Completed
The Rational Life
22 people found this review helpful
Jun 27, 2021
35 of 35 episodes seen
Completed 1
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 6.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

A sweet slow burn romance between an older woman and younger man

The Rational Life is easy and enjoyable to watch, but is probably catered towards a more mature audience since it tackles subjects like what it's like being a career driven single woman in her thirties, family struggles and office politics. Even though the subjects might sound heavy the drama overall feels very light.

The female lead Shen Ruo Xin is a very ambitious, intelligent and capable woman in her thirties. She knows what she wants in life and never stops working towards her goals. When she meets the male lead Qi Xiao he takes out other sides in her and around him she feels comfortable to just be herself. Together they face a lot of struggles and growth at work, but also in their private lives.

They create a very strong bond early on, but it takes time for their relationship to develop further. Even though the main characters has an age difference of 12 years in the drama their romance doesn't feel awkward or forced thanks to the actor's amazing performances. Since the drama is a bit longer the slow burn romance and pacing actually suits it. My biggest complaint would be that it lacks passion so by the time they do start dating it isn't as satisfying as one might wish.

I've seen a lot of people call this drama realistic, but I don't agree with that. While it is inspirational with such a strong female lead it also annoys me that so many dramas either make their female lead clumsy and naive or they make her overly rational, capable and smart to the point of perfection.

I long for a capable career driven female lead that is great at her job but without feeling like she can't do anything wrong, always knows the right thing to say and do in every single situation, always has the best suggestions and ideas. I'm tired of it always being one extreme or the other. You can be a strong empowered smart woman that's great at your job without it being potrayed in such an unrealistic way.

Exaggerations, extremes and stereotypes in dramas are okay, but I think that in a drama that almost feels like a Slice of Life that tackles real issues in society the character's should feel more human and real. Other than that I do like her character a lot and she's one of the most enjoyable parts of the show.

Shen Ruo Xin's mom is very controlling and overbearing, but I don't mind that since it's actually something that many people go through with their parents. What I do mind though is that a lot of her reactions felt very unnatural. Her character felt very inconsistent and some scenes almost felt like theatrics rather than acting. I thought that the family aspect of the drama was nice and created a great balance with the work and romance related ones, so the inconsistency in the mother's behaviour threw me off sometimes.

All in all this is a very sweet drama, one of the better age gap dramas out there in my opinion. I even enjoyed the work place related plotlines which says a lot.

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Ongoing 40/40
Till the End of the Moon
22 people found this review helpful
Apr 7, 2023
40 of 40 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 9.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Psychopatic Male Cinderella

To sum up:
Not as good as the promo materials, but might be the best xianxia out there.
The trailer doesn't really do justice as it barely shows the beautiful cinematography.
Fast paced.
It's the best xianxia in terms of cinematography, visual effects, and acting.

Tantai Jin was not a typical xianxia's demon lord. In the early stage, he's more of a psycho in a xianxia setting. It's not easy to bring this character to life as he had no precedence in c-drama world. This is not a straightforward "love melt the demon lord's heart" trope as ML had a problem to function like normal human. It's a difficult character and cannot be compared with other xianxia ML.

In fact the closest character to Tantai Jin is not in c-drama land, but Hannibal from the tv series. Not saying Luo Yunxi's acting is Mads Mikkelsen level, but there are many similarity in the way the show managed to make the audience nervous on whether or not the main character was sincere or just faking it. This is the most terrifying thing about these characters and this c-drama managed to present this element to certain extent.

In Hannibal interview, Mikkelsen said Hannibal was Lucifer in human suit. Luo Yunxi actually pulled similar things in the early stage of the drama. There's something uncanny about Tantai Jin that you know he was not really human. Luo Yunxi was acting a character that was acting as human and there bound to be some flaws in the act. This flaws need to be brought on screen and this is not easy since they are not natural to the human actor. This demands a lot of restrains and layered performance.

