Reviews

What a delightful drama! Flower Boy Ramyun Shop became a weekly addiction and pulled me out of my drama funk. It was hilarious and touching, warm and fuzzy. There were analogies and metaphors galore to explain the relationships between rich and poor, how people fit together and whether or not they should. There were analogies about ramyun and the pots they are cooked in, analogies about pillars, analogies about grass and lions, analogies about poop! Every one of them was funny and sweet. They all made perfect sense to me!

The thing that makes this drama so special besides the amazing writing, which seemed fully formed and not a slapdash patch job every week, was acting done by the cast of quirky characters we got to know during the last 16 episodes. Each had their own distinct personality and each character had a steady growth and relevance to the main story line. The interactions of friends and family whether tied by blood or tied by choice were so lovely and funny. Eun Bi and all her Flower Boys made this drama so fun. I've read some people don't like Eun Bi...But I loved her. She was silly, serious, not always sure of herself but...she always stuck up for herself and I could definitely relate to her for those qualities. ♥

Another thing that made this drama great was the tongue in cheek handling of the typical drama tropes you see in every Kdrama ever. There was makjang! But FBRS dared to ask the viewer, “Is this really makjang? Or is it purity?” There was a typical chaebol falling for a plucky average heroine but this drama dared to ask the question, “Who really needs saving here?” and “Is it really better to only eat caviar and steak instead of experiencing all the wonderful flavors of ramyun you could be missing?”

Every episode was delightful and didn’t drag the show down. The technical aspects of lighting, cinematography and most especially the directing were excellently done. The editing was particularly creative, with almost every episode having a scene that would partially play out but then we would go back and revisit to see full conversations or replaying a scene to explain someone’s actions. Stellar!

Jung Il Woo as Cha Chi Soo…or was it Dog Chi Soo? Or rather, Dong chi Soo? Anyway, Jung Il Woo stole every scene. I have to admit, for me , he rivals Hyun Bin’s Joo Won for messed up crazy chaebol with his performance of Chi Soo. I think because Chi Soo was so delightfully pampered and sheltered he had no filter and absolutely no self awareness other than his outward appearance. Watching him fall for Eun Bi was by turns completely hilarious and also very heart tugging.

This drama has so many little moments, little details that make it exceptional. If you are looking for a good drama to marathon, to savor, to make you want to eat some yummy Ramyun while you laugh and cry and sigh…Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is the drama for you! Don’t miss it!

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There are some things I appreciate about this movie, but...

There are some things I appreciate about this movie because they were good. So I'll start with them. First of all, the actors did a really great job. But I did not expect anything else, because I know the possibilities of each of them. I really liked the transitions between scenes with and without sound. The scenes without sound showed the perspective of the deaf mother and daughter better, and I think it was a well-thought-out move. The last good thing is that the ending was satisfying enough.

Now let's get to the things I don't like about this movie. It was boring until the end when Kyung Mi confused the killer. It was basically a cat-and-mouse chase throughout the movie. With people around who couldn't recognize the situation.

Despite some good things, I'll probably soon forget about this movie. Obviously, a good general idea combined with not knowing how to develop it always results in a boring production.

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Just watch it for the feels

There will always be this drama were we either hate it or love it, or just watching it for the feels. This drama for me is the latter. I stayed for the feels. Let’s be honest, this drama really doesn’t have any complicated plot. Both characters are already strong from the very beginning so character development was not necessary, in my opinion. I think the second couple had the most character development more that the leads tbh. Also Miles Wei and Dylan in one frame, holy smokes! You guys don’t understand! 😂 FYI Miles does really good kissing scenes! Shish!

But then again, a drama with little to no plot, did I hate it? No. Like I said i’m here for the feels and damn well, can’t deny Bailu and Hedi have that strong chemistry. They are both very known actors and they also carried this drama really well.

If you guys watched Hedi’s drama before, you can really tell the growth of his acting and how much his tone and facial expressions have changed and they are all for the better. If you still question if he is a good actor, watch LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL, trust me, it’s really good and then watch Meteor Garden, then see the difference. 😂 Bailu on the other hand, i just love her. I’m maybe biased but i really like her acting.

