Reviews

pure, healing and beautiful

the plot is nothing special, the story is really basic but somehow this is one of the most beautiful dramas I've ever watched, and not just in 2020.
there are 2 things I love that as long as they don't mess it up then I'll give the drama a 10/10 without a second thought. one is a strong independent smart capable diverse female character, honestly they can never go wrong when they have a female character that carries her own weight if not more.
And two is character driven slice of life healing dramas, I LOVE these types of stories, they are just raw and emotional and sad but beautiful enough to make you feel jealous

at a certain point in the drama they handled the mains "complicated" bickering relationship, they focused on Moon Sang Tae's natural jealous feelings because he was no longer his brothers "one and only" and it could've gone really badly if the writers used it for cheap angst but they handled it so beautifully that the developing relationships became 1000x better.

"mystery" wise I do think they lacked a little, but it's becasue they didn't use it for cheap thrill and looming danger but it was the base for their healing.
even throughout their "inevitable breakups" it was never about their selflessness or selfishness but it was another natural step to overcoming their past and struggles.
I was worried after ep14 that things might get off track but they stayed true to their story and I'm really pleased about where it's going

side character wise, again they lacked in delivery, the side stories and the effects they used to deliver the stories were beautiful and heartbreaking but I felt like they weren't 100% invested in their stories and they felt like mere time fillers, like Yoo Seung Jae never got any character depth and even though Jo Jae Soo was Moon Gang Tae's best friend for 10 years I couldn't understand how they all miraculously ended up in ok town (I'm sorry I don't know the name of their location xD)
that didn't make their unexpected friendships and familial bonds any less meaningful, but I wish they gave them a little more thought

the editing is beautiful, moonyoung's fairy tales and the use of fairy tale resembles, the ost and moonyoung's OOTD's just made this drama more enchanting and amazing~

I never rewatch stuff but it's only ep15 and I already miss them so much that I'm crying so I'd like to rewatch this again and again and again ;D

watching the ending I'm even happier now, this drama didn't use the past connections and the trauma as the main dish, it was always just the spice.
like in itaewon class the revenge and past trauma was the last big fight and the end was just a cleanup but this, it was always about the "cleanup" and I'm really satisfied with everything

Read More

Violence galore lacking meanings and life lessons, too much side stories, good acting

UPDATE: I still think this non-linear storytelling doesn't work well for a 20-episode drama. Many characters were left underdeveloped, their back stories felt like unimportant side stories. I wish they'd cover the core story sufficiently here... So I'm not really looking forward for the 2nd Season.

I have mixed feelings about Moving, I found this action show to be unique and gripping although I do not gravitate to watch a superhero genre. I really enjoy the suspense and stake built within every episode; At any moment the storm is coming and the action really starts where anyone can die. The pacing is fine and what's great is that all the characters are given their moments to shine. Another pro is the CGI, they are great quality and really believable.

Moving spends a lot of episodes introducing us to its many characters and setting up the story. The first 7 episodes highlight the kids' superpowers and friendship while hinting to us that their powers might bring more trouble than they’re worth. It gives us glimpses of the mystery and danger to come. I love the healthy relationships between parents and children throughout the show. I also want Bong Seok to be happy, although I'm not completely sold on a romance between him and Hee Soo. While I appreciated the parents' stories as well, after the 13 episodes of our character's backstories, I still have very little attachment to most characters besides Bong Seok. They are not fully fleshed out. This is way too structured, by the time I get invested in these characters, their story is over already (@,@).

Watching the 2nd half have left me feeling bitter and it does not recover till the end. My main issue is that the writer and director purely highlight violence is romantic in these backstories. In a world dominated by conspiratorial and corrupt governments, the only way you can survive is by murder. Also, the portrayals of North Korean villains as monsters could have been more intriguing if they're written as more morally gray characters. Their superpower is used to kill, not for self-defense, and sorry to say, I really dislike it. If that's the case, then what's the difference between heroes and villains?

-Sept 2023, Yovita
Find me on Instagram: @kdramajudge

Read More

**This is a very personal review**

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains UNAWAKENED" I wholeheartedly agree and believe in every word.


I cried myself to sleep every time I finished one ep of this drama it's been a wonderful but painful journey. I'm not someone who cries easily not in real life and not for movies or dramas. Imaginary Cat touches a personal issue for me and every ep it felt "bittersweet". I'd laugh while watching and cry while sleeping. The drama has brought back beautiful flashbacks (which I never forgot) but it has also torn my heart into pieces like no drama ever did.