An example of this is eps. 8. You wondered whether Tantai Jin was sad or not. His eyes showed a hint of sadness, but the expression was not really sad. Luo Yunxi must have put a lot of restrain during this scene. Other times, it was the opposite. The expression didn't reach the eyes.

The acting was pretty subtle. That's why when Tantai Jin showed his manic sides such as eps. 4, it's really memorable.

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Completed
Healer
22 people found this review helpful
Feb 11, 2015
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
This is from my view of the show and my opinion. Some may agree, some may not...
This drama begun last year but since it was completed this year, I'm counting it as a (2015) drama.
This drama is the most highly addictive drama so far, this year. An excellent drama at that too~ I usually tend to not keep up with currently airing dramas for some reason. I'm either a few episodes behind or I just wait until it's completed to marathon the rest. Not this drama. NOPE! I kept up with every single episode, every painful and long-awaited week and it was worth it! (You guys who have not watched this yet won't have to wait painfully like I did, you can just marathon the whole thing.) xP

The overall plot was cleverly well-done in nearly all of the crucial, sweet, and fun moments.

I had high expectations because Park Min Young (Chae Yeong Shin) and Ji Chang Wook (Healer/Seo Jung Hoo) but they completely exceeded those expectations in every way. Their interactions and chemistry were second to none, perfectly put together in fun, silly, casual, dangerous, and romantic/cute moments. I'm glad it didn't focus on the romantic aspect a lot like how most dramas would. I loved that. PMY did her role very well. It was believable and adorably cute~ Ji Chang Wook.... dear god! Don't get me started on this guy. He is such a bias wrecker! (^u^)~ He's one amazing actor. I noticed in most of his scenes, he uses his eyes to act as well. So brilliant! I loved every single episode/scene with him whether he was was with Yeong Shin or not. He made me laugh, cry, and scream... Hahaha xD Yes, SCREAM!!! His character was complicated but when you watch, you'll understand why~

It wasn't just them who made the drama fun to watch. The supporting casts too~
Yoo Ji Tae (Kim Moon Ho) || Park Sang Won (Kim Moon Shik) || Do Ji Won who played CYS's mom || Kim Mi Kyung (Min Ja/ajumma), Oh Gwang Rok (Healer's Teacher), even Park Sang Myeon (Chae Yeong's dad) made this drama extremely awesome to watch! Out of all the supporting casts, Kim Mi Kyung was the best for me. Hahahaha xD That woman killed me. She played her part so freaking hilariously badass! xD Lmfaooo xD I loved her! xD Quite memorable characters!

The OST was just perfect! Every song fits perfectly with every scene. Even the english songs too. I already downloaded most of the songs! Haha! xD The instrumentals sounds so beautiful, even Ji Chang Wook released a single. OMG! When you hear his voice, you will immediately have an eargasm!

The entire team did a fantastic job on this drama. It was well written and well directed. I highly recommend this drama! I wish it didn't end, but I'm definitely going to watch it again after I download every single episode! :D
If action/thrillers with some drama and romance in the midst of all that is your type of drama, then you won't be disappointed one bit. I certainly wasn't. Give it a try! ^^

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Completed
Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi
22 people found this review helpful
Dec 17, 2014
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 9.5
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 10
Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi is an ultra freaking brilliant drama. If it were to be classified according to genre, it's going to be slice-of-life plus chill wave, dead pan humor plus satire and even more satire drenched in some sort of crude humor. In the absence of chic overly polished elements with its unnervingly mundane settings and characters, and no over-promising story lines, this drama just lived up beyond what it describes itself and left viewers expecting. From a Shion Miura novel to a tv series, this probably is one of those film and serial adaptations that brought a book to life and gave a in-depth study of the characters. Since there is a limited amount of time (short length of episodes), Mahoro must create a simple and succinct yet moving story arc for each episode. There is an attention to details and brevity that makes Mahoro a pleasure to watch. In other words there is no nonsense scenes that you just want to skip because every minute counts.

