Overall I thought it was an OK movie, wouldn't exactly say it was a great movie. Only reason I gave this movie a try in the first place was because of Lee Min Ki. So if you want to watch a more a mature movie that will make you laugh, then give it a try and enjoy ^^
WARNING to the younger viewers the sex scenes aren't very explicit (no major nude scenes) but I would mostly recommended to the more mature audience.
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✨Short Episodes, Fast Feelings, and a Surprisingly Fun Ride✨
Ok besties, I clicked on this fully on a whim and somehow it turned into a pretty solid watch.The visuals are actually cute for the budget, the plot is packed, and the leads are styled nicely.
Most of the cast were new to me, and while the acting sometimes lacks nuance, it does get better.
I liked the FL. Even in her cutesy era, she never crossed into annoying for me (rare). She’s not painfully naive either, and I liked her from the start. That said, my girl truly cannot catch a break — emotionally, physically, spiritually, she is always going through it. Sis needs a nap and a vacation.
The ML was handsomely styled — he looked good (can't say he's my type, but still, no notes).
Some of the dialogue felt rushed and didn’t always land with full emotional impact, but given the 10-ish minute episodes, that kind of comes with the territory. I wasn’t expecting Shakespeare. I wasn’t expecting Homer. I was expecting speedrun romance and that’s exactly what I got. The leads grew on me, though. They’re cute, and I genuinely appreciated how direct their conversations were. No endless circling. No 12-episode misunderstandings. Things happen. Quickly. Efficiently. We love productivity. I also ended up appreciating the ML’s character overall. Bro is down bad pretty fast, and in their angsty era, we do get some lowkey toxic vibes, which added to the emotional messiness in a way that was weirdly entertaining.
The spice is medium for the genre. Some kisses were giving “how does mouth work again?” vibes. I know some of y’all care deeply about that. BUT the relationship is still fun to watch. They’re fairly solid, and the pacing carries.
BUT THEN. After episode 12???? Hello???? Why did we suddenly spin the emotional wheel of misfortune???? Suddenly it’s love-hate roulette, trauma unlocked, emotional damage activated, and I was sitting there like I did not sign the waiver for this ride. I wasn’t a huge fan of the deeply rooted hatred that realistically could’ve been solved with a calm adult conversation, but I cannot lie — the chaos was entertaining. What surprised me, though, was that the resolution ended up being more layered and interesting than I expected. It wasn’t just a quick emotional reset; there was more depth there than the earlier pacing would’ve suggested.
We get a super last-minute happy ending, which felt very surprise! healing! joy! roll credits! but honestly? I’ll take it. Don’t threaten me with a good time.
Overall, this is a very digestible, pancake-type drama with a side of angst. Not gourmet. Not life-altering. But warm, slightly messy, emotionally questionable, and weirdly satisfying. A speedrun costume drama that understood the assignment just enough to keep me watching.
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"If I love you, what business is it of yours?" (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
“Luo Zhi loves Sheng Huainan. And no one knows about it.”You’ve been warned. This is a long review.
Within the first few episodes, you’ll notice that the show’s stylist didn’t particularly love Luo Zhi enough to give her a memorable style. She’s a brilliant character - committed to her ambition, clever, meticulous, sincere, composed, and yet full of secrecy, shame, longing, and regrets, but she is dressed so...poorly and forgettably. And honestly, I could care less, if I weren’t using this bit to make my own little clever joke, because the juxtaposition of Luo Zhi’s beautiful depth and terrible fashion is exactly how I feel about this adaptation of 八月长安’s (Ba Yue Chang An) web novel, 暗恋橘生淮南 (Unrequited Love.) It has so much potential, gets certain things right that 99% of dramas miss, and yet...suffers from so many flaws. The team behind this show had the right intentions and chose the right story, but dressed it inadequately.
