News 
Save yourself from this mother-daughter melodrama
This drama was way more mother-centric than romance, so anyone here for romance mainly will be disappointed. I don’t mind if it’s a family drama but the decisions made by the mother from start to finish will rile you up. Not to mention that there are constantly annoying, good-for-nothing characters with no redeeming qualities popping in one after the next. There are some good moments but the ratio of melodrama to fun moments tips the scale too much. I only stuck around for the main couple, their relationship was good to watch. Otherwise, definitely wouldn’t recommend this - it’s too stressful and brings a lot of unnecessary negative emotions and melodramatic moments.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This so lacked a lot!
Lame movie!So much missing and so chopped up! They left out so much important info. It was so confusing at times. Like.. how did he know it was her and visa versa? One minute they are watching a tree being chopped down and then you see them in a restaurant. She really has nothing to say and acts all mad at him. And why? Oh ya... They finally explain (mind you it was a very short explanation) it at the end when she refuses treatment and chooses to die!🙄 She gives up on life when there are so many people who show her their love. And who did she marry? I am guessing the “rich” guy? Because we see the “brother” walking alone at the end? Did she die? Did she decide to get treatment? Grrrrr!!! So many frustrating questions and no answers!
Sheesh! At least make a show straight forward! Make it flow smoothly from one scene to the next. Don’t leave us hanging and don’t leave important parts out. That is why I Hate the series “Cheese in a Trap” but love the movie. The series leaves you unsatisfied at the ends but the movie gives a good ending. Personally I prefer the series because it had all the important info in it and it was really well done, but the movie lacked all the important stuff. But at least it had a good ending unlike this movie. That show is honestly a toss up for me. 🙄😂
The story would have been beautiful if it was written and executed right.
The cast I think did the best they could with how it was probably written.
I love the main actress. She is really good and I have watched a lot of her shows. I can honestly say this one did not impress me.
Rewatch? Nope! If I did it would be because of the actress. Nothing else.
Was this review helpful to you?
Let me tell you straight up other than having the same genre as Mystic Nine(and same Lt.Zhao) there is nothing similar of TM to Mystic Nine at all. This is a masterpiece compared to Mystic Nine and I can't believe that people don't talk about this more. I have seen that those who have watched both Mystic Nine and this always prefer this over it but it's only that minority.
The main reason for this to actually be better is the full fast paced story line with completely lovable characters. Starting from our MC Guo De You, he was simply amazing. He had everything I loved in my MCs. He was fine mix of intelligent and mischievous and was hilarious to boot. This was my first time watching Li Xian and now I'm an official fan of him. Having watched Medical Examiner Dr.Qin and Only Side by Side with you just for him I can't wait to see him in Go Go Squid too(which is I'm impatiently waiting for cuz it's based on one of my favorite books). Next we have Mao Ding. He was the perfect Dr.Watson to our Sherlock. Being a rich son didn't make the least annoying, he had his own agenda but that didn't mean he totally rebelled either. He cared enough for his company when needed. Next up is my favorite in the whole story, Gu Ying. I swear I didn't love female MC as much as I loved since Zheng Shuang in Love o2o. Despite the little knick of hers to totally follow Guo De You, this girl was the best. Not that I'm comlpaining about that either. She was the perfect badass leading lady we needed. She had so much spunk that I felt even if they put Guo De You and Mao Ding together they can't fight as well as her. She was hilarious to boot too. I saw few people complaining about her clothes but man I loved every single one of her outfits. That girl rocked them. I mean not everyone can have a freaking bird nest on top of their heads and make it look bad ass. Our second leading lady Xiao Lan Lan was the perfect rich girl and once again like Mao Ding she didn't act the spoilt rich girl. She had her own strengths and pulled similar weight of the group. Not only these character shone on their own but when you put them together in one screen, the chemistry was off charts. Each character fit with the other perfectly, The bromance, the romance (or lack of it) was perfect. Each adn every character added something to the story to make it amazingly balanced, from the ineffective police head to Master Guo to the Head Shaman to even Chairman Ding.