I'm a pet owner who had her heart torn into pieces the moment she lost her beloved companion and it took me forever to collect the pieces. I knew if I start this drama it would kill me a thousand times every time I watch that beautiful friendship that wonderful inexplainable bond, though I knew it I couldn't stop myself from doing so. I didn't care how many times this will kill me I didn't care how long will it take me I to recover and move on after this I just had to watch it (Bok Gil is a Scottish Fold cat and my cat was a Scottish Fold how can I possibly not watch it?). This drama is a gift to all those who lost a beloved pet, it's a gift sent to me how can I not watch it...

Thank you Imaginary Cat Team for this priceless gift to me and to all animal lovers and pet owners in the dramaland. Finally a drama which speaks of the beautiful bond between a human and an animal. Finally This wonderful bond this amazing relationship this unconditional love this unexplained attachment is presented in K drama. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Imaginary Cat:

Story
Jong Hyun (Yoo Seung Hoo) is an orphan, he has problem socialising with people. He find it hard to express his feelings so he ends up isolating himself from others. He has lost someone he cared for in a tragic way and from that point on Jong Hyun has always been building up walls between him and any person who approaches him. He is cold and mean on the surface because he doesn't want to open up to anyone but his cat Bok Gil. Though Bok Gil is a cat in the drama they make it easy for you to understand her character through her thoughts (narrative voice).

This is a beautiful story between two abandoned friends/companions who found each other. Jong Hyun's love for Bok Gil and their relationship is something beyond words, words never could describe the bond between humans and pets it's forever a mystery only people who owns pets understands. Give this drama a chance and look beyond what the description is trying to say and maybe you can feel it and understand it too.

While watching Imaginary Cat eps I envied every moment and every scene between Jong Hyun and Bok Gil, watching them together was both happiness and despair it was a reminder that I no longer have those moments anymore all I have are flashbacks and an everlasting pain.

Acting
If you see the scenes between those two (Jong Hyun and Bok Gil) you will hardly believe its acting!! Those two were flawless!! You can act/fake out relationship between humans but how can you act fake out relationship with an animal? this isn't a just normal pet story the story is completely focused on the relationship between those two. As a pet owner myself I must say the chemistry The love displayed here didn't feel fake or acted out those two were so believably breathtaking.

You Seung Hoo: the more I watch him the more I'm proud of him. When this boy cries my heart truly aches he is the only actor that does that to me. YSH and the cat were perfect combination I don't think it would have felt the same without YSH I'm sincerely thankful and gratful to him for taking this role.

The cat owner should be very proud of her I know I am.

Music
Beautiful melodies

Rewatch
How can I not rewatch it I would gladly take all the pain of rewatching it again if I can enjoy watching those two again. Bittersweet.

Overall
To some this might be a silly drama and to some this might be cute drama, I know it's hard to sell a drama such as this one unless you are a pet owner yourself. I don't know if my review did this drama justice it may be a selfish emotional review (I apologise if it feels this way to you) I only know that it's only right to express my sincerest feelings for the drama. This review has been written with my tears all over it, I hope there is someone out there who loved this drama in the passionate way I did

Read More

Sometimes really frustrating

There's few things that i would like to address. In the beginning the main leads relationship was amazing. The teasing, tension, chemistry was great.
But the constant lies and deception make me bored, there's no REAL progress because while Ji Bozai already did everything even sacrifice his life for her, Ming Yi on the other hand keep lying, afraid and just crying looking at him while he got divine punishment in front of her eyes. And from there they keep this cycle of breaking up - lying - noble idiocy (sacrifice) - making up again. Even 2nd couple Princess Tianji and Xiao Yan relationship was so much better in the first half, they were angsty, painful, full of yearning and betrayal but got boring so fast when they start getting together.

For immortals and fairy i notice they didn't use their power that much, or is it just me?. For a supposed to be xianxia drama, they rarely fight something and use their power. ML and FL is supposed to be one of the greatest warrior but they're quite easy to defeat for some reason.

The final villain isn't that great either. We know his struggle and painful life but it's hard to sympathize with him because he keep being so delusional until the end. It's like the build up for the final villain isn't that amazing or powerful. The first antagonist was a better villain.

Read More

The revenge was meh.