My relationship to this drama is quite mixed. There are elements that I absolutely adore, and yet, elements that frustrate me. But because it gets certain pieces of romantic storytelling right that most Chinese dramas (Asian dramas in general) completely miss, I also keep it close to my heart. The best I can do is to give a sincere review of what I love & hate about Unrequited Love (2021). This review is full of spoilers btw. Beware :)
Elements I Adore:
I. Sheng Huainan & Luo Zhi.
For the first time in Dramaland, I am fully aboard this ship. I am genuinely convinced that if there were a Sheng Huainan and Luo Zhi in our reality, that they would fall for one another. This element is the sole redeeming factor of this drama for me. I’ve found myself watching drama after drama, wondering how both characters fell for the other, and why the story needed to contrive reasons for the couple to come together (cue the usual person falling and the other main character catching them and then...they’re in love! How? We don’t know! But they are…)
In the beginning, we’re told the story of this romance framed by Luo Zhi’s shame and regret. She feels like a ghost beside Huainan, forever chasing after his shadow, but is unwilling to make herself visible unless he sees her first. This pining follows her from high school into her college career. In Luo Zhi’s heart, her yearning for Huainan’s attention isn’t just rooted in the affirmation of a childhood promise, but also in her self-actualization. She’s convinced herself that the best version of herself will undoubtedly catch Huainan’s eye. It’s cringy for us as the audience, because we know this narrative is self-defeating and reeks of shame. But the story’s unwillingness to hide this narrative of Luo Zhi humanizes her. Beside this secretive yearning for Huainan to fulfill his childhood promise, Luo Zhi is an individual who will work as hard as she must in order to achieve the goals she has set for herself. Sure, she’s a softie for Huainan, but she is as tough as it gets outside of her secret yearning. And I love that about her.
Huainan, on the other hand, is both thoughtful and simplistic. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that he’s idealistic to a fault. This man is exactly the albatross that he and Luo Zhi talk about. In terms of academic performance and popularity, he soars in the sky, full of ambition and potential, but his only aim for landing is to find a soulmate. He pines for someone who can share a telepathy with him. Yet when he lands on ground level, he becomes the Big Clumsy Bird he describes the Albatross as. These ideals he crafts in his mind are incomprehensible to most people and highkey irrelevant to most people’s lives. People see him for his looks, his family’s wealth, and his popularity, but he sees himself differently. It makes him feel isolated, invisible, and wary of others.
When you bring the two together, their shared fascination for one another is what makes this drama shine. Their conversations are endless, and I loved seeing that portrayed on screen. Luo Zhi’s shyness and Huainan’s persistence feel natural and painfully realistic. And I adore their initial dates. The surprise gift of Gibran’s poetry? Has my whole heart. Huainan saving the leaf they serendipitously grabbed at the same time, and Luo Zhi finding it as she peeks into his journal -- and Huainan SEEING her find it? I was embarrassed AND blushing for them.
II. Reframing “Missed” Love
I think we can agree that this show isn’t truly portraying “Unrequited Love” when it comes to Huainan & Luo Zhi. It’s portraying missed love. We’re shown this from the very beginning in terms of Luo Zhi’s self-inflicted pain of an “unrequited” love. The truth is, Luo Zhi’s suffering came directly from her own shame. She planted that seed of rejection all on her own and ironically created the distance between her and Huainan, because she never opened any opportunities for their meeting.
I love that the show sets up expectations for us, and then shamefully misses it. Because it’s this same shame that has kept Luo Zhi both resenting and perpetuating the 0.6cm distance between her and Huainan. The drama reveals to us that this distance between her and Huainan is self-forged. Luo Zhi herself has yet to let go of all the shame and self-hatred she developed in her secretive admiration for Huainan, and because of that, she sabotages most of their initial interactions.
The whole merry-go-round of the show is an unwinding of Luo Zhi’s shame. There’s an incredible scene in the movie Saving Face where one character confronts her lover in an airport and says, “You're too scared to look the world in the eye...and let it watch you fall in love.” Which fits perfectly with what Luo Zhi heartbreakingly inscribed on the rooftop wall: “Luo Zhi loves Sheng Huainan. And no one knows about it.” At this point, Huainan doesn’t even know of Luo Zhi’s existence. Her heartbreak is a whole narrative she has spun all on her own. And I think some of us might relate to that - the feeling of ending something before it even has the chance to begin, because we’re scared of the risks involved in putting ourselves out there. And she sets up these conditional requirements Huainan has to meet in order for her to finally reveal their childhood history, but those conditions are deceptive. The truth is that Luo Zhi is not ready to meet Huainan in her fullest vulnerability. Her ambivalence is fueled by her shame and fear.