Talking about the story, like I told before it was fast paced and didn't leave the audience hanging even for a second. For me every single scene was engaging and believe me after having more than a decade of experience of watching all Asian dramas this is a first where I didn't skip even a second of a drama. The mystery kept me guessing even till the last moment and you won't believe what kind of secrets come up in the episodes at all.
The cinematography was also perfect for the tone of the series with a dark, aura being around through out the drama with perfectly balanced colors here and there. The republican China was adapted better here for me than that of Mystic Nine and we don't see the normally seen parties and high end houses but we get to see the more street life giving this a nice touch. The clothes were on point and I loved how different the four were in their own statuses.
And can I tell that I love the ending song. Jam Hsiao did an amazing job with that and it perfectly blended with the whole series.
This is also the first time I have written such a big review to a drama and first time I've given a complete 10 for everything. Another first fir me was rewatching the whole thing as soon as I finished it. I opened up a netflix account just to watch the rest of the drama. Take my word for this and do not miss this drama. Have no doubts when watching this drama. You will not regret it even for a second. Now patiently waiting for second season as I've heard rumors that it's been green lit. Hopefully the full cast returns for at least 4 episodes to give us closure for that open ending.
Was this review helpful to you?
I loved all of the characters and their relationships!
Do Min Ik is the sweetest most adorable playful male lead, Jung Gal Hee is the ONLY acceptable cute female lead, Veronica Park is legendary, Ki Dae Joo had the cutest smiles, Gal Hee's mom and brother were great support and comedic relief, doctor Goo Seok Chan and the 3 secretaries..
to give a critical non biased opinion other than "fluff"... this had a weak plot that was carried solely by the actors, and yet it was able to pull itself together and wrap things up perfectly?
I don't want this to end! I demand a 2nd season! the adventures of my secretary's married life? I want more....
my rewatch values are either a 1 or a 10, and I'll love to watch this again~
Was this review helpful to you?
Slice of Life medical drama with funny moments
Likes: The great ensemble cast and their easy chemistry. The funny momentsDislikes: It was a bit forgettable.
I usually don't like medical dramas, but this one was easy to watch because of Director Shin Won ho's distinct style of using an ensemble cast and creating a nostalgic vibe with bits of humor. Just like with his previous works in the Reply series and Prison Playbook, there's a sort of subdued tone to his dramas that focuses on community rather than plot.
The ensemble cast was great particularly Jo Jung Suk who again shows that he's capable of great comedic and dramatic acting and Shin Hyun-bin who does such a great job making the aloof expressionless chief resident so likeable. The chemistry between the cast felt so organic that it was fun watching the banter and the friendships play out.
There were plenty of moments that made me laugh, but there were also many moments where I was bored. While I found the drama overall an enjoyable watch, it was also one that was forgettable. I wasn't dying to watch the next episode...more like there was nothing else to watch, but if you enjoy these types of dramas then I think it won't disappoint.
Was this review helpful to you?
First off, I never liked Maki as Mizuki. She was far too girly and din't play the role well enough. I thought Acchan captured the boyish character way better. Her hair, her appearance, her voice, and just how she portrayed Mizuki was much more like the manga! Yes, I am kind of biased though because I am an AKB fangirl.
Next though, Nakamura Aoi was a far better Sano than Shun was. Although I love Oguri Shun, his Sano had no emotion. Nakamura Aoi's acting had far greater depth of character, which showed that he was a caring person but just unwilling to reveal that side. Shun's, on the other hand, was just completely emotionless. And having read the manga, Aoi definitely was much more like the original manga Sano.
Anyways, I'm going to cut off the comparisons there are just focus on why I liked it now. First, SAITO TAKUMI. Okay I remember when I heard they were making a remake, I immediately thought "OMG if anyone could live up to Kamikawa Takaya's legacy as doctor, it HAS to be Saito Takumi. And I was right. I mean, who else but Takumix could portray a gay guy that well?! This guy is the KING of BL movies!! He was absolutely perfect.