There are quite a lot of couples in here, and i’m not gonna deny, some of the scenes bore me a little, but that did not stop me from watching. Guys, you can skip a few seconds and you still wont get lost in the story.

If you’re gonna asked, whatever episode is this and that,

Episode 19- they got together

Episode 27- break up but not really

Episode 31- they solved their issues

Third party? Absolutely no chance
Happy Ending? VERY MUCH there’s a special episode, mangotv on YouTube already have it.

Rewatched value? Some of my favorite scenes.

Kissing scenes? YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT.

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So hi...

Moving was a drama with amazing cast, acting and storyline. I watched it all, but for me it didn't deserve that 10. Don't hate me for that - taste shouldn't be discussed!!! I only stayed for the kids storyline, the parents' one didn't captivate me. Call me boring, sorry. So my opinions are mostly based on the kids storyline.
Acting was amazing. They were extremely cute and Heesoo and Bongseok were such a pleasure to watch. Show stealer KangHoon ( Kim DoHoon) showed me once again why he is one of my favs.
I am honestly sorry I couldn't like this show as much as the people on tiktok and so. The hype was mindblowing tbh. Everyone was and still is so obsessed with it - it wasn't like that for me ... sadly.

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The storytelling is disappointing. I was expecting more.

The first episode gathers the main cast that unfortunately couldn't be together due to conflicting schedules, and they answered questions like "What is your favourite epilogue?" "Which character would you have loved to play except from yours?". We saw glimpses of behind the scene, we saw bloopers and all of this was narrated by actress Kim Jungnan (playing Hong Beomja). The first episode is good, we got to know the actors' perspective and delved a bit deeper in their character.

The second episode is a big letdown. They showed the power of CGI, two seconds of Hyunwoo and Haein behind the scenes and the viewers' tearful reactions to the drama. However, literally 80% of the second episode was just a replay of the drama scenes, as if we weren't traumatized enough by them.

I'm a bit disappointed with the storytelling of these two special episodes. I would have loved to see more behind the scenes, more interesting questions being asked to the cast instead of making them read cheesy pickup-lines written by fans, maybe the screenwriter's thought process behind the writing of this traumatizingly good drama.

Are they trying to gatekeep the good content and will end up putting everything in the Blu-ray?

Overall, watching these two episodes won't change your life, you are better off watching another drama or sleeping.

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want the actors in something else (skip ep 5)

Overall: there was potential with an angstier story but the writing got progressively worse as the series continued. Skip episode 5 and start episode 6 at 43 minutes. 6 episodes about 30 minutes each. Aired on Youku's YouTube channel, first episode link https://youtu.be/B36ryCeKxUw Rookie Thailand has also produced: 21 Days Theory, Future and The Best Story

Content Warnings: past death, grief, homophobia, bullying, punches, parental verbal abuse

What I Liked
- some sweet moments
- they explained what happened 5 years ago so the time gap made some sense (but 5 years was too long)
- funny with the friends hiding behind plants
- glad she finally stood up for herself though she should have told Night he needed to figure his stuff out asap before someone else started dating Dream
- Dream seeking communication at the beginning of episode 5
- Namwan in the second half of the series (though I didn't hate her in the first half)
- production value was good for what I assume is a low budget series (except for the too loud background music at times)

Room For Improvement
- time skip needed to be 2 years instead of 5 to feel more realistic
- cliched writing, unnecessary love triangles, drunk kissing, etc
- not clear when flashbacks started/ended/were flashbacks
- the multitude of flashbacks made the episodes feel choppy, would rather they had shown everything in the past and done 1 time skip to the present (similar to ITSAY), there were even flashbacks to scenes we had just watched like with the professor (also what on earth is you fail a university class if you can't write an amazing novel? does that really happen???)
- nonsense stuff (who doesn't know their best friend has a sibling, they've never met in person or seen a picture? they could have made this a step sibling during the time gap to make sense)
- failed redemption arcs for the dad and brother
- unclear of how much time passed in the last episode
- hardcoded English subtitles were a little difficult to read (didn't take off points for this)

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Refreshing

The series is unique to me because the main lead isn't even the center of the story. Most of the time, we were in the point of view of Jang Nan Gam (Son Suk Ku). At the beginning of the episode, we were in the perspective of Lee Tang (Choi Woo Shik). After being chased by the police, we were mostly in the police's point of view. After that, it became more mysterious with the introduction of Song Chon (Lee Hee Joon), who drove the series until the end. For me, that was a unique way of writing the story, and I love it.