When Huainan meets Luo Zhi, it’s as if his lonely lil Albatross self has finally found a place to land. It’s lowkey unfair to him that Luo Zhi comes in with so much reservation and secrecy, but we’ll save that conversation for another day. A part of me loves that though, because it’s painfully human. How many of us aren’t secretive and wary when it comes to love? I’ve been a partial Luo Zhi before, and I’ve also been a partial Huainan. I’ve been an admirer, and I’ve also been an overly cautious person. I’ve been the person full of shame, and I’ve also been the person who wants to risk losing my societal mask(s) in order to grow closer to someone.
I dislike the way they framed the eventual 5-year wedge between Luo Zhi & Huainan, but I respect the reasoning for it. The romantic in me loves and is in tune with how Luo Zhi describes their love: It is rooted in mutual, shared belief. Both of these clumsy Albatrosses believe that they will land in the same place, but for now, their ambitions are diverging. Their love is a commitment to the belief that they will come together without reservations, without shame, without secrecy standing between them. If I were to call myself a believer of love, I’d be in agreement with Luo Zhi. I think my truest belief in love is where choosing myself is already choosing the other person, because becoming who I am will naturally lead me to someone who is most compatible with me (granted that they too feel as if they are becoming closer to their ideal self).
And the irony is that even during this period where they are far apart in both time and distance, they are the closest they've ever been to each other at heart. They’re often in the same places, by coincidence, and even peruse the same book. And yet, when they were closest in terms of distance and time in college, they were farthest at heart, because they were clothed in shame and secrecy, which bred miscommunication after miscommunication. I guess the winding of this drama is meant to show us that Huainan & Luo Zhi had to come so close and yet spend so much time apart because they were the ones closing the door on one another. They were rejecting each other, or rather, rejecting themselves from fully accepting the other. And thus, as Huainan says, “isn’t it the absence of a thereafter that makes something romantic?” Now that they’re in agreement of a shared belief in love, there really is no “Aha!” moment the show owes us. They are in sync, and time and distance no longer reduce what is already shared between them. A true meeting of heart and mind.
“Sheng Huainan loves Luo Zhi. And the whole world knows about it.”
III. Zhang Mingrui
I loved this character & the actor's portrayal of him. His bond with Huainan was both believable & heartwarming. I also appreciate how his relationship with Riqing unraveled -- and how he was honest about not having any lingering feelings for her. I honestly think Luo Zhi & Mingrui were compatible all on their own, and wouldn't have minded if the show-writers decided to give us a "Luo Zhi's first love is Huainan, but her second love is Mingrui" kind of ordeal. My all-time favorite moment of Mingrui in this show was the scene where the uncomfortable classmate takes Huainan's bag of chips, and Mingrui says, so candidly, "Excuse me?" It was one of those scenes that felt so natural -- as if these characters really were just college students in a library, completely caught off-guard & bewildered by the actions of a *strange* classmate.
What Fell Short:
The. Side. Characters.
I’m going to be brutally honest and tell you that I skipped past most of the side character storylines. The dynamic between Bai Li and Ge Bi? That’s a big ~nope~ for me. I pretty much only watched Bai Li when she was with Luo Zhi. I will say one character that I passionately abhor in this show is that one boundary-breaking, fear-inducing, unreasonable stalker of Huainan. And I don’t abhor her, I abhor the characterization of her. She was so contrived. I won’t spend my words on it further than that. If they took out the side characters and focused more on Huainan & Luo Zhi's period of separation, I would give this series a higher rating. But these unnecessary & pathetic villains are not it.
The Misunderstandings
Scrap the entire feud between Luo Zhi and Huainan’s families. It was unnecessary and barely fleshed out. While we’re there, scrap Huainan’s family downfall too. And that bit about Huainan giving Luo Zhi the raincoat as a test? It was weird and off putting. It felt like tacky story writing. It’s what I mean when I say the show had heart, but was poorly dressed.