Shohei was sooo funny!!! Of course, Toma will always be everyone's favorite Nakatsu~ But c'mon! Shohei was just as ridiculously hilarious~ Plus, his and Acchan's connection was cute. Honestly, Acchan's connection with ALL the cast was great! But the part that made Shohei's Nakatsu THE BEST? His interactions with Tomo!!!! Okay like actually SHOMO
Was this review helpful to you?
When the story of finding your body parts gets old...
Story: I will start my review by saying that I love the novel "Heart Protection" of which this drama claims to be adapted from. Keyword - "claim". The drama started of well with around 70% similarity to the novel. But somewhere from Ep 5-6 onwards, things start to skew and the drama ended up being an entirely different product. I do not mind changes from novel to drama - provided they are done well. In this drama's case, the changes actually weaken the story and slowed down its pace, because they mostly ended up being fillers to drag the drama into 40 eps. And after so much fillers to keep the timer rolling, we are then treated to a rushed and brief ending in the last 3 mins of Ep 40.Although the introduction of a new character played by Riley in this drama was a nice touch, the dilution of the FL's character reduced the enjoyment somewhat for me. It is rare that we get a xuanhuan novel with a woman as the main character. Yan Hui in the novel is one such character. The dragon is merely her love interest. The story is about her. She's the main character with genius abilities and OP powers from start to end. She's the one who rescued and helped the dragon and others. Basically, the novel's hero. But in the drama, Yan Hui needed rescuing. She's slow with cultivation. In the drama, the dragon becomes the main character and she becomes his love interest. With a male-focused main character, this story has turned into one that is similar with 90% of the xuanhuan novels out there. Why they decided NOT to portray Yan Hui as a strong and independent character who is the main protagonist of the story? Your guess is as good as mine. But the main weakness of the drama is not the weakening of Yan Hui's character per se - it's the use of fillers upon fillers which ended abruptly with a short ending that left viewers feeling cheated and wanting their money (and time) back. Many have defended the changes by saying the author herself is part of the screenwriting team, but I would argue that there are limits to what a novel author can do when she has already sold her rights to the novel plus a good novel author does not equate to a good screenwriter because book to screen adaptations is a whole different ballgame altogether. So, at the end of the day, the novel author being part of the screenwriting team has more marketing value than actual practical value.
Acting/Cast: Casting is done mostly well; from a visual point of view. Both the ML and FL have good looks and this drama has definitely garnered them a stronger fanbase. However, acting of the leads left much to be desired. They started out quite stiff, though they do slowly warm up towards the end, but it is still obvious that they lacked acting experience. The second male lead, Riley, actually acted better - mostly because Riley is a more seasoned actor. Chemistry between ML and FL is so-so. They gave off a "little girl and her best friend dragon" feeling. Minimal skinship and kissing. The "kisses" are polite pecks. Even the hugs are pretty stiff. Very chaste. So if you are after more deeper kissing, more skinship and off-the-charts type chemistry, this is not the drama for you.
Music: Nice OSTs that reflect the mood of the story. No complains in this department.
Rewatch value: Despite the butchering of the story with unwarranted fillers and unsatisfying ending, this drama has a pretty good rewatch value. Why? Because of the "magic" fast-forward button. There are episodes and scenes in this drama that are worth rewatching. If we can cut and paste them together, they probably form around half the length of this entire drama, but they are scenes that are the essence of the story without any fillers.
Overall: It's a pretty decent drama with eye candies to keep you going. The story-telling is a let down due to the many fillers but if you are after a drama that does not require much brain cells and only require your eye cells to ogle at good looking people, then this is the drama for you. But if you are after a more solid product with excellent story and acting, turn around; this is not the drama for you. You are better off reading the novel - which by the way, I highly recommend. Therefore, I rate this drama an overall of 7.5/10.
Was this review helpful to you?
I think this story was simply genius. It was flawed but the way it was executed and the way they tied up everything made perfect sense. This is why the story gets a full 10. I love the broken and complex characters and the leads really put the screen on fire while playing their roles. I think Ji Sung especially outdid himself and now I'm really hoping he does similar projects in the future as well. Hwang Jung Eum is a good actress but for me she was kind of annoying in the beginning. Both her character and acting didn't really kick in till the very end.