Most people will probably want to watch this for the Eita + Matsuda Ryuhei combination, but the humor and the way the drama is filmed is like the cherry on top. I also love the two main characters who are anything but your typical male leads in jdramas.
Lines reflect minimalism. Words are mostly minimal and normal to very dumb sounding conversations that are kept to simple tiny bits of phrases then later on becomes philosophical thoughts and rhetoric questions thrust into the end or in between these seemingly mundane and meaningless conversations and BAM that’s when it hits you hard on the head and in the heart. This also the point where you as a viewer have something similar to a character and then you start to review your life choices and principles in life. In addition, It contains an exploration of the micro socio-economic structures as a work of fiction that highly reflects reality but is never cliched like telenovela but more relevant to real life moral issues and the cause and effects of society.
Mahoro is a very laid-back, simple story of two guys–Gyoten and Tada–who do various odd-jobs around their city. I love the ‘lazy’ feel that Mahoro has. This might sound weird but yeah, Mahoro has this lazy atmosphere which is also quite reflective of Gyoten and Tada’s way of life.

Anyway, the first thing you may notice in Mahoro is the BROMANCE. Yes, it is awesome. And not just because it is Eita and Matsuda Ryuhei together. The thing I love about the bromance is that it is not forced into the drama. It is not there just for some obligatory swoony bromance. Instead Tada and Gyoten feel very natural when they are together and it goes unsaid that they have a really deep companionship and bond. Also the main selling point of the drama is NOT just that there is always eye candy with Eita and Matsuda Ryuhei on the screen. Instead the characters of Tada and Gyoten are very ordinary yet charming at the same time.
At some point in Mahoro, I think you’ll begin to realize that it is way more than just bromance and humor. Mahoro is not only about shipping Tada and Gyoten, it’s not about the weird odd-jobs they do, but it's also about the people that Gyoten and Tada encounter. I guess what I’m trying to say is, Mahoro is not scared to show you things as they are. It’s not scared to go places that might even make you feel a bit uncomfortable. I like that the drama doesn’t sugarcoat anything and simply shows people as they are–flawed human beings. It exposes the dark sides of the characters but also makes sure to show their good sides. Pretty much none of the people that Tada and Gyoten encounter are people you would consider to be ‘admirable’ or ‘respectable’ but the drama always counters this by showing their redeeming quality and vulnerability.

The main leads are brilliant, they were at their best in this drama, they simply shine. Both Eita and Matsuda. How they portrayed their characters, there isn't anyone else who could take the role. Although I'm Eita's fan since forever and love him the most, here Matsuda stole the show with his character of Gyoten, instantly became one of my favourite and dearest charactes ever.
In the show, both Tada and Gyoten are quite similar because they both have a really mellow and laidback personality. They are just chilling and drifting through life. Probably the main difference is that Tada is the one that’s “in charge” and is more conscious about social graces whereas Gyoten is irresponsible and blunt, he is also a lot of fun to watch, not exactly impulsive but he is the kind of guy who doesn’t care about boundaries and is willing to take the initiative to do something. His straight-forwardness can come off as being outspoken in certain situations, but earnest in others. Gyoten is a really good balance with Tada because he can help Tada make quick decisions, and Tada can help keep him out of trouble. He can always turn a seemingly boring situation into a funny one. He still has this running joke of telling all his customers that he and Tada are a couple. The funny part is that he looks completely serious whenever he ‘jokes’ about it and the customers end up believing it. Simply he is outstanding and the most interesting nutty character ever.

I liked all the content of this drama, it was refreshing not just because of the script and of the acting but as a whole cinematic masterpiece. The set were utilized as some sort of subliminal advert placement ala spot the hidden brand sponsor. It was not an annoying ad placement or corporate whoring but was more enjoyable to the viewers at the very least. Things like the clever foreshadowing, timing, and the proper use of mature content with props and all dignified the desperation and tensions in the story in a way never done before in Japanese TV. Even the tracks of the OST were superb pieces of music with lyrics drenched in pain and satire though presented in a funky or chill arrangements. The irony is fine in this one.