I’m definitely going to come back & edit this review, because I’m still contemplating how I feel about the show. But I still treasure the feelings it gave me because it reminded me of my own belief in love.
The Initial Daydreams
I have a strong dislike for any show that uses this technique. Showing the audience a scene and then revealing to us that it was all the character’s imagination is both uncomfortable and unnecessary. We KNOW Luo Zhi is pining after him, and we KNOW he doesn’t know her yet. Please spare us the trickery.
I don’t have much to say about where I feel the show fell short because I feel as if they were problems in the show’s exterior -- that’s not where my heart is at. My heart is in the interior of the show - the crafting of Luo Zhi & Huainan’s love - of which I’ve already penned a gazillion words.
If you’ve gotten this far, I do recommend the show. Just skip the side romances. And give space for Luo Zhi to grow on you, because she will. If you liked this show, I’m recommending you Nana (Japanese Anime), Ao Haru Ride (Japanese Anime), Whisper of the Heart (Japanese Anime), "A Love So Beautiful" (Chinese Drama), and “In Time With You” (Taiwanese Drama).
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LR: Raised the Bar of Modern Cdramas
This is the first Cdrama I wished have more than 33 episodes. Each scene is done beautifully - visually and metaphorically - & makes you realize how other dramas pale in comparison.The first few minutes on the show already draws you in. The opening credits are spoiler-free as the show takes you to a montage of easter egg hunts you’d soon discover as you watch on. The title episode screen with a quick shot of a scene in the episode is a visual delight.
From the cinematography, quick witted dialogues, acting, and OST — this show truly captured a great dynamic of both leads (and ALL supporting characters.)
What I honestly love about this show is how wholesome this is. It’s a rom com with healthy relationships. Misunderstandings are resolved without dragging on too much. The devotion each leads have on each other is outstanding. The SLs actually SUPPORTING the main characters.
The chemistry with the leads are so electric and natural that it almost feels like they’re not acting at all.
You will laugh, you will cry, and you will also shed happy tears as you cheer them on.
LR is at the top of the board across all the other C/K/J dramas I’ve watched (including all the other hyped up shows)
If you’re hesitating, please give it a go. I urge you to give this a chance (past the ML’s hairdo, which apparently irks people), you’ll find that your standard for dramas are raised higher because of this show.
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Family Fun
I really wanted to like this and decided that this was going to be my festive October near Halloween drama. Instead. It took me two weeks to get through the twelve episodes because, honestly, they were a bit hard for me to get through. Which makes me a little uneasy writing this review as the six previous reviews before this one spoke very highly of the drama. This drama was 100% silly "family fun" which isn't my cup of tea.I loved how this drama was a unique perspective of a zombie wanting to become a human again and basically trying to blend in, not wanting to be caught. He also harbors a small hatred for humans as all movies and dramas that come out, portray zombies as these creatures from hell that need to be brutally murdered, but he soon starts developing a bond with Sunji and her family. I also loved all the random cameos - all the members of A.C.E., one of my favorite kpop groups (Jun & Chan getting the lines in multiple eps), Sam Hammington (who I know and love from Return of Superman), and last, even though she wasn't a cameo, but I love her anyway, Hwang Bo Ra, who plays Sunji's cooky sister. I also LOVED all the music they picked - either the random references to Hollywood movies or when DPR Live's Martini Blue randomly started playing on Sunji's headphones.
The last thing I loved about this drama was the bits and pieces of darkness with all the crimes (a total of 3 main ones). But this also goes hand in hand with why I didn't like it as well. I feel like this drama didn't really know what it wanted to be or the vibe it was going for - one moment President Le is fighting a bad guy off, but literally getting bashed in the head with a trophy over and over again (in any normal drama, he would be unconscious or dead) but a moment later Wang Wey slams into the glass door trying to escape, much as in a scene from a Saturday morning cartoon with sound effects and all. Cut to the next scene, Prez Le is totally fine and minor blood. It was almost like the show was maybe going for a PG Saturday morning cartoon feel and was over the top too cheesy and dramatic for my taste, personally. Some jokes hit, most didn't. Which is fine and cool, maybe this drama was written for a younger audience, but then you have DARK scenes and situations, that are 100%, not PG, but all of them were my favorites.
