I liked the way they introduced each team, the music and voiceover was fun.
Overall this was a strangely enjoyable drama. The best way to enjoy this is to detach real life completely from this, to see this a totally different world. I'm looking forward to the movie, hopefully we can find out more about the female lead.
Was this review helpful to you?
1This review may contain spoilers
Intense games and mind-binders
Imawa no Kuni no Alice (i.e. Alice in Borderland) is a fast-paced show, perfect for those who enjoy escape room movies.I loved the games and how each is classified by the suits on a deck of cards. Each game is so vastly different and the stakes get higher and higher. There's a twist in each one, and my heart was racing each episode. I was also impressed by the visual effects and the scenery (especially the beginning when we pan around an abandoned Tokyo).
One thing I thought the show could have done better was building an emotional link with the audience. Arisu's friendships are sweet, but the impact of his friends' deaths wasn't that emotionally jarring, because it felt like I didn't get to see the depth of their friendship before they died in the first few episodes. There are some flashbacks that build on their friendship, but it was done too late for it to have as strong an impact. Also, I didn't feel that much chemistry between Arisu and Usagi. They work well as teammates, but I don't feel anything stronger than that. Perhaps their relationship will develop in the next season?
Overall, an exciting, adrenaline-filled show. Definitely worth watching.
Was this review helpful to you?
The way this drama is shot, from the scenery, sets, soundtrack which were sung by the leads themselves, costumes and of course, the actors are stunningly beautiful. If you are looking for a good romance aspect to the drama, this one has it, but in terms of chemistry between the characters, it is a little more muted as compared to a good chemistry pair up between the leads like that in ashes of love.
If you like untouchable lovers, you'll be able to stomach princess silver. It has similar vibes except that this one has a more consistent flow to the narrative. There's a lot of background that comes in flashbacks for the lead, so you need to be patient for it to come to a rounded conclusion. I do think they did quite a good job of keeping the storyline as tightly knitted as it could get, and did not go off tangent very often, which tends to happen in long drawn dramas.
Overall, i would rate this as one of my top 3 favourite dramas i've managed to catch since 2018. Will surely miss having this drama keep my company on my chill nights and i'm looking forward to more like that for this year!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The secondary cliche
There may be spoilers.This is going to be a short review, I'm doing it, since I didn't see any here, I hope it helps you, if it didn't, I'm sorry, it's just my point of view, I hope nobody gets mad.
History:
Well, let's see, a drama with a marriage of convenience, it started out fun without so many forced scenes, but after chapter 6 or 7 the nosy sidekicks begin with their one-sided loves, chapter 7 was the worst filler, chapter 8 was also everything cliché. I do not understand in a short drama of 10 chapters that they go around adding useless characters such as the secondary character (veterinarian), that character was all the cliché that is seen all over the world.
But hey, it ended better than expected.
The performances were good.
Music was there, I didn't give it much importance.
I won't watch again as there are many more dramas like this to watch for sure. xDD
Overall, I gave him a good approval, I quite liked the chemistry between the protagonists, although they could have been better, especially him.
Good luck....
Was this review helpful to you?
The plot had the feel of Die Hard and 24 with a bit of a serial killer vibe on the side so I thought that this drama would be quite a thrill. Sadly though, the more I'm following each episode the more I feel that the drama was quite a letdown. Casting-wise I do still think that they were doing a good job within the scope of the drama though I have to say that I'm not quite impressed with the writing. In a way, the format of the drama being aired one episode per week may have an effect in lessening the suspense felt after each episode but the writing also did nothing much to improve the whole experience. I doubt even if one was to wait and marathon the episode at one go that it'd make any difference since the writing was THAT ridiculous. I feel sad for the cast since they do appear to be doing their best to act in this drama yet the writer just wasted their potential. I mean, you got Jin Goo and Ha Dokwon in this drama amongst others, but why did you make them be part of this shitshow?