I love revenge plots, especially in the hands of a highly intelligent and capable female protagonist but with the proper motivation, of course. And, there was no doubt that the people who made Moon Dong-eun's (Song Hye-kyo) life hell on earth were all more than deserving of the kind of old school, biblical vengeance reserved for the very wrathful God of the Old Testament.
And, actually, I thought that the series might have wanted to say something about the hot-button issue of school bullying and spousal abuse but opted instead (in typical K-Drama fashion) to focus on the obligatory fan service of a romantic pairing of the two leads with less than zero chemistry between them.
The level of gratuitous violence on display in both parts 1 & 2 felt unnecessary at times because the payback was nowhere equal to the damage inflicted on the victims.
Maybe if she would've exacted her revenge in the very gym where the majority of the bullying took place I would've felt more satisfied with the conclusion.

Read More

I’m going to start this off with the fact that right from the beginning, I wasn’t a huge fan of the story of this drama. All throughout the drama, I’ve been convincing myself that I should keep giving it chances to redeem itself and here we are now, after the very last episode. This drama could have been shortened to at most 10 or 12 episodes, but the writer decided that it was a good idea to extend this up until 16 episodes. There were plenty of scenes that this drama could have had without. Yes, I’m talking about the drama between Joo Hyuk’s bank colleagues. I think that it would have been alright to include those scenes if they would have some sort of impact to the main characters’ story, but there really wasn’t. I suppose that the stories about the other bank workers are a “break” from the main characters’ story or perhaps “comic relief," but there were just too much of it and it did very very little or nothing to progress the plot.

As for the main characters themselves, right off the bat, we are shown that both our male and female leads are flawed. Now that is fine, because we all love to see how their characters would develop and how they could possibly fix their past mistakes. But the writer was so good into turning the viewers’ feelings of “neutral” to “dislike” up until you’re seething with anger and hatred towards the characters that you’re supposed to sympathise with and like. Our precious main characters are quite the selfish people and their fated love prevails everything else to the point that they were cheating on their respective partners. I’ve never quite watched a drama where the writer romanticises cheating to follow one’s heart and not feeling guilt whatsoever for one’s wrongs. Anyway, since the point of the story seemed to be a better relationship between the main characters, the last few episodes would not disappoint you.

But despite such a mess of a drama, the actors did very well to portray the sort of characters that the writer had given them. I especially appreciate the acting from Park Hee Bon (Cha Joo Eun) and Oh Eui Sik (Oh Sang Sik) as I enjoyed their characters’ addition to the drama. Their portrayal of a married couple, I found, was more enjoyable than our main characters’ love story. If you are a fan of Han Jimin or Jisung, I’d say, you’ll appreciate their acting as always, but I hope that their characters here would not make you like them any less.

If there is anything that I loved from this drama, it’s the OST. The songs fit so well with the overall vibe and every time I hear the songs playing, it would sometimes make me forget that the drama has such a messy story. Even if you, who might be reading this now, was planning to watch this drama and decided that maybe you’re not going to watch it after all, at least give the OST a listen. I recommend Roy Kim’s “No Longer Mine.” Likewise, N.Flying’s “Let Me Show You” and SF9’s “Love Me Again” were good songs. Both groups did so well with the OST.

In the end, I wouldn’t recommend this drama and I would not watch it again. The drama has redeeming qualities here and there, but despite that, this story hasn’t completely won me over. I know that there are others who enjoyed this drama so don’t let all the negative things that I’ve mentioned here stop you if you really were keen to watch it. At the end of the day, this is just my opinion amongst many others and perhaps I’ve just failed to see all the positive things about the drama that could possibly outweigh the negatives.

Read More

This drama is the perfect example to show you how a drama with thrill, crime and msytery on its genre should be done! I've seen my share of this genre and they usually can't pull it off at least not in a way that would make me anticipate for 16 eps long and to actually work my brain out trying to find answers. The Village: Achiara's Secret promised me a thrilling journey and it definitely fulfilled that promise (that's a tough promise to keep considering 16 eps long).

Story
NO ROMANCE that's the best thing about it because it is fully focused on the story no distractions no useless characters or side stories or scenes. I can't really explain much about the story without spoiling it, I wouldn't say the perfect story cus it's not it actually has holes which weren't covered. However, the story wasn't just about crime, mystery, thrill it actually delivers feelings and meaning behind it all.