I also had a hard time because I wasn't a huge fan of most of the characters. This drama was 100% silly "family fun" which isn't my cup of tea especially when the characters don't sit well. They all had so much potential, such as the main characters, and could have been amazing detectives from the very beginning, but decided they wanted to be clumsy in the beginning so they could come through in ep 12 and complete a very simple operation and pat themselves on the back. And this is all my personal opinion. I thought that catching the Christmas/Santa Clause Killer was a harder task than the one in ep 12. I also wasn't a fan of President Le and his agency, but they did embody what this drama symbolized and they also followed the formula of having potential, but only coming through at the end. I think the only characters that I somewhat enjoyed were Sun Young (she is very consistent in embodying one character in all her dramas), her son (he was so cute and randomly always in the right place at the right time), and Sunji's best friend who owned the tripe shop (who always came through with her contacts at the hospital). The two mains were alright - I loved Moo Young's determination to solving cases and finding answers, but it would get discouraged very easily and then want to give up, and I loved how supportive Sunji was with her friends and family and wanted to do the right thing, but she was very clumsy and impulsive and it was very annoying. She was very good at her job and had the potential and the heart to be a detective, but she lacked a bit of common sense. Both characters got better towards the end, but it made it hard for me to personally watch while waiting.
Overall, if you want to watch a PG drama with some dark themes, but covered up with Saturday morning cartoons jokes, and scenes, this would be a good drama. I personally thought that there was a lot of fluff even though this was already super short. I will not watch this drama again, but I am happy that I did watch this. I wish I could give it a better score because of the music and the cameos and all the good promoting, but this was a miss for me.
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The Lovesick Queen Maker and his peace-loving & compassionate Wife.
This would have been incredible if they had made it longer and if it had been handled by a better production company with a sufficient budget. The core concept and setup are things creators have been attempting for years, and I truly feel bad that such a potentially great story went to a mediocre company, resulting in something so underwhelming and disappointing.Although the entire show is full of plot holes, like literally left and right, I can really see that this type of narrative could have been built into a more comprehensive and detailed platform where it can be given a chance to elaborate and incorporate the real message of the story with more precision. The way it was created and ended felt so rushed, that I myself started feeling bad that it was treated and squandered like that.
Something I initially like about this drama is its pacing—It went by so quickly not wasting any episodes throughout its first half but ended up ruining the other half eventually. All I can say is that their idea of putting up the story like that escalated pretty quickly which causes it to backfire at the very end. I still find it crazy how they leaped through the most important events like it was nothing important. It genuinely felt like the climax was skipped over just so that they can end it—which is a very dumb decision to be very honest.
Another thing I find ridiculous is the fighting and martial arts scenes. They tried so hard to make it look great at first but I guess they gave up on it as the story goes on because the way it was executed on the succeeding episodes was simply terrible you won't even have to think twice to say it's really that bad. It was too evident and crystal clear like they didn't even try hiding it. Hahaha!
Lastly, I just wanna say that the way they depicted women here with resolute resolve is something I truly like. However, the execution is where it all went wrong... such scenes could have ended great and inspiring but for some reason it looked prematurely done. The power and determination is there but the lack of conviction and weak representation made it feel and look like a literal staged play—an act.
P.S. The ML (Yuan Hao) is an expert in playful-cuddly-romantic scenes. I swear! He makes my heart leap countless of beats everytime he acts like that.
Story - 8.5, It is promising and is actually good, however, the people who directed and created it is disappointing otherwise. How I wish it was handled by a better director, script writer and production company with sufficient funding.
Acting/Cast - 7.5, The acting is very inconsistent! I had to pause multiple times and mentally consider a lot of things e.g. dubbing, voice syncing and so on. Because I thought the problem may have been caused by that. But at the end of the day, none of those are the reason why I was bothered. The problem really lies on the facial expression, emotion and overall body language of the actors and actresses. Most of the time I think they do not even know how to act their scenes and were just doing the best they can do; as a result it turned out pretty awkward and bad. Yuan Hao did great though!