I was surprised by how the story managed to get me hooked after its initial episodes. The story seemed to go nowhere for a while and I had my doubts but the writer- wow. Slowly everything was thrown in the basement! Like, literally lol. I liked the thrill of watching this drama the first time. It's like your very first Kdrama- the thrill to know what happens next is omnipresent.
The music of the drama wasn't my most favourite. I liked only one song and the rest were meh to me.
What sets this drama apart is its continuous twists and turns. Something happens in every episode. Usually dramas run out by the end but even the last episode was as important and eventful as the rest. The ending and the premise was all tied up together really well.
Watch this drama if you're in for something different and if you are bored of the usual cliched dramas. I think one should not pass this up.
Was this review helpful to you?
In order to be fair, I have to give this drama what is its due. Script, acting, direction, music are VERY good. The script is downright brilliant, with many lines worth of being quoted. Kim Sun Ah is fantastic: self-ironic, convincing, funny and determined. Hyun Bin has to portray a distasteful character, and does so with a seemingly effortless performance. All the side characters are wonderfully characterized and likable.
The music is perfectly chosen too, with just the right mixture of irony and pathos-building required by the story.
But I also have to be honest. And to do so I have to admit I didn't like this drama. I spent more time cringing and shivering in embarrassment than laughing or falling in love.
Each character is unique and wonderfully portrayed, but for the duration of 16 episodes I kept on asking myself: why? Why should these two like each other?
When I watch a drama and instead of rooting for the main couple I concentrate on the scenery, the cake, the old mother or the child it means something is wrong, at least for me. And when the first kiss doesn't make me smile in delight, something is even more wrong.
I could never feel sympathy for Sam Soon & Jin Heon. Not as a couple. By the middle I was terribly annoyed by both: by him because he couldn't be a man and decide; by her because she slowly morphed from the anti-conventional woman she used to be into a sort of human ivy, spying on her "man", shouting too much, crying too much, asking for rings, declarations and all the most conventional paraphernalia attached to your usual relationship. Had I been the man in the situation, I would have flown to Mars in order to escape the torture.
Possibly, the acting is too good: had the characters been more wooden or less expressive, I would have felt nothing for them and had had no reason to cringe. How ironic is this?
To summarize: I believe a review has to be fair. When confronted with a good show/movie/book/painting one has to be objective and recognize its value. This is why I gave it an overall 8 when, on a mere emotional and personal level, I would barely have given it a 6.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
It was very challenging to rate and review Brewing Love. The tone and plot of the show varied wildly from one episode to another. There were episodes that I adored and gave five stars and others I could barely finish. What really worked in this drama was the main romance. Min-ju was a dream man. He was so gentle and caring but also very determined and flirtatious once he decided to pursue Yong-ju. He had several lines that made me burst into tears at how beautiful and compassionate they were. The episodes that revolved around the two of them really worked for me. What didn’t work was the majority of the rest of the plot, as well as the pacing. The beer storyline would have been okay if it had been minor but it took up so much time and was not interesting to watch. A lot of the character development and backstory felt like it was missing, even for the leads. Some of the side plots had potential and then felt like they either fell flat or were completely brushed past, like with Min-ju’s traumatic past and mental health, or the relationship with his dad. The second couple started off okay, although it was hard for me to get on board because the actor just looks so young, but their storyline felt very disappointing at the end. The way they addressed his backstory felt very clumsy, and their relationship felt very rushed and inauthentic. I really like Yong-ju’s grandma and wished the show had gone more into their relationship.
Brewing Love was very odd because the first few episodes were incredibly boring but then there were some great episodes in the middle. It felt like the show had maybe had a rough start and then hit its stride, but then I also felt that it got very boring again at the end. The show felt all over the place. It was disappointing because there were some episodes that were fantastic. The male lead was such a green flag and it was interesting how they flipped a lot of gender stereotypes with their relationship. There was a lot to like in the show, it was just very inconsistent.