Acting
I gave it 9/10 because I think if it wasn't for everyone's FLAWLESS (except for one person) performance this drama wouldn't have worked out. Though all dramas require great cast with great acting skills, a drama with these genres in particular requires much more than great acting to pull it off. No matter how thrilling the storyline is without the right cast it will never work out. I personally give BIG applause to Shin Eun Gyeong, Yook Sung Jae, Jang Hee Jin and Choi Jae Woong the most. Surprisingly though in terms of performance Moon Geun Young was the weakest of them all (I don't know if it was because of the character).

Rewatch
Definitely not, the kind of category that this drama falls in makes it a none rewatchable drama. Once the mystery is solved there is no point in watching it again (at least not to me).

Overall
This drama needs to get more audience on the (currently watching) it's a good one and worth the attention. One more important point it's thanks to this drama I started to like this genre even more now. I highly recommend it

Read More

A good plot executed poorly!

A compelling synopsis. One more korean fantasy rom-com which I love a lot. A good casting. Handsome and wanna-know-him kind of serial killer. Still, it didn't make me fall in love with this drama. What went wrong?
It has two interesting aspects - Fantasy and Romance. I would have loved it even if one was poor and the other was great.

First, Romance:

The leads fell in love very quickly as it seems like they were forced to love each other. Ok, I kind of accept the reason that ML had, but FL has no reason other than he can see the death of other persons. It was like - he sees death, I kind of feel pity for him, It seems he loves me, and the director asked me to like him, so from now on I'm going to love him. More or less I felt like this when they started to date. If some unknown person who can see the death follows me wherever I go and asks me to stay in his place, I would BLOCK that person forever from my life. But still she UNDERSTANDS him when she knew nothing about him and befriends him and little later fell in love with him.

And the story goes like they love each other to the end of the world and are willing to sacrifice themselves for the other but I couldn't find how they fell head over the heels for each other and why! Don't even start about the chemistry between the leads. They just started to date for all the sh**ty reasons they can find but there was no chemistry what-so-ever. I know, It was not THAT bad, still this is not the romance I would have expected to see after watching many romantic Kdramas.

Next, Fantasy:

I would have loved this drama if the fantasy plot was done correctly despite its romance. But there was full of potholes in the drama that there was no space in the plot without holes! lol If I started to explain, then I would end up by telling the whole story so let me just say that if you have any switch off mode in your brain, then watch this drama. Otherwise this drama is not at all good for your mental health. There's little to no help to the story with ML's ability - a non fantasy murder investigation drama would have moved much faster than this drama. The frustration that this drama gives you is no joke. Especially if you have any expectation. The drama did move much better and use the fantasy plot better at the end of the 15th episode. But isn't it too late?!

Third, Characters:

As I said earlier, not only the leads have no chemistry but the story was also designed like they had no brains too. The idea that ML had to stop the serial killer and the way FL went to CATCH the serial killer were dumbest moves that I have ever seen in dramaland.

The only character that seems interesting enough was the killer who was introduced pretty early. He seemed like he has so many layers that we will get to know about him slowly and Wow! that's a huge disappointment. With all the build-ups they give for him at the beginning and the wonderful acting of him with the face full of conflicts - he was a refreshing role in the drama but they made him nothing but a psycho as the drama progressed. And I seriously don't know the concept of the other characters pitying the serial killer and telling that they're trying to understand him. For God's sake, the writers should wake up from the dream. They are the ones who never explored his character and they wanted us to pity him for now. The only thing I can pity for him is that all those golden acting he gave, got wasted in this drama.

It has a nice setting for the supporting characters but not even one character was explored fully. Thus I felt no connection with them even when their lives were in danger.

Overall:

It has it's own sweet and nail-biting moments, but that was very little that those scenes alone couldn't make this drama better.
If it was one of my first few Kdramas, I would have given a ten. But after watching many kdramas, I can surely say this is not worth that much. So many plot holes, no character exploration and the scenes which were repeating itself made this drama an uninteresting one for me.

Read More

Right or wrong is only a matter of perspective.

I love a show that makes me engaged. That makes me think and question presented topics. That makes me want to think how I would react if I was presented with the same ideas, what would be my questions and doubts, and who would I side with. That makes me analyze the statements of the characters trying to figure out what flaws they might have, and in what aspects they are correct. Three-Body is all that.