Music - 9.5, Music is Good. There's this one song they used I believe on Ep.8 that I can't find the tittle of which I really love and I will surely hunt that one down. For sure!
Rewatch Value - 8.0, It was not that bad for me not to rewatch it. I would say it's worth my time and as I mentioned, is a potentially promising production and could have been more, with better team working for it.
Overall - 8.5, I contemplated so much with this rating. I was set to give it a 9.0 - 9.5 however the unexpected ending made me retract on how I feel about this drama. I understand that they lack the resources and all but I cannot accept that they chose to off screen most of the exciting scenes and eventually ruling all the commotions they have started from the very beginning to a draw. Like, did you all just wasted your entire effort from the very beginning for nothing? Hahaha!
IF you find my review helpful please let me know.
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RECOMMENDED IF YOU WANNA LAUGH AND CRY!!
As someone who works with people with disabilities, I super appreciate this movie as they somehow focused at what a mentally unstable person can do. I love Kwangsoo's acting cuz he actually pulled off the role. I've watched it twice without a sub, and I'm still crying a river. This movie is so good, I dont mind watching it over and over again whenever.This movie shows us how we also have to look out the emotions of an autistic person. They cant express things as much as they want but their emotions have huge impacts on their actions. I cry everytime kwangsoo cries. its jus too hard not to. i felt all the emotions in this movie. First, you would be dying of laughing then next thing you know, you’d be crying a river.
Wether you are a guy or girl, I doubt you can control your tears. lmao. A round of applause to the actors especially to the two leads. Lee Kwangsoo and Shin Hakyun! This movie deserves a 10/10 rating! I learned a lot of life lessons from this movie and its just overwhelming. Currently my fave movie!
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I am notoriously hard to please when it comes to dramas, especially historical dramas, but this one is one of my favorites. I gave this show a 9, which is an honor only a handful of dramas/movies have gotten from me.
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Jian Yao started off as a smart, independent female that was in control of her life. Bo Jin Yan was this enigmatic man whose cold exterior was gradually warming up to Jian Yao and drawing closer to her. I enjoyed the episodic cases they solved together and the growth of Jian Yao as Bo Jin Yan's protégé in criminal profiling, not to mention the blossoming of their feelings toward one another. There was some quiet humor in there as well that I enjoyed immensely. But in the end Jian Yao was just a damsel in distress, and Bo Jin Yan was running away to "catch the bad guy" immediately after telling her he'd be with her "24/7" -- more than once. She was left out of the loop completely.
So....why the 6.5 rating you say? Well, that's because the last 1/4 of the show, the story, once it moved from China to America, went downhill in flames for me. I raced to the finish of this show expecting things to get back on track, but they never did. It was almost as if they changed writers because the whole tone of the show changed completely. Jian Yao and Bo Jin Yan were hardly in a scene together afterwards, and their dynamic changed as well. The chemistry and romance was lost as they pursued "one" big bad villain. The plot got too twisted and convoluted. The actors playing the Americans were atrocious. The stilted speech was one thing, but there were several goofs as well. One text was sent out - with a misspelling of "steel" instead of the word "steal" that was meant....but on the receiving end, the text was completely different than what was sent out. The actors playing the Americans had a few flubs in their delivery of lines, as well as changing the names of the other characters a few times. There were a few that also could not hold their American accents. It was horribly distracting. Also, the Americans would speak in English, and the Chinese would reply in Chinese. This seemed very unrealistic, as how many Americans are fluent in Mandarin? And apparently New York police officers really need to wear their bulletproof vests. Yikes!
The 7.5 score for acting goes entirely to the Chinese cast in this case, points deducted for the "Americans". (Edited to add: Although, I do realize that English speakers are NOT the target audience, I hope that this information is helpful for those that it would make a difference to.)