The plot is very fresh and interesting. I can't recall when a series or movie had such a refreshing plot, especially in Korean drama or movies where characters can sometimes feel repetitive. The switching of the point of view is truly lovely and unnoticeable. Lee Chang Hee (Director) also directed "Strangers From Hell," and it's no wonder this series turned out to be good. He really did a good job. Additionally, the first few minutes of this series have to be the best-directed sequence of all time.

The transition, THE TRANSITION. It is insanely addictive to watch how they transition from 1 scene in the past to the current scene, or from hallucination scene to reality. And how they project the future character into the past. And they did it multiple time flawlessly. Furthermore, one aspect that many didn't talk about is the use of background music, which was really good. On top of that, the gorgeous cinematography adds to the overall experience. Let's not forget about the acting; every actor performed a marvelous job, especially Song Chon, who, in my opinion, shone the brightest in this series.

Usually, some drama have too much episodes and i would always say that they need to reduce the amount of the episode because the pace become too slow and draggy in most drama. However, this is one of those series that need to have at least 2 or 3 more episode to deal the final blow.

Some say that the pace became stale in the middle and the pace slow down after of the addition of two new questionable characters in Busan who were having a crisis, which I understand why it became boring. However, it picked up its pace again after that. Nonetheless, I definitely recommend it.

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Fortune Favours The Bold: Subverting All Expectations

I. The Good
There's an unequivocal happy ending.

The plot is fantabulous. It's a refreshing take on the 'cannon fodder realises they're merely fictional characters; hugs big thigh to survive' trope. The FL refuses to succumb to her role as the evil cannon fodder, and stubbornly pits her wits against the Fortune Author once she discovers that she can push the storyline so long as the ink is not dry yet. The plot doesn't whitewash the FL as a misunderstood 'good' person. She is no meek, timid, mealy-mouthed damsel in distress. She is pragmatic, conniving, and arrogant, and will lie, cheat, and steal as means to an end. The FL commits all kinds of evilry to get the Big Thigh ML on her side and to ensure her own survival. Mr Big Thigh ML falls in love with the FL, sins and all, recognising that everyone has their good side and their bad, and she's just more honest about hers. The storyline constantly subverts expectations (e.g., the FL really isn't a 'good' person, the 2FL isn't really a 'bad' person, the various pot shots at cliche tropes).

I really, really loved the swipes taken at cliche tropes. In episode 9, the FL questions the need for people to hide in bathtubs. In episode 11, the doctor complains "Don't you think accidents happen to you too often? Two days ago she was poisoned, and today she's been shot!". In episode 13, when they were unable to feed the passed out ML medicine, and the 2FL is about to feed the medicine via mouth-to-mouth, the FL says "You couldn't get it in using your hand, but you can using you mouth? Do you think he has a special mouth-opening switch that turns on with a kiss?"

The costumes are gorgeous and intricate, even when the FL is dressed like Minnie Mouse in a few scenes. The details in the sets are superb, e.g., the delicate painting of cherry blossoms behind the ML and the exquisite lamp designs. The production team committed their entire music budget to one song, and it produced a beautiful, poignant melody with melancholic tailored lyrics that really elevated the scenes to full-length drama level.

LMC's acting as the FL has improved significantly, although she struggled in some scenes to emote sufficiently. Surprisingly, YSJ made a believable ML, which is a credit to his acting chops because his babyface was really difficult to get past, which leads me to the bad.

II. The Bad
YSJ's babyface had me struggling to believe he was supposed to be the merciless and ruthless ML. However, the combination of his acting skills and the strategic camera angles helped to glaze over this, especially during the steamy scenes (otherwise the audience would uncomfortably feel the need to sit in jail).

ZMY's acting as the 2FL was hard to watch. I get that she's supposed to play the ingénue role, but all she did was stand there widening her eyes and pouting her lips for every scene. The only time she came to life was in the last episode, when she and the FL are huffing at each other.