It really felt as if the whole plot was written to be overly complicated unnecessarily just so that drama can have many ridiculous things happen within one whole day. But unfortunately, this was not the case for the drama. Arguably, some of the twists may be quite brilliant if executed properly. A lot of the time, many of the key scenes were poorly timed and choppily edited. And the whole 'superior' thing only really starts to crop up near the end as if the writer just remembered the title of the drama. I mean, as much as Penthouse's plot was ridiculous, it was at least fun compared to this brain-stunting drama.
Honestly, I'm just watching the drama because of Jin Goo and Ha Dokwon and also because I might as well finish watching the show till the end since I already reached the end. Unless you don't mind feeling frustrated for the entire duration of the drama, you may need to think twice about watching this drama. Unless your faves are in here... maybe.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
GREAT chemistry. fun. laughable rom-com
the two actors — despite both being in the 30’s, are able to portray a couple being playful in the traditional cute kdrama way without it making you cringe compared to how their characters are normally in every day life, instead, it feels like you’ve really just watched these two people fall in love grow into their honeymoon phase.
**spoilers**
many viewers maybe saw the second half with the orphaned trauma ‘boring’ or a ‘waste of time’ but in my opinion, i preferred this plot device over a misunderstanding between the main couple or something keeping them separated. much like another very loved kdrama of mine, just between lovers, this is a character driven show which focuses on the trauma of a main character and how they deal with it. so, obviously not for everyone, but i thought it was dealt with beautifully.
anyways, i read a lot of reviews before watching that discussed how great the chemistry and skin ship was in this drama, and it’s the truth. they don’t hold back and it pays off!
DEFINITELY would rec for lovers of rom-coms and anything you don’t have to take too seriously. it’s a lot of fun.
Was this review helpful to you?
I think Familiar Wife hits that sweet spot between fantastical romance and relatable reality. Despite the large role played by elements like 'destiny', Familiar Wife never fails to feel like an everyman's story, one that everyone can see themselves be a part of. Familiar Wife tackles two seemingly conflicting notions about love, showing that they, in fact, go hand-in-hand and complement each other. Should a couple belong together because they are fated? Or because they understand each other, communicate well together? Is compatibility predestined, or nurtured over time after knowing each other? Although Woo Jin and Joo Hyuk are clearly destined together, they still had to put in work to reach a happy place in their relationship. When they didn't, their relationship began to fall apart.
This drama had so many applicable life lessons and such larger than life characters, it was a complete joy to watch them. Characters that started off as unlikeable had such amazing growth trajectories and the situations mirrored real life to such a surprising extent, you could literally see yourself in them. The friendships and familial relationships were so sweet, and every emotion experienced by our characters was so palpable (all credit due to the amazing cast)
I know this drama draws a lot of comparisons to Go Back Couple, but they really are very different when it comes to what they are at their core. Yes, they're both about rediscovering your love for your spouse, but I think Familiar Wife tackles the subject of marriage breakdown more comprehensively and better. It focuses more on the husband and the wife and their relationship dynamics, which I found lacking in GBC, but that makes sense because GBC was more about reliving one's youth and getting closure for things in the past.
Familiar Wife requires a slightly mature and forgiving audience, because these characters are flawed, not unlike real humans. They make mistakes, learn, and make more mistakes - and that's how life works.
Was this review helpful to you?
The redeeming plot point? Shin sung rok as Jayden Lee
This drama was okay. Again, suffers a bit from way too long and this must be stuffed with random unnecessary plot points, and has a touch of over dramatics once we entered the second half, but decent, solid.The female lead in my opinion didn’t suit the role well. Though she showed a great emotion in her role, I do feel like she always looked rather blank, but she was enjoyable.
So ji Sub’s character Han Yihan was predictable, Jack of all trades. We never really got to see inside him (here I am comparing him to the other characters) and he totally loses to…. Jayden Lee, played by Shjn Sung Rok.
I can’t stress how I enjoy every single one of Shin Sung Rok’s acting roles. He is simply phenomenal, a larger than life personality if it is demanded by the plot. His acting is seriously something I love. I rely want to see him in more. He brings a much needed touch of lightness to this drama, and a little bit of crazy. I love it. I also thoroughly enjoyed most of Kim Tae Gyum’s character, Michael and hope to see him in other productions. However, I do feel like the way they handled Jayden as a character was… iffy towards the end.