Poor Jian Yao and Bo Jin Yan were almost completely different characters by the end of this show. Not the same one I was captivated by in the beginning. That disappointed me a lot and the only reason this is getting a 6.5 is for all the scenes in China. I feel bad hating on a show that most seemed to really love, but there it is. They could have fleshed out the story and the characters better if they had stayed put and continued in the direction they started. The switchover to New York also had the undesired outcome of not completing the setup they started in China. Many things were dropped and not explained.
Despite my utter letdown in the ending of this show, Huo Wallace has gained a new fan in me. I hope to one day see him act in something that will "wow" me like the start of this did.
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No more feeling blue
Ok so we were all a little disappointed by the abrupt ending to the first part of this KBL. So it needed this one to tie up lose ends. It's definitely worth watching part 1 first as you see a different side to both characters as well as some immaturity and growth.The episodes are short (8 minutes with the last being 15 mins) and there are extra scenes available to members which week. IF you watched in real time then you would assume some things about the main couple which aren't necessarily true.
Overall the chemistry is amazing. The dilemma faced by one of them interesting and their dialogue was well written
I would recommend as a binge watch to avoid the weekly angst Jaemin caused us all. You're left feeling less blue than you did at the end of part 1 and that's good enough for me.
Oh! OST was good on this one and helped give depth to a very short series. Would like to see more from this couple as well as from this production company
Enjoy
Chelsea Black
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Drama Special Series Season 2: Little Girl Detective
11 people found this review helpful
They put every character in overdone cliches: the abrasive female detective, the arrogant prosecutor, and the bumbling officer. The writers came up with corny lines that made the acting feel uncomfortably awkward. BUT as the short drama pushes forward, you can start getting more into the plot and watch how Haesol's character develops. I've seen the actors in other dramas (mostly supporting roles) and I'm glad that they were given a chance to show their chops in this drama.
The story has a pretty good plot and gets a little convoluted, but that's what makes investigative shows so fun to try figuring out. I was pretty quick to figure out the culprit (bc I've unfortunately watched and read every murder plot in the history of mankind), but there was a part in the end that was an unexpected surprise. Romance was sparsely scattered throughout the mini-drama, so if the reason you like watching dramas is for the romance, you'll be a little disappointed with this one.
As for the cases, they pretty much stuck to the basic "crime, events leading toward/after crime, investigation, deduction". Because it was only 4 episodes, they did a good job of making the main plot flow through but still leaving room for you to think about who-dun-it. (It's not really like typical dramas/anime/manga where they stretch it out with fillers to fill their 16+ episodes--I'm looking at you, Detective Conan)
The music was pretty typical of detective genres. Jazzy music riddled with suspenseful (and also lighthearted) ditties. (I also like trying to hear what kpop songs pop out in the background in coffee shop scenes. "Troublemaker" was one I caught.)
If given the time, I would probably watch this again. (But it would probably be because of Kim Joo Young more than anything. So cute!)
If you like investigative shows with endearing characters, heart-pumping moments, and a strong plot/story, this might be the drama for you. ^^
(I gave it an 8 because it actually managed to make me say "what the?!" at least once...which is a feat in my eyes)
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Weak story
Not fond of this season.Where do I start without spoilers...
Well to watch this season go watch season 1 at least so you understand the motives behind the vigilante group. What season 3 has become is just the opposite.
The problems this season faces is
- Lacking character development
- Case by case stories without a overarching or main plot that drives the entire season
- Principles are contradicted from season 1
- No prosecutor or police to challenge them which season 1 and 2 had
- Rushed cases and too far fetched at times
- The main lead actor starts making weird faces which I don't think he did in season 1 and 2
Watch if you have nothing better to do.
I really liked season 1 and unlike most people I felt Kang Ha-na made the entire season 1 pleasurable and would have loved to see her return in season 3 as a taxi driver member and be challenged by her mentor or another prosecutor.
It would have made a great season 3 seeing Kang Ha-na as a female lead and ultimately I would have ended that with her leaving the team and establishing a franchise and a spin-off into her own Taxi Driver: Prosecutor Kang like imagine prosecutor by day and she drives people around at night then gets cases...
Now that would hit.
