holes everywhere, they didn't even bother explaining Jin Yi's character and suddenly she appears in the end without context. But humor-wise, this got me.

There is this one scene that really caught my eye (around 50 min mark). I think it was what made me love the movie. IT REALLY MADE MY HEART MELT together with the bgm that was playing.

Cast: 9.5/10
To the people saying their acting was bad: I THINK IT WAS INTENTIONAL. This movie only had 4-5 actors in it but it's more than enough. I'd watch this even if it only had Jung Yeon Joo and Song Kang in it. Ran was quite naive despite being in the world for 500 years. So Nyeon was extremely funny and playful. The way he mixes up his English and Korean lmao. Song Kang gives me Yook Sung Jae/ Rowoon(SF9) feels. I think I'm attached?? Both MCs were cute, I LOVE BOTH OF THEM.

Music: 10/10
THE OST IS RIDICULOUSLY CUTE. And there is this scene I mentioned above ^^ (watch and you'll know) which was pleasing and the bgm gave it a different mood.

Rewatch Value: 10/10
I watched this 3 more times after watching it the first time. This is good for some light watching. It's an easy watch and I like this kind of indie comedy, just my style. Or maybe I keep watching because of Song Kang?

Overall: 9/10

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