Yuna was a pleasant surprise. She was more enjoyable to watch than I originally thought.
Overall. Decent drama held together by Shin Sung Rok.
Was this review helpful to you?
Uncovering the infamous historical figure Akechi Mitsuhide
First of all, let's get our historical fact check. Mitsuhide is no other than the warrior who assassinated Nobunaga. While this is surely an act of betrayal. Keep in mind that both figures aren't perfect. Nobunaga might be famous for being one of the unifiers but he is also famous for being brutal & ruthless. There is no bad or good side here.Mitsuhide might just also be one of the most mysterious historical figure of Japan. They don't have clear records of his childhood thus different to how Taiga dramas usually start (it most of the time starts with the lead as a kid) Kirin ga Kuru starts with Mitsuhide "Jubei" during his early days as a warrior just a few years before he becomes head of the Akechi clan.
When watching Taiga dramas I always look at the costumes, the way the characters talk, and the interior/sceneries. Costumes are on point, the acting & the way they talk truly takes you back to the sengoku period. Since Mino (Mitsuhide's hometown) is a village in the mountains there are scenes that captures the beauty of the mountainous region. Music was well matched depending on the scene although there aren't much. The opening is quite dark w/c is fitting to the destination of this story. I love openings of Taiga dramas including this so I recommend to not skip it, even just once, watch the opening credits as it is well made.
Hasegawa Hiroki as Akechi "Jubei" Mitsuhide and Sometani Shota as Oda Nobunaga reels you in with their portrayal. The way they talk, fight, or even just the way they stand, clearly creates the difference between these two men. They have a lot of scenes together and it was a feast watching these two great actors.
From the moment I started watching this, I've been wondering how would they end this, as most of us knows that Mitsuhide's life doesn't end in a good note. The ending was just right, a good take on one of the many assumptions on why he decided to turn his back on Oda.
Kirin ga Kuru "Awaiting Kirin", the title was mentioned a lot of times throughout the series. I like how they emphasized on it and explained this mythical creature the "Kirin". If you look at the poster for this drama, the black smoke-looking effect is actually a representation of the "Kirin". Try to look at paintings of a Kirin & you'll see the reference. I like what they did there.
Overall, I enjoyed this take on the mysterious man, Akechi Mitsuhide.
Just want to note that I am someone who mostly just watches Jdramas and interested in their culture and history. Please do read the tags/genre and plot before trying to watch this as this isn't your typical kind of drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
ONE OF THE BEST ROM-COM BL!
I really love this series, it's one of the best! I like how light-hearted, innocent and funny this show like every episode I laughed so hard and feel the romantic excitement with the two. For me, it's the perfect stress reliever when you're burned out and love to watch bl. We need this in this trying times. The actors were so great and their visual are so freaking out of this world. The scene of every episode has a lot of originality, and especially the OST! So magical, Mix and Louis who act as Muang Nan and Meen are really a good singer. The editing and directing is on point. No heavy plot, just a typical drama, but they carried it in a wonderful way! The plot is so good and relateable. The kiss was so natural and also there were so many lessons to learn which is appliable in this modern world like having a confidence with yourself and respecting others privacy. Also, I love how they portrayed the magic of love that no matter how you feel bad about yourself, there is always someone who will gonna love you and accept for who you are and there's someone who will look at you like Fish Upon The Sky. It's cheesy and chaotic, but not gonna lie, this series gives me a 90s Rom-Com vibe. It's refreshing and gives the feeling of being young and in love like I want to fall in love again. If you haven't watch it yet, well I recommend this to you. IT'S WORTH IT! I don't care what people say, but this series was so great and I can't get over from it. Not gonna spoil anymore! Love youu!~ THESE ARE SOME GREAT LINES THAT I LOVE FROM FISH UPON THE SKY ~
"Don't afraid I'd feel bad if they criticize me. Be selfish all you want because I'm so damn happy when I'm with you. Those people don't make me happy like the one I love does." - Mork
"When you love someone, you like who they truly are. When you love someone, you love what lies inside." - Pi
"If you really like me, your heart should beat faster. I believe you used to like me, but I think you're scared. You're scared of falling for someone else." - Muang Nan