III. The Ugly
This drama is not for the liberals and for those who are triggered by some events due to some plot devices. The FL fakes a rape attack to trick the ML into taking her home with him. The FL physically harms herself and threatens suicide more than once.

There are also missing plot points, e.g., why or how did the Fate Book fall into the FL's hands, how did the ML break out of the Fortune Author's hold, when or why did the ML regain his memories.

IV. Verdict
I really enjoyed the constant subversion of expectations and will definitely rewatch this. For this drama to be pleasurable, you must not think too hard. It does make you examine why you think that only 'good' people deserve happy endings when really, most of us have our deep, dark thoughts that we never share because we're afraid of being marginalised and in all actuality, we would do the same as the FL.

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ARE YOU SERIOUS! This drama had a 2 part series and yet the writers still FAIL on how to handle it with a VERY RUSHED & LAME ending? I mean it is a happy ending but it's so pathetic to see only the last 15 mins was actually happy. So dumb. What's up with Chinese writers and their introducing another conflict for the last few episodes of the drama? That's so stupid and cause havoc that wasn't needed.

There are so many things wrong with this drama. First of all, HOW DARE YOU WRITERS keeping showing daydreaming of Yan Shu & Cheng Ze's wedding but not bother with doing an actual wedding? I'm so frickin pissed at this. Second, how dare you introduce a conflict that ruin the end of this drama. Last few episodes should've been happiness not sadness and frustration. This last conflict should've been introduced like the beginning of this 2nd part drama (like ended off with this conflict on the 1st part drama). Third, how dare that evil granny witch didn't get punish for all of her evil misdeeds. She got off like she didn't do anything wrong. I hate it when the writing is like this crap. Fourth, the angry and bitterness between the stepsisters it's so stupid and shouldn't haven been carried out this long. It should've been resolved in the first part of this drama. It doesn't make sense how that once a witch of a stepsister ended up doing a 180. There weren't any signs of progression. Fifth, secondary couple should've started at the beginning of this drama and maybe had the second lead finally giving up the female lead from the 1st part drama. This 2nd couple together wasn't believable. All of the sudden they want to be together with no issues from grandma? Yeah right! Sixth, the ending, while ended happy, sucked overall because it was so rushed.

The male & female leads were the only reason I watched this but I totally regret it. It had a lot of cute and funny moments which I did enjoy but was it worth how this drama was handled overall? Nope.

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I didn't expect to fall for Healer but I did. Somehow all the components just worked together; the romance, the action, the intrigue, and all the emotions the characters conveyed. Healer is one of the most addicting dramas I've watched in a while, compelling me to watch episode after episode.

I'm new to the actors but they were all fantastic for me. There were no 'weak' actors at all! Ji Chang Wook was just wow. He was mesmerizing, vulnerable, the list goes on. I loved his various personas he put on as a disguise and I especially loved Bong Soo; Chang Wook played him to be so clumsy and lovable. I loved Park Min Young's character, one of my favorite heroines in a while. Shout out to Kim Mi Kyung. She was seriously amazing as the Ahjumma/skilled hacker. People love or hate Ji Tae's character, Moon Ho. Personally, I loved Moon Ho. Ji Tae played Moon Ho to be such a nuanced and faceted character that was neither 'good' nor 'evil'.

Now, the OTP. Wow, just wow. How can so much emotion be demonstrated with just a caress, a brush of the hand, and longing eyes? Somehow, Ji Chang Wook and Park Min Young are able to do that and their chemistry is just sizzling. It's palpable. It's longing. It's just plain hot. I appreciated how Yeoung Shin (ParkMinYoung) was able to stand her own (not the damsel in distress) and how she helped Jung Hoo (JiChangWook) come out from behind his mask that was Healer.

The storyline was so intricate but the web of stories blended well together. Romance didn't detract from the action, and vice versa. I enjoyed seeing how dark/dirty politics were, and the writer wrote that well, balancing it with the romance and the revenge plot. There were some episodes that were so elaborately well done that it was only near the last few minutes that everything just suddenly clicked together and made sense. Huge props to the writer of Healer-amazing!