I saw quite a number of people say that you need to be patient with this show to enjoy it. I would honestly disagree. Being patient means you need to tolerate something negative, and I see no such a thing in the show. Slow pace? For me it added to the charm of it. The even pacing, how each time they dropped a new hint, they added a few more questions, the mystery of it all, the lack of answers - for me, these are exactly the things I loved about it. So if someone finds these annoying, I don’t think any level of patience will make them like Three-Body in the end.

My favorite aspect of the drama was how it exposed the limits of human’s perception and cognition. How limited we are by our beliefs, hopes, motives, experiences and even biological aspects. We are painfully biased towards our own species. But it also shows how normal that is and that it can be, at least to some extent, overcome.

Not to mention the diversity of the characters in terms of their personalities, motivations, moralities. It’s truly an art how they slowly showed all the layers of the characters, their perspectives and plans. It was a perfectly crafted journey. They knew exactly when to disclose different information to keep the interest of the viewers.

How hard is it to understand the show? I’m not gonna lie, it’s not an easy watch, but that comes from someone who knows exactly nothing about physics. I had to rewatch a few scenes to understand the theories, some google searches also helped. All that is not needed to get the big picture, but it adds to the viewing experience.

Were there any things that bothered me or could potentially bother others? Yes. Since the drama invites you to analyze everything and pay attention to all the details, it’s also easier to pick up some inconsistencies. That said, a lot of them can be excused by the unreliable narrator at any given moment and their own goals in sharing some, but not all information, and at times even distorting it.

What’s more - we don’t get clear cut answers for a lot of questions asked. Some of it might be the result of the drama being based on just the first book in the trilogy, but some seem to be left vague with no hope for solid answers even in next installments. I can clearly see how this could piss off many people, me being weird, I actually enjoyed it. The fact that I had to form my own theories on why some things happened based on the hints and bits of information was an additional entertainment for me.

There were two moments in the drama that made me go: okay, that’s dumb. That said, two scenes in 30 episodes is a ration of dumbness I can easily ignore.

Last criticism I have is the whole existence of Mu Xing - she did not bring anything new or important to the table. She did not offer an interesting perspective nor a unique take on the events happening. She was there as a plot device and I find it a bit disappointing.

For the performances - some were better than others, but all were great. Chen Jin and Wang Zi Wen did an amazing job portraying the same characters in different moments of her life. You can see the changes in her, but she still seems like the same person. I loved Yu He Wei as Shi Qiang and he easily became my favorite character. I loved his bond with Wang Miao, and even though they could not exist in more different worlds, they formed a perfect partnership.

One performance that seemed a bit flat was Li Xiao Ran as Shen Yu Fei - she was supposed to be this driven woman with a mission, but she overall just seemed numb and detached.

The production value was perfection. I truly have zero complaints. I loved the small animation bits explaining the Farmer and Shooter theories, I loved the game graphics, I loved the set designs. I especially loved everything about how the past story was presented. So many aesthetically beautiful moments.

Talking about Three-Body, I need to mention the soundtrack. I was in awe from the first seconds of any of the songs and even just the ambient sounds used for many scenes. It added so much to the storytelling and perfectly built the atmosphere.

Overall, I could not recommend it more if you like complex stories that require full attention and some additional brainpower for theory making, since they don’t really spoon feed you all the answers. How much you can enjoy the show depends on how much you are motivated to figure out the mystery and story behind the characters.

Ps. Can it be viewed as stand alone? Kind of. Depends on how much of a closure you are expecting.
Ps 2. I need 2nd season yesterday.

Read More

A show where judges masquerade as police officers

I am not exactly sure what genre this drama is supposed to be. Legal? Police procedural? Thriller? And in all honesty, I don't think the showrunners know either. This drama tries to be all of the above yet succeeds at none. The "police procedural" parts of the show are horribly unrealistic and do nothing but to detract from the main theme of the drama. "Judges are not supposed to get involved in prosecution or investigation!!!!" are words that have been yelled by 2 senior presiding judges yet main character (Sim Eun Seok) still throws caution to the wind and go on with her own investigations. Despite this, the evidence she obtained through her illicit investigations are still admissible in court! Like what??? I'm not a lawyer, but I sure as hell don't think JUDGES would get their hands dirty or even have the TIME to conduct investigations themselves. And I mean if the judges are gonna do the investigations, why do we even need the damn police? This is too ridiculous. But wait, the icing on the cake is in the last episode. In the last episode, she waltzes right into a baddie's hideout which for some reason, isn't locked and doesn't even have a DOOR to prevent entry. Surprisingly (or not) she gets ambushed and only escapes by the skin of her teeth. Injured and seriously bleeding, she gets into a taxi and makes her way speedily to guess where? HER FKIN OFFICE. I literally laughed out loud. Like ok, the show has consistently portrayed her as an obsessive workaholic (more on her character later) but this is just too far beyond the realm of realism. Not to mention all the evidence in the baddie's hideout was also nicely displayed for the authorities to collect. Just absurd. Parts of the dialogue also sounded like they were right out of a PSA on the social system of Korea, with characters literally rambling on the differences between a social care home and a facility. I get that viewers need some context on Korea's social welfare system but what?! NOBODY speaks like that in real life, unless they are narrating for a documentary. "Show, not tell" is a really apt saying that this show should have heeded.