Watch this drama if :
- you want to see bromance, bromance, and more bromance between Gyoten (Matsuda Ryuhei) and Tada (Eita).
- you're a fan of Eita & Matsuda Ryuhei (WHO WOULDN’T BE?)
- you like quirky, eccentric dramas
- you are ok with the bromance not being everything in the drama.
For those of you who don’t quite like dramas that are too slow and serious, but still want quality without the sappiness, Mahoro might be for you. You may like this drama more if you like a sort of offbeat, quirky drama.

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Completed
Dear X
22 people found this review helpful
Dec 9, 2025
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 5.0
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 5.0
Rewatch Value 1.0

Disaster

Honestly, the only reason I stuck with the show was to see her finally face consequences in the end. The ending wasn’t that terrible, but definitely not what I wanted or expected. The start was strong, but I was least interested in her journey. Sure, her character was unique and acted well, but I kept hoping she’d finally fall into someone’s trap or get manipulated for once. I still don’t get why everyone keeps helping her and feeling sorry for her.
Jun-seo’s character felt a bit underdeveloped. And the actor — whether it’s Penthouse, Shooting Stars, or this show — he just gives similar vibes every time. Even if the characters are written differently, his acting always feels the same.
Looks like there might be another season coming, but I’m not looking forward to it.

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Ongoing 14/14
Secret Crush on You
22 people found this review helpful
by Almeye
May 30, 2022
14 of 14 episodes seen
Ongoing 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10

Unique! Rewatch!

This series is why I still believe there is love for everyone. this might seem over the top to some but if you have not felt left out or an outcast in your life in one way or another, then It might be difficult to relate but I did and it was just beautiful.

I'm amazed at how many people have lost the main storyline, point of this series but I'm also glad there are people who appreciate the diversity and representation that we've never had in any other BL series.

I'm so thankful for Saint and everyone involved in this series for brining this series come to life!

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Completed
The Heirs
22 people found this review helpful
by elim1
Dec 13, 2013
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 6.0
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 3.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
I'm giving this a harsh review because when I heard about the many actors and actresses taking part in this drama, my expectations were really high. Although I know that I would be in for a lot of cliche moments because it's the same writer of Secret Garden which had soo many cheesy moments. The story line for this drama was flat, cliche, typical and lacked that finesse that engages me to new dramas. It was also very messy because of how they structured the drama. They started off with a very slow introduction and tried to bunch and rush everything towards the end which made it unclear for viewers. The ending was very boring as well, there was nothing to excite us.

In this drama there were so many big shot actors all in one for which impacted the many watching audiences:

Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye)
As much as I love Park Shin Hye as an actor I found her character very annoying. This is because of her constantly crying whenever she faces a problem in her life, or just crying after see Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho). But if she was aiming for that type of character I applaud her for that.

Kim Tan (Lee Min Ho)
Lee Min Ho playing Kim Tan was pretty good because of how he would always want to stick to his brother, having no clue of what's going on within the business because of his young age. However, he kept cockblocking the relationship between Cha Eun Sang and Choi Young Do for which I would like to see further develop.

Choi Young Do (Kim Woo Bin)
Oh gosh, did I love Kim Woo Bin's character in this drama. The different emotions he used to express each and everything showed perfectly well on his face. However, I feel as though if the relationship between Choi Young Do and Cha Eun Sang were to further develop it would add some extra excitement.

Lee Bo Na (Krsytal) & Yoon Chan Young (Kang Min Hyuk)
This is one of my favourite couples the were so cute and funny.

Lee Hyo Shin (Kang Ha Neul)
He acted out his character extremely well with the different emotions shown in this drama from: Mysterious -> dorky -> angry -> jealousy there were so many emotions he displayed wonderfully.