"Apart from risk of having hypertension, you have one more risk, a heart disease. Not a common, it only happen when you're close to someone you love" - Mork
"If you are not ready to open your heart, we can start by being friends." - Mork
"You see that flowers? If you want to own them, that means you're obsessed with them. But if you want to take care and let them grow, that means you love them." - Mork
"You want to be yourself, I want to be myself too." - Meen
"I can be you vaccine, Pi" - Mork (thiss mann!😭 can you also be my vaccine mork? HUHU)
"I'm okay whether you want to tell people or not. But I just want to love you. I want to love you without caring what people think. The kind of love that I can hug you when I miss you. Kiss you when I'm tired. Hold your hand without caring about the world." - Mork
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Awkward piece of work
This one is clearly supposed to have been a BL series. This is not to say that it isn't BL. I won't even group it together with censored BL series from China in which the romance is turned into bromance or in which there are clever suggestions of romance between the main leads. This series can't be labelled easily and not in a good way.As I said, it is quite clearly meant to be BL with some vague enemies to lovers trope. Apart from how it recycles songs from other Thai BL series, there are the tropes of Thai BL that by 2022 have mostly either gone out of fashion or become controversial, such as an effeminate side character and a conniving ex-girlfriend. Yes, what is the ex-girlfriend doing if not to break up the lead and his newfound love? I mean, she already seems quite unhinged if we assume that the deliberately causes her her ex's new love interest to be locked up in a sports facility--how much more unhinged would she be if we assume that she merely sees her ex playing basketball with his roommate and gets to jealous that she causes him to be locked up somewhere?
Unfortunately, even though the BL elements are not simply turned into bromance despite the mention of friendship on more than one occasion (at least in the Chinese dubbing and I don't think there is an uncut Thai version something), there aren't enough attempts to cleverly suggest romance. Instead, the emotional intensity of the scenes are lost. For instance, instead of fully exploiting Qin Jun Hao's jealousy when he sees his "roommate" with his arch-rival (or rather old friend-cum-rival) to suggest romantic interest, the portrayal of the jealousy is rather muted. When Yuan Zhi Ming disappears because he is locked up in the sports facility, Qin's panic is obviously not merely that of a friend, but again, there is no attempt to exploit it.
To make matters worse, the scene that best suggests romance is not between Qin and Yuan but between Qin and his friend-cum-arch-rival, Yi Tang. In a haphazardly inserted scene, Qin tries to trick Yuan into going into a room only to end up being locked up together with him there. Filled with a top/bottom joke, the scene ends with tenderness as Qin carries an injured Yi away. No one watching the scene can be blamed for thinking that Qin and Yi are the main ship. The series would have been better if there had been such a scene between Qin and Yuan.
I cannot help but feel that the series could have been so much better even with censorship. Qin, Yuan and Yi all have back stories, but these are not really fleshed out well. The change Qin undergoes after meeting Yuan is not clearly portrayed. Yuan has a guitar he treasures because it's a present from his father--something happened after he gets the present, but we don't know what. Yi has a brother who drowned (a storyline that is reminiscent of Between Us)--Yuan is the spitting image of his brother, but there is no attempt to show whether Yi manages to overcome his trauma and guilt because the subplot lacks development.
It is not clear why what is essentially a Thai BL (the studio, director and many actors are all from the Thai industry) is dubbed in Mandarin. It seems intentional given that even the songs have Chinese versions. I can only speculate that there are Chinese investors involved who wanted to promote the Chinese actors, though this may not explain why what is clearly supposed to be BL is turned into this awkward thing that can't even be qualified as a censored BL. (Perhaps it is meant to be streamed on Chinese platforms?)
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
The beginning of this drama was so strange for me, with super powers and weapons, demons and superheroes. I never thought I'll like it as I liked.
For my surprise I feel in love for Wang Cha Li and Xiao Feng, they were so cute together I can't help it. And. I loved the story behind why the K.O bad girl started, each girl has her sad story and in the last episodes the drama we can see them handle with all their difficulties together, this was so cool.