When I finished the last episode, I was like : !!!!!!. I felt that buzz you feel after finishing marathoning an amazing drama. However, as I began to re-watch some episodes immediately after my first run through, there were flaws that even my Healer-induced craze couldn't overlook. Honestly? The last 2-3 episodes weren't great-or at least not on the caliber of the first 17 episodes. Everything felt rushed and though the ending was good, it felt glossed over. The multiple storylines that the drama had handled with finesse thus far, couldn't be tied up in the end. Some were rashly tied up, others were untied; it just wasn't as satisfactory as I had hoped it would go. Additionally, Healer lost some of his touch near the end; there weren't as many action scenes and Yeoung Shin barely appeared... That said, don't let that deter you from watching Healer because the critiques I made are minimal compared to the overall beauty that was Healer. I had to mention them though because they did distract me from completely loving this drama since I was absorbed and in love with the first 15 episodes or so. So admittedly, I felt a bit deflated after the end.

Music was lovely! There were lots of beautiful instrumentals that captured the emotions of scenes. I especially loved I Will Protect You by Ji Chang Wook himself. He has a nice voice!

I already re-watched my favorite scenes too many times. I think the second time around, though, I might fast-forward some of the political stuff though because it's no longer suspenseful since I would know what happens, and what the secrets are.

I could honestly go on and on about this drama but to sum it up...
Seriously watch it if...
-you want to see a beautiful, supportive romance that is full of trust and heart stopping romantic scenes.
-you like seeing power struggles (dirty politics)/revenge
-eye candy! (ahem Ji Chang Wook)
-no vindictive second leads
-lots of action, kind of like Mission Impossible and Ji Chang Wook is Tom Cruise in terms of the Healer going on missions.
-references to Superman and his kryptonite-and comparing that to Healer, I thought it was it was an interesting comparison.

Be prepared to be in withdrawal after the final episode. I know I still am.

If you don't fulfill any of the above, watch it anyways because that's how good Healer is. Or just watch it for Ji Chang Wook because that's a valid reason anyways! (9.75/9)

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Amazing Cast. Amazing Storyline. Amazing Everything!

I love Feng Bao Bao and I am sure everyone loves Feng Bao Bao; no questions there. However, Zhang Chulan's character is what people would be at first like "meh", but you really need to give him attention, listen to what he says and what he does. He has such a way with words and emotions and if you think he is just being silly, there is more to him than that. There are several scenes where he delivers such amazing lines that you might want to go back and listen to them.
There are several other characters that are so good in this show like Wang Ye! It would be so exciting to find out about what he is seeing regarding Wang Chulan, and Neo Hou is perfect for this role. Bi Wenjun's character is so good and watching him fight the first time with Zhang Chulan was a treat! The brothers of NDT, the elders and even the Sinisters are so fun and interesting. The storyline is very well written, and it would be exciting to explore Baobao's origin in the future episodes. For those who are thinking whether they should or should not be watching this, I would say YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD.

REVIEWER IS VERY EXCITED AFTER FINISHING THE 12THE EPISODE.

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Hate on me all you want, but I stand by my opinion that this is a sub-par drama at best.
I enjoyed the serial-style crime show that composed the first half of this drama, but it the writing wasn't particularly clever or fluid as other crime dramas I've seen.
The story felt dragged out and not as cohesive as it could have been, and it overall lacked substance. Crime shows deal with heavy themes of humanity, but this show was just dark without social commentary and had too much cheesy romance. On that note, the chemistry was spicy, but the romance itself was rushed, unbelievable, and not well paced. Even without substance, shows can be saved by fun and action, but again, there wasn't enough feel-good vibes or humor for it to pull that off, so it was just straight-up dark and cheesy from there.
The acting here was pretty good, but acting can't save mediocre writing, and the acting did become sloppy at times. The best performance here was probably Wang Kai's; his character was the only likeable one in the end.
On another note, I understand Chinese patriarchal culture as someone who is indeed ethnically Chinese, but a viewer can't deny the awkwardly sexist writing here.
Overall, I can say that viewers can pass on this drama. It's very highly rated and well-reviewed, but I think reviewers may just have found a show to their tastes rather than a show that actually measures up to the other brilliant crime shows in the drama industry.

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