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ROM COM with mystery in built
Like any other rom coms with tough ceo and innocent secretary this drama too starts with same trope but from the second episode entire setting is changed it like watching a thriller but after watching 6-7 episodes it ll again go back to romance but there is some mysterious characters in the drama which are not revealed till episode 12 so the story goes on still 16 episode writing wise this drama offers u different experience.so this is typical rom com for sure but the mystery element stays till episode 16 lead actors chemistry worked comedy works for most the scenes.
typical cliches exits but don't blame the because it comes with the genre.
so finally this drama exceeded my expectations i thought it's just a typical rom rom but it's not.
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This review may contain spoilers
My first review ever because OMG, the dumbest lawyer ever!!!!
Story: 9/10The overall story (not the delivery) is really interesting. This is the 2nd reason why I watched this, even though it only has an 8.0 overall rating here in MDL.
Acting/Cast:5/10
Cast: 8/10
Acting: 5/10
My first reason why I watch this drama is because of So Ji Sub, I love him in Oh My Venus and The Master's Sun, BUT his acting here was a letdown. He has the same expression the whole time. The scrunching of his eyebrows is always there even when he is happy, sad, or angry. Why?
Music: 4/10
I do not remember any of the music, maybe because I was frustrated the whole time I am watching the drama.
Rewatch value: 2/10
I will never watch this again because I know every time I read this title I will always remember my frustration at episode 4.
I do not understand the reasoning behind the writer when he/she wrote the character of Han Yi Han. The character was supposed to be a man with a brilliant mind who was able to become a lawyer. But why was HYH so dumb????? I mean, he is a lawyer, and he was the first lawyer I saw who signed a document without reading it thoroughly; he just took what Michael Young said as true and did not confirm it by reading the whole document in episode 4. I wanted to drop the drama at that time, but I really like this type of story, so I wanted to see the end of it, so I just clenched my fist and grind my teeth every time there is a scene that infuriates or frustrates me. Also, he wants to do revenge, but how he is doing it makes me so angry; I mean, the conviction or the delivery is not that satisfying! And that really frustrates me because So Ji Sub's acting here is subpar (sorry to all his hardcore fans). He has the same expression all the time.
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There are few shows that you start watching because of certain cast members and end up loving it so hard that you start feeling withdrawal symptoms as soon as it finishes. Father is strange was one of those dramas for me. I have always been a great fan of the writer of the show as she have written one of the best family and my all time favorite drama "Ojakgyo Brothers". I would say that Father is strange was even better and cleanly written than the Ojakgyo Brothers. The story was fast paced, characters were well developed, the romance of the central characters started a bit late but they made up with their sweet moments at the end. I loved the family bonding they had. The relationship between the parents, siblings, lovers, even the once snooty sister-in-law's character was also very well developed. I would say it is hands down one of the best written family drama if all time.
Acting/Cast:
Okay so I started this drama because of my love for Lee Joon and Jung So min and was not even slightly disappointed with their acting. Jung SO min needs to get more lead roles as she's a great actress and Lee Joon needs to get more recognition for his talents. This man is a gem tell you! The actors who played parents were just off the roof good, especially the father. His emotions were on point in every frame of the drama. Ryu Hwa Young and Min Jin Woong as the other two siblings were also really good, I am eagerly waiting for their next projects soon. But the person who really took away the cake was Lee Yoo Ri. Her portrayal as a sassy, confident, straightforward lawyer was beyond good. I have never seen any of her dramas before, but am soon going to stalk this women's drama history. Lee Yoo Ri and Lee Joon really needs to win award for this drama.
Music:
I am not to keen about the OST's of the drama unless they are very good. Father is Strange as some good melodies but not very memorable. I would still hum few while watching the drama but don't care much about them after the drama gets over.
Re-watch Value:
Definitely going to re-watch Father is Strange in few months or years. Maybe skip some parts, but definitely it is a worth a re-watch!
Overall:
Just go and enjoy this drama, Don't be scared of the 52 episode mark and try watching first 2 episodes. 2 episodes into this drama is enough to keep you hooked to your computer screens for next couple of days.
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