Unrealistic parts aside, I also felt that this show had a lot of unrealized potential. There was commentary on social issues like income inequality, nepotism, lack of funding/resources for social welfare programmes etc but they were all skin deep and didn't do much to explore the issues further. For example, many cases centered on kids from disadvantaged backgrounds committing crimes. Judge Sim comes into court, makes a few holier than thou comments like how circumstances push the kids to commit crimes but at the end of the day, the kids make the decision to commit crimes themselves. The end. Next case. They could have done more with the material by portraying kids from bad backgrounds committing crimes VS kids from good backgrounds committing crimes (nature vs nurture) OR even gone deeper into Judge Cha's story of being a reformed teenaged delinquent but oh well.

This brings me to the next point of the characters. Judge Sim is extremely unlikeable to begin with, and even when her tragic backstory is revealed (they always have tragic backstories don't they?) she is still unsympathetic. She is extremely self-righteous, curt, cold and seemingly devoid of empathy whatsoever except towards the victims. Her stunning lack of empathy was on full display when she confronted her boss about his alleged corruption in the freaking HOSPITAL where his son was warded after an attempted suicide. Yes, as judges, one has to be upright and honest but dude?? Time and place man. Her self-righteousness also spills over to how she treats the defendants and even her colleague Judge Cha who is forced to capitulate to her every demand. Judge Cha is the typical "nice guy" who believes in treating kids with respect and believing in them, but Judge Sim constantly steamrolls his every opinion. In their conversations, Judge Sim goes on long tirades about how she detests juvenile delinquents and do not believe they would be rehabilitated, that they need to feel the full force of the law... leaving poor Judge Cha quaking and unable to resist as she is his senior. The show validates this strangely, going out of their way to portray the juvenile delinquents as unrepentant, lying scums of the earth who should be locked up for good since they'll just end up as adult criminals anyway. Makes me wonder if the writer had a grudge against juvenile delinquents or something.

Overall, this show is fairly entertaining but don't go in expecting to be educated on Korea's juvenile court system. The acting is decent, with the teenaged actors stealing the spotlight. Kim Hye Soo was decent as Judge Sim, though she wasn't able to show off her range as her character was mostly cold and reserved. Watch only if you can ignore the unrealistic parts and if you do not mind a show with an unlikeable main character.

Read More

Mew's Silver Chain Had Me VEXED

Listen,
Being a stupid arse is o-kay, but, being a stupid arse and acting like some sort of saint, is not okay!
GAWDDD Mew had me pulling my hair in this. Dafug you mean your 2-days old boyfriend cheated on you with your thirsty friend so you're going to... *check notes*

1) Become an alcoholic (How's that gonna effect Top's liver ho?)
2) Do drugs (Bish did your mama drop you on your head?)
3) Swing your friend who is in love with you along? (For shame!)
4) Buy an ugly arse shirt and... (Literally, he looked like a divorce dad from Santa Monica.)
5) THAT silver CHAIN... (Boy, if you don't take that shit off!)

It bust my mind. That's it? That's your revenge? Is that suppose to hurt Top? Was that his brilliant plan? And what in the world was that chain???? Was that supposed to be some sort of indication that he's now bad? DUDE!! ARRRGGG. EW. Every time he was on screen I skip forward like... not today satan! Y'all ain't gonna stress me out.

And some people out there making tiktok videos talking about how Boston is a red flag. He was the only tolerable character on that show. Matter of fact, he was my fav, cuz at least, he knew he sucks and should dig a hole and die. But noooo, Mew... GAWWWDDDDD I hated that character so much. I tried but I couldn't stand him and Top.