Kim Won (Choi Jin Hyuk)
He played the role of an elder brother, step in company owner and a lover extremely well. I loved how he could show different personalities to his character.

Jo Myung-soo (Park Hyung Shik)
asdfghjkl;' He was too adorable in this drama I could see the many bromances forming with him. ><

Han Ki-Ae (Kim Sung-Ryoung)& Park Hee-Nam (Kim Mi-Kyung)
OMFG these mothers were one of my favourites! They were humorous, cute and dorky. I also applaud Kim Mi-Kyung for not speaking throughout this whole drama, other than narrating :L

Rachel Yoo (Kim Ji Won)
She did amazingly well! Playing the antagonist in this drama simply brilliant.

As or music wise, it did sound really nice at the beginning but they just kept replaying the tracks over and over again when there was any chance possible. Which made it especially cheesy.

I'm sorry but I wouldn't watch this again, it was very confusing and lacked finesse therefore I would give it an overall score of 6.

Sorry if I did offend anyone with my review but as mentioned before I had my expectations up really high. Also is it just me or did Cha Eun Sang cry in at lest 18 of the 20 episodes?

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Completed
Love Me, Love My Voice
22 people found this review helpful
Feb 16, 2024
33 of 33 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 4.5
Story 4.0
Acting/Cast 4.5
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

Beware Tooth Decay, Brain Rot and Utter Boredom

Full disclosure. I started this because Tan Jian Ci plays the ML. I love his music, highly enjoyed his role in Under The Skin and hoped this would be just as good, if completely different. This drama severely disappointed.

Nothing happens in this drama, and that would've been okay if the main couple had had chemistry. But they don't. Literally NONE. I can't blame Tan Jian Ci. His portrayal of the perfect, doting boyfriend--while completely unrealistic--was well acted. The FL's part was horribly written. Rarely have I seen such a cardboard-cutout character. A rutabaga would've had more personality than her character. There is no depth. For the first part of the show, she can barely talk to the ML, she is literally speechless. Her 'hmm' responses drove me crazy. The main leads have exactly one thing in common--using their voice to create and entertain--and they never actually start and maintain a conversation based on that topic...or any other. They don't click, they don't mesh. She loves his voice. He loves her...I honestly don't know what he loves about her.

The OST is beautiful and the drama is well filmed, but the story lacks just about everything needed to make it good. I hope Tan Jian Ci is able to star in another modern, romance style drama at some point. One with better writing and co-lead chemistry.

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Completed
Revenge of Others
22 people found this review helpful
by Anais
Dec 14, 2022
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 6.5
Rewatch Value 6.5

Entertaining but Predictable, A Solid Yet Unoriginal Revenge Thriller

This series is undeniably entertaining, offering all the key ingredients that keep an audience engaged, friendships, romance, suspense, mystery, and a touch of violence and action. It’s a formula that works, but it's not groundbreaking.

At its core, it follows a familiar narrative: a protagonist seeking revenge or trying to uncover the murderer of a loved one. In this case, the setting is a school, which isn’t particularly original either. The “high school murder mystery” trope has become a trend, where students must uncover the killer among their classmates, each hiding dark secrets.

However, some aspects felt underdeveloped. Certain characters lacked presence, compelling secrets, or even a true sense of revenge. Despite the title, Revenge of Others focuses on just one primary revenge arc. The series does, however, emphasize violence more than similar shows, with students resorting to torture and brutality, treating death as less of a taboo.

The female lead, Ok Chan Mi, often came across as overly naive and impulsive. She frequently jumped to conclusions based on speculation rather than evidence, acting as if her assumptions were facts. One interesting element was the portrayal of her twin brother, not as an innocent victim, but as someone with his own flaws.

The final two episodes felt somewhat unsatisfying, which is often the case with series like this.

Overall, Revenge of Others is an engaging watch with solid production, acting, and a dark tone. However, it doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the genre. It’s enjoyable but predictable.

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Completed
Love to Hate You
98 people found this review helpful
Feb 10, 2023
10 of 10 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 9.5
Story 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 9.5

Hilariously entertaining

The story is very entertaining. 1st episode is funny, second episode is funnier and the rest is enjoyable. This is not annoying anti women/men love story.. The male lead is a popular actor that has an adonis reputation but the truth is he dislikes women, and vice versa for Female lead who is a lawyer. Where she ended up working in a law firm dominated by men. And that’s how they met, It’s worth watching. You won’t be sorry. The casts have good chemistry. They’re all good actors, they played their roles really well. It’s funny how the men and women are totally opposites from the female parents to main leads.

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Completed
Strong Girl Bong Soon
45 people found this review helpful
Sep 12, 2021
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 2
Overall 2.0
Story 1.0
Acting/Cast 3.0
Music 4.0
Rewatch Value 1.0
This review may contain spoilers

An insult to women and men at the same time

This is surely the worst drama that I have ever watched and it's not because of the production value (which is very impressive sometimes), it's because of its awful writing. This drama is an instant drop in the first two episodes. I dropped it when it came out in 2017, but I made myself a promise to finish it one day, so here we go.
Let's start with the bad (there's a lot – I should have made notes while watching):
- Do Bong Soon's character is the typical fake strong female character. We start with Do Bong Soon helping an elderly man and saving a bus, which are very heroic feats, but the character goes downhill very quickly. Do Bong Soon eventually becomes CEO Ahn Min Hyuk's bodyguard. She completely fails at being a bodyguard. She lets the CEO get hurt because of her, she lets a cop get hurt and she also lets the villain escape multiple times. The writers completely failed to recognize that she heard the main villain's voice at a pharmacy. When girls start getting kidnapped in her neighbourhood, she does nothing. When her friend almost gets kidnapped, she lets the kidnapper go even though she could knock him down in one hit. Why? After some time, Do Bong Soon is an intern at her own personal Planning & Development department with the CEO. Once again, we see her doing nothing all day. If she is shown doing anything, it's working on the same character model and drag and dropping things into a presentation. This was a missed opportunity to show women working in game engines and programming, but instead they showed us a pathetic character who thinks she deserves to be in the actual Planning & Development department without any actual skills... After Kyung Shim gets kidnapped, she goes to beg Min Hyuk for help and then completely invalidates his feelings. After Do Bong Soon rescues kidnapped women (at a location which only took everyone ages to figure out), she goes on to confront the main villain in a dramatic way that makes her lose her strength (even though she basically abused her power all throughout the drama and even hurt innocent people). After losing her strength, she is absolutely useless. She goes unconscious from two blows to the chest and she doesn't even try to free herself from her restrains at the brink of death. She does nothing but cry even though she received training in combat from the CEO. After escaping from her death, the three leads formulate a plan to catch the killer by exposing her out in the open to a sniper rifle while only she wears a bulletproof vest. I suppose headshots don't exist in her universe because that was so stupid.
- Do Bong Soon is not a strong character. She couldn't even tell the man she liked that she liked him. She is very childish and doesn't have much personality outside her powers.
- Na Kyung Shim (Do Bong Soon's friend) only cares about her face and looking pretty after being beaten up by the serial kidnapper / killer.
-Do Bong Soon's grandmother enters the scene at some point and beats up some goons. Which is fine and all, but the first thing she does when she visits her grandchild's home? She verbally abuses Do Bong Soon's father.
-It's inconsistent powers-wise. Do Bong Soon can't run, but she can jump high and basically fly as shown in the last episodes?
-Bomb designed to kill Do Bong Soon explodes into fireworks... What??
-Domestic violence. Do Bong Soon's mother is seen regularly abusing her husband, both verbally and physically. This abuse is sweeped under the rug with comical music played in the background. Even though the writers seemingly tried to redeem the mother in the last episode as having pushed him only once, it's just not believable. She was also physically and verbally abusive towards Bong Soon.
-Extreme homophobia, awful representation of LGBT community and queer-baiting in almost all of the episodes. It's so toxic that it took every ounce of my willpower to get through the scenes.
- Bong Soon and her mother and basically all the female characters are obsessed with Do Bong Soon snatching away Min Hyuk and having sex with him and basically raping him. These are not strong women.
-Min Hyuk goes to convince Do Bong Soo's father Do Chil Goo to return to his abusive wife because he cannot marry Do Bong Soon in such a situation. What a sad moment.
- All three leads are very misogynistic in some scenes. Do Bong Soon's character is misogynistic in itself. She is the opposite of strong and actually serves as a bad example for women.
-It has Kim Ji Soo, who is a known bully, but that's not really the drama's fault, so I would be willing to let that pass.
-Do Bong Soon has her own gang of high school kids.
-The characters are absolutely brain dead most of the time with no logical sense.
-Poop jokes.
-Racist representation of Indians with random Buddhist monk a.k.a. the scammer.
-There is no natural comedy in the situations, only poor writing. The romance was just pure fluff, nothing more.
-Min Hyuk and Bong Soon were extremely possesive.
-Useless police as always.

The good:
-Hee Ji's character was the only normal female character in the entire drama. I wanted to see more of her, but we got very little of her.
-Excellent villain who deserved so much better. He was the only consistent character and the reason I kept watching, but sadly writers didn't allow him more time to shine. The actor's performance was absolutely amazing.
-Some scenes were shot in a beautiful manner, but this got overshadowed by how despicable the characters were.

I need to cleanse my brain from this drama.


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Completed
Cheese in the Trap
45 people found this review helpful
by Alex
Mar 10, 2017
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 8.0
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 8.0
I'm developing a talent for being drawn to controversial dramas. Cheese in the Trap was a highly anticipated series that, while, being produced, gave rise to a cacophony of behind-the-scenes drama that escalated to such an extent that many now consider CITT one of the biggest disappointments of 2016. In light of that mess, my recommendation for enjoying this drama is to be as unfamiliar with the source material (the web-toon on which it's based) as possible.

Now that we've got that out of the way: Despite unevenness, Cheese in the Trap is a narrative success in my books, for many of the same reasons I've also defended that other 2016 YA drama with a bad reputation, Scarlet Heart: Ryeo. (Speaking of, MLSHR is one of the recs under CITT because it, too, has a "questionably crazy male lead." Hilarity.)

Anyway, k-drama romances tend to fall under two trends:

(1) Zany Disney-esque romcoms where love lifts everyone up where they belong (see: My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, To the Beautiful You, You Who Came From the Stars, etc. etc. etc. etc.).
(2) Toxic and imbalanced relationships that are glorified with undeserved happily-ever-afters (see: Boys Over Flowers, The Heirs, and so on and so forth).

Cheese in the Trap isn't either of those stories. Much like MLSHR, CITT is concerned with one overarching question: Can a person change another person? (Alternatively: Do people change *for* other people?) The show doesn't give a pat answer, and that's to its credit.

In short, this is a slice-of-life that isn't afraid to go dark (and not in an incongruous after-school special way — unlike Age of Youth, the darkness in CITT is fully fleshed out). If you're looking for light, escapist fun that delivers a straightforward message, there are literally hundreds of other dramas for you. If, otoh, you want a complex story about young adults that doesn't idealise its characters — but also, importantly, doesn't descend into nihilism — you might want to give Cheese in the Trap a shot.

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Completed
Mouse
45 people found this review helpful
May 20, 2021
20 of 20 episodes seen
Completed 3
Overall 7.0
Story 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 6.5

Mouse; A Masterpiece or A Mess?


The best way to describe screenwriter Choi Ran’s "Mouse" is somewhere between a masterpiece and a slightly disjointed mess in certain parts.

It’s wrong to entirely slander that " Mouse" wasn’t a good series. Without a doubt, the main cast were absolutely brilliant. ( Especially Lee Seung Gi’s hauntingly profound portrayal as Ba Reum, truly defining his talents as an actor.) Additionally , " Mouse" arguably had some of the best character development seen in a mystery- crime series in a long time. The portrayal of psychopaths felt haunting for the most part, whilst main characters Ba Reum ( Lee Seung Gi) and Mo-Chi ( Lee Hee Joon) had some shockingly profound character developments and twists. Even seemingly superficial side characters in the beginning such as Oh Bong-yi ( Park Ju Hyun) and the suave Choi Hong-ju, or " Sherlock Hong-Ju" ( Kyung Soo-Jin), had a lot more to their characters than first meets the eye.

However whilst it would be easy to give this drama a decisive ” 10/10” and write it off as flawless , it is undeniable that it isn’t without its faults either.

" Mouse" is undeniably a collection of surprising twists and turns which soon become a little disorientating. Whilst rooted in real—life depictions of a serial killers with a slight "fantasy twist" intriguing plot points soon become slightly predictable and mundane in the latter part. It was almost as though screenwriter Choi was running low on ideas ( despite the endless supply of unanswered questions left open for viewers) and decided to group together a cluster of feverish flashbacks, dismiss more intriguing characters peppered throughout the storyline and manoeuvre deux ex machina solutions for the resulted ending.

So, is " Mouse" actually worth watching from all the hype? This depends a lot on personal preferences. Whilst not flawless and a little clunky in the second-half, "Mouse” was undeniably filled with good acting, intriguing plot, characters and profound themes.

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Completed
Two Weeks
15 people found this review helpful
by iindu
Oct 22, 2013
16 of 16 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Music 9.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
I loved watching this fast paced and very engaging drama, that goes from beginning to end without a dull moment.

The story is good, and the way it's told is very interesting. I loved the way they shift plot sequences to keep the element of suspense. It was done very artfully.

The character Jang Tae San is wonderfully written and Lee Jun Ki lives the role. As we follow his struggles and efforts, we also see more of the person inside,who is the hardest on himself.

The most beautiful parts of the drama are the interactions between Tae San and Soo Jin. The drama writers have written in that connection to perfection. You start to look out for the little girl, when the story has been moving elsewhere for a while. And of course, the girl who plays Soo Jin is super cute.
The rest of the cast are great too- including all the baddies.

Now, the plot isn't without it's share of holes. But none of that affects the compelling nature of this drama.

The ending is perfect- realistic and at the same time, leaving us on a happy note.

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Completed
Everything and Nothing
15 people found this review helpful
Aug 20, 2019
4 of 4 episodes seen
Completed 0
Overall 10
Story 10
Acting/Cast 10
Music 10
Rewatch Value 10
Coming into this show, I'm not sure what I expected or what I wanted out of it. I knew it was a melodrama and I naively thought it was just another youth drama but in all honesty, it was so much more than that. Park Si Eun and Yoon Chan Young are a phenomenal pair of an actor and actress and I truly cannot wait to see what the future holds for them when they grow because in every show I've seen them in, they've wowed me to no end. You truly do have a timid boy and a girl that's just out there and you toss them together and they're made perfect for each other but honestly, life is not perfect and you will go through trial and error and this show pulls at your heart strings to what happens in everyday life and what it feels like to be alone and confused and not sure what you're doing with anything honestly. It shows ups and downs and it's crazy because for a special that's 4 episodes and purely as long as a 2 hour movie, you literally watch and see so much with twist and turns and it blows your mind. This show was wonderful, definitely a filler that surprises you with a nice OST, great acting and just nicely set story that I enjoyed. For 2 hours, definitely put your time into this and watch it.

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