Was this review helpful to you?
The Title is What the Story is About
Like the title, this show is pretty much a record of a youth story.Why would I say that? Because it is really like a video clip that records some ordinary life story that tells a person who had hardships while pursuing his dream, how he overcome it, how he fall in love, maintain friendships, deal with family conflicts. Even the love story between two main leads are very very realistic. It isn't the normal "love drama" where two people have to go through a lot of misunderstanding, realising they fall in love and go through tragic fates. NO, this show doesn't have any of these, they meet, feel great towards each other and just eventually get together. The way they are dating is so realistic like what a normal dating couple will do. Even to the end, the story between the couple is quite realistic too.
Hence, to be objective, this story is quite boring. The whole series has no climax and I was actually going to drop it but I wasn't watching much show so I decided to go on. So you shouldn't be having high expectation on this, but if you just enjoy watching Park Bo Gum or Park So Dam, then go ahead and watch it. Basically it is like a documentary of someone's life, but a very ordinary one.
Well, not to mention, Park Bo Gum's acting is as good as always:) Even a small detailed expression or action, he portrays it real good, I'm impressed! Good luck for PBG's enlistment and hope he stay safe and get good drama when he's out! :)
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Smile Code had a fresh take on romance as it paired a standup comedian with a man who has alexithymia.. Which means he struggles to express or even feel emotions.. It’s refreshing and honestly that’s what made me start the drama.. It’s not your typical romance and I was curious to see how these two completely different people would connect..The storyline does a great job of mixing comedy with drama.. I really liked the friendship and their chemistry with each other.. While the story does get a bit melodramatic at times the actors and the story keeps you interested or atleast in the first half..
Shen Yue was genuinely and effortlessly funny.. Lin Yi as a person with alexithymia was really good.. Their chemistry is what really drives the show and it evolves so naturally.. But he really had some psychological issues.. Kudos to the FL for holding on to him for so long as it was not easy..
The first half of the series was really strong but the second half felt pretty poorly executed.. It dragged on way too much and just felt stretched.. One thing that really bothered me was how they made her look in that breakup scene.. Seriously did they need to make it so over the top?? The missing tooth made it feel more awkward than emotional..
About halfway through the drama just lost its spark.. It became a bit of a snoozefest for me.. Honestly the second half really dragged the whole show down and kind of ruined the experience..
I really didn’t like the scene where the SML proposes to her only for it to be abruptly cut off by the ML before she even had a chance to respond.. She didn’t reject him so the SML still didn’t get a clear answer and that was just a really poor way to handle the scene.. It felt unfair to his character.. Even after that she led him on.. Not giving him a firm rejection or any kind of clear answer.. It took another two episodes and yet another proposal for her to finally give him an answer and I don’t know, it just didn’t sit well with me..
When the ML came back for her the way she treated him was honestly pretty harsh.. I get why she acted that way but it still felt awful.. The guy really deserved another chance after everything he had been through..
What made it worse was the final few episodes.. After everything, she rejected his proposal in front of everyone.. That was like a slap in the face.. When she proposed to him in the last episode I honestly kind of hoped he would reject her.. Just for the sake of it..
Overall Smile Code is definitely just a one time watch.. But it’s worth it for its unique premise and the excellent performances by the main leads..
P.S. I was so confused when I saw the reviews for this drama in MDL.. Everyone was rating it a 10.. But if you check their profiles it's just accounts that were created to rate this one drama.. There are so many such accounts in the review section and it's honestly kind of sad to see how far people are willing to go..
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
(For a spoilerful review, I wrote a separate, much more in-depth version here: https://dramavixen.tumblr.com/post/177526794854/)Was I expecting a trainwreck when I first started watching? Perhaps. Actually, yes; unquestionably so. Thus, even if I call this show a trainwreck, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that Meteor Garden was "below expectations."
Meteor Garden was possibly one of the most anticipated Chinese dramas of the season, rousing the nostalgic instincts of those of us who have long been attached to this story. Of course, that’s a great burden on the cast and crew. This is especially true in China, where viewers tend to prefer the “original” version of everything—novels, dramas, movies; you name it. Any kind of remake or adaptation is asking for trouble; and Meteor Garden fared the worst that I've seen, with a whopping rating of 2.8/10 when the first episode aired.
We can say that viewers in China are being overly judgmental, but the one thing they’re right about is that choosing to remake this was a shaky decision to begin with. At its core, Meteor Garden overflows with cliche after cliche; all the ones that make us roll our eyes whenever we see them: the poor girl-rich guy combo, the trash male lead/nice second male lead dynamic, the meddling mother-in-law; the list just writes itself. This isn’t to say that cliche usage equates to a bad drama, but historically, Meteor Garden has never elevated these elements to anything past mediocrity.
This adaptation still uses all of these tropes: without improvement. We can argue all day about how the writers toned down the bullying that existed in the previous versions; how Dao Ming Si isn’t as bad of a guy as he used to be. That doesn’t change the fact that this story is incredibly weak.
The conflicts between the main couple start off making sense because they have a lot of moral disagreements. Meteor Garden intends to show the evolution of a relationship as it progresses between two enemies to two people in love. However, with 48 episodes worth of problem after problem solely for the sake of dramatics, the instability of their relationship quickly becomes less heartbreaking and more obnoxious. All the side plots involving the other characters are also either boring or mindnumblingly frustrating—or (if your goddess of luck has abandoned you) both!
How do the characters play into the plot? In a word, badly. The sheer level of bullcrapery that is injected into the script makes it impossible for anyone to truly develop or interact with each other like normal human beings. Each character does have their good and bad points, which I appreciate. But more often than not, we don’t get to see them act as people; they’re just used as paper dolls for the sake of toddling through whatever conflict the writers feel like putting into the episode. It’s a real shame, especially since the actors all have so much potential to do better.
In all honesty, I’m surprised that I finished this show. Well, I guess I could be more surprised; from the very beginning, I wanted to see this ordeal to the end so that I could be as thorough in my roasting as possible without any false pretenses. So here, I have to say that Meteor Garden is but a pile of burnt potatoes. And just like there're a lot of better things to eat than burnt potatoes, there’re a lot of better things to watch than this.
Was this review helpful to you?
Lovestruck in the City is simply not for everybody who only loves watching KDRAMA.
You have to be open-minded on how the writers wrote those (flawed) characters and scenarios because if you’re not, it’ll much harder for you to understand how the story built. And if you know Park Shin Woo as a director, he is not someone to please viewers.It’s actually weird to see that half of the internet world(twitter), people hyping this up but on the other side(mydramalist & tumblr), dropping this. Ha!
If you review this drama based on the storyline and characters, please state your age and who resonates with you most. If you review this based on mockumentary type and how it delivers the story, please watch until episode 8.
Let me say this again, THIS DRAMA IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY, it’s for the people out there who know what love can do on and for them.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
LA that sit on same table as AOT LA and Drangon Ball LA
I’m SCREAMING. WTF is this?! It'd like the director read half the source material, said “nah,” and decided to yeet the soul of sNs masterpiece into the void. They changed SO MUCH, and I’m not okay! Kim Dokja deserves better, and this mess is sitting at the same cursed table as the Attack on Titan and Dragon Ball Evolution LA!! Let’s talk about how they fumbled this bag and why it’s giving the same vibes as those other disasters.First off, WHY THE HELL are they giving everyone GUNS?! Like, are you kidding me? They’re out here handing Hee Won daggers like she’s in an Avengers flick and giving Lee Hyeon-seong some high-tech gauntlet nonsense. And don’t get me started on Yoo Joonghyuk’s sword looking like it was forged in a sci-fi lab. This ain’t the apocalyptic struggle we signed up for! It’s like they saw the Attack on Titan live-action films and thought Let’s copy their homework and make it flashy but soulless. This is not My ORV!!!!!Was this review helpful to you?