The other characters were okay. SandRay did not annoy me as much as TopMew. The storyline was nothing to write home about. And that stupid arse silver chain did it no favours. Also, how is Mark in everything? I'm not complaining, he managed to make me love him in 'My School's President', but damn dude, do you have time to sleep?

Anyway, Mew count your days, it's on sight!!

Read More

are yall foreal???

Well, this is just badly executed soft porn with a crappy script and almost normalized sexual harassment and power imbalance dynamics. The acting was not the worst (the actors did a good job with that crappy script) and maybe the coloring of the series is also notably okay. But wtf is that script? It starts and you think what is going on and then you are like, okay I think I get it and then, boom, whatever bullshit the script writer was thinking.

what i dont get is how are people enjoying this and why is the rating so high... like okay, yall are just horny as fuck, but please raise your standards for your porn.

Read More

The Journey of a Flower is a wonderful drama based on a very much loved book. If you enjoy martial arts, cheesy CG effects, men with long hair and you are new to Chinese dramas this is for you! On the other hand if you are looking for a short, modern and simple romance story you should maybe stay away.

STORY:
The story is one of the strong points of this drama. I rarely watch a drama without skipping at least a few minutes, but there was no need to do that with this one. Entertaining things and characters were going on everywhere and at all times. There are plot holes and very strange moments where something really weird happens, but I found out that 4 episodes worth of material were cut from the aired TV version and the cut material would've made everything make more sense. Overall though the beginning and middle of this drama were almost flawless and the story flowed well and kept you watching... even in the middle of the night XD If the cut material had been included the end part of the drama would've been excellent as well.

ACTING/CAST:
The cast was also great! I especially enjoyed the main actors. Huo Wallace (Bai Zi Hua) did a wonderful job portraying a godlike, statuesque man suffering constant inner turmoil. It is too bad that I don't think his real voice is used in the drama, but I guess this is often done in Chinese dramas. Zhao Zanilia (Hua Qian Gu) was the first female character I've encountered that managed to pull off that perfectly "innocent" & "pure" woman that is so often portrayed in Asian dramas, without being the least bit annoying. She also made her character feel strong at the same time. The supporting cast was also great and certainly offer the female viewers some good options in the male department ;)

MUSIC:
I enjoyed most of the music. Especially the end credit song was a really melodramatic ballad that built the mood of the entire series. There were also some really nice flute themes played throughout the drama that helped you immerse yourself in the story.

REWATCH VALUE:
I've read that there will be a DVD version of the series that will have all the material that was cut out. I will definitely watch this entire series when I get my hands on that DVD... especially since I know that most of the things cut out were cut because they were too risqué! ;)

OVERALL:
You might think that this series does not deserve a 9/10 since they sort of butchered a lot of their good work by cutting out important scenes, but still I was glued to my screen until the very last moment and this series opened the world of Chinese dramas to me. Some of the special effects are terrible, but I don't think they took away from the storytelling. Watch the first episode and you should know if this is for you or not!

Read More

The back-up story would have been there, but the willingness to actually tell it was limited

So here it is, the second season. The historical coat is stripped away and the story transforms into a modern thriller, the theme of which revolves around a horror that only humans are capable of.

Pleasing and pithy: Some script scenes from the first season were hinted at and entertainingly mirrored in the present day mise-en-scene. That´s fun to watch. The confrontation with the longing for power and immortality also has its moments and insights. Additionally: the leads give their all, again.

On the other hand, someone in production probably didn't really feel like it anymore... There is only minimalist suggestion of what may have happened during the past 80 years. This could actually be a substantial story, yet they are not going to tell us. This serves merely for shaping a coarse (albeit promising) framework, unfortunately remaining pretty lean. Thus it is raising more questions than it feels like answering, its only mission being turning the two leads though the mill of horror once more. Accordingly, the story almost constantly takes place in gloomy night, dark rooms or sinister underground.

For season 1, the dramaturgical technique of hinting at historically shaped, individual fates may have had an effect, enhancing identification with characters. For the second season, continuing with this method only works to a limited extent, because by now we are already closely identified with them.

All in all, the second season comes across somewhat indecisive. The back-up story would have been there, but the willingness to actually tell it was limited. On the other hand, it is still fast-paced and emotionally dense. Nevertheless (at least for me) it is somehow unsatisfying, almost unnecessary. Second seasons for Netflix-KDramas haven´t really convinced me yet. Neither does this one.

Read More