Of course this drama has a lot of nonsense things, but it still catchy and funny.
I loved all members of the group SpeXial in this drama, we have a lot of them! Wang Cha Li, Da Wei, Xiao Ming, Xiao xiong and Gou zhui, they are so handsome and all good acting. The girls are really cool too, but for Ding Dang and Xiao Feng were the best of them.
This drama is a good drama for you smile, this is a really easy to see drama.
I just love it, cause it is really different of the others.
Was this review helpful to you?
Ji Zhang Da Ren, Qing Wu Pian Li Xin Dong Hang Xian
11 people found this review helpful
Girlboss meets Green Flag Pilot: turbulence guaranteed.
This vertical drama serves pilot uniforms, workplace tension, and revenge plots with just enough shirtless scenes to qualify as emotional CPR. Our FL, hilariously named Deer Spirit (yes, really), walks in on her trash boyfriend cheating and does what any sane woman should: ruins his life and upgrades to first class.Deer Spirit is that rare FL who’s smart, competent, and refuses to be anyone’s emotional punching bag. She’s bubbly without being brainless and sassy without losing her job. For once, we’re not watching a wet napkin in distress—we’re watching a woman execute psychological warfare in heels.
The ML? A surprisingly healthy man in a genre built on trauma. He’s rich, calm, communicative, and possibly allergic to shirts. The man enters in full captain mode and immediately starts making eyes like he knows he’s the algorithm bait. Bonus: he mops floors. Yes, really.
TL;DR:
Hot pilot. Smart FL. Abs. Drama. Emotional manipulation engineered by AI overlords.
I watched the whole thing in one sitting like it was my job.
Was this review helpful to you?
First off, this is a very quality drama. I tend to give a drama a higher rating if I enjoyed it, regardless of how well it was made, but this drama was not only a joy to watch, it was clearly very well made! All of the acting was excellent, the music fit the mood and was well-timed and the filming scenery was beautiful.
The storyline is well thought out and planned. Except for one or two (mostly subjective) points, there were no plot hiccups or illogical characterizations I could pick on. Despite being so long, the story did not drag. Things moved at a very consistent pace and there was no unnecessary dramatics. Watching Asa grow and change in a time when Japan was also growing and changing added to the depth of the story. It was so fun to watch the technologies, clothing, mannerisms and environment changed as the episodes passed by.
All of the characters were well-developed with their own quirks. I just loved watching new side characters slowly being introduced and how they slowly blended into and influenced the overall story. With such a huge cast, there were basically no "useless" characters. Asa in particular was very well-written and well-acted. She grew and changed as she grew older but her sense of self stayed the same. The same could be said of Hatsu too and I loved the strong bond the sisters carried over their lives.
Another thing that made this dorama very refreshing was that Asa was not a "special snowflake" type of lead. Oftentimes, dramas have this tendency to make sure everyone likes (or follows/agrees with) the main lead and if they don't, they are somehow portrayed as one the bad guys or inherently wrong and never part of the "main circle." There were at least a few very prominent characters that gave me the feeling that although they interacted well with her, they never really warmed up to her. Similarly, the fact the drama acknowledges the people that open the way for Asa to become successful. This is actually a minor point of contention. I am very glad the drama recognizes the strong support system it gave Asa because it's important to give credit where it is due BUT I don't believe the real-life Asako had that kind of support, so it sort of discredits her a little?
Finally, I loved how Asa ga Kita shows what it means to be feminist in the most truest way: it's about being able to choose your own path. It's not what you do, but what you are allowed to do. There were a few times I was irritated as certain character actions/thoughts, but then I realized it was for promoting that central theme-that one path is not better than another, it's the fact that you have the option to go on the path you want. Also, being a "strong female character" is not a one-fits-all description. There are a lot of ways to be a strong female and doing things that are inherently masculine (i.e. being able to handle guns, being physically stronger or outspoken) does not make female character "stronger" or "better" than other females and we should not be too quick to throw words like "doormat" or "pathetic" around.
Was this review helpful to you?
