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Being bad never looked so good.
Rose Finch unfolds like a dark, chilling, and morbidly sensational penny dreadful set in Republican-era Shanghai. The story opens with a bizarre and graphic double murder involving an elite showgirl at Rose Finch (Zhuque Pavillion/朱雀堂), the hottest nightclub in town. Detective Tang Zhenyun is hot on the case, enlisting the aid of talented forensic scientist Xia Mo. Their paths cross with Gao Ying, the enigmatic and deadly boss of Rose Finch, who alternately aids or obstructs their investigation as suits her agenda. She seems intent on uncovering who is murdering her "songbirds" while protecting her family's interests. Is Gao Ying friend or foe?This is a fast-paced, gripping crime thriller that, with its 20-minute episodes, has no time to waste on romance or typical drama digressions. The plot remains tightly focused on one major case, delivering relentless momentum. It’s more violent than expected, unflinchingly portraying the lawlessness and rot festering beneath the era’s decadence.
Wan Qian anchors the narrative with her awe-inspiring portrayal of an inscrutable, powerful, and ruthless mobster’s daughter who lives by her own code. Being bad never looked so good! Zhang Cheng also impresses as the pugnacious, hot-blooded Detective Tang, always ready for a brawl. I was surprised to see Qin Junjie in such a haunted, nerdy, and low-key role, but as a team, this unlikely crime-solving trio clicks perfectly. My only gripe is the dead spouse trope, which feels a bit maudlin and out of place.
The ending has some mildly unsatisfying aspects—it’s dark, cynical, yet oddly fitting for the era. A fantastic short watch. 7.5/10.
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A feel-good teen drama about loving yourself and being the best you can be
I'll be the first to admit that this is no masterpiece. But if you liked dramas like True Beauty, then you will definitely enjoy this one. The writing is full of cliches but enjoyably and the love triangle is quick and painless! The comedic scenes are hilarious and the chemistry between the different characters is amazing!Also, like all of the cast look gorgeous? And the opening song and sequence is one of the best I've seen in dramas lol. We also got positive representation of a trans character!
This dramas also has a lot of heartwarming messages about loving yourself and having good self-esteem. The main message is that no matter how you look or what you think of yourself, you can change yourself for the better and find love, you just need to put in the hard work and have a positive outlook. I found it touching personally.
I would definitely definitely recommend this drama if you wanted something light and fluffy to watch! :)
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You'd love it if you watched the anime
I watched it only because I watched the anime, and honestly it tremendously exceeded my expectations. The level of care and heart poured into the story completely destroyed my regard for the anime. The anime was very relaxing and sweet, but the drama actually brought me to tears on multiple occasions. The main characters, especially Tokitaka, were so much more interesting and fleshed out. Their relationships were more substantiated and it was easier to see why they're so close. Highly highly recommend it if you were a fan of the anime. You won't be disappointed, 10/10.Was this review helpful to you?
Feelings rehashed
And just like the original 50 episode version, I was left saddened and unmotivated after this viewing. It's like certain dramas, when they're done, just leave this gaping hole in your life because they went on and had this huge impact on you- this drama did that to me.This was nice to watch after completing the OG a couple months ago and still feeling a little empty inside. Of course with this story being as popular as it is, there are many ways to continue to get my LWJ and WWX fix but still, the live action was just so... *le sigh* There are just no words.
I get that they had to cut a lot of the story because this was more about the mains but unless you're seen the OG then this version is obviously really incomplete. The bright side though is a lot of added scenes that weren't in the drama can be seen here.
Obviously I highly recommend this but watch the original first.
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a pleasantly relatable watch
Kudos to this series for being straightforward when it comes to the uncomfortable but relatable topics it chose to tackle in it’s short run. Ofc more could have been explored, but I am impressed with what I saw. Korea, can we have more types of these shows with these types of characters? this was a pretty good show.The show focuses on three teenagers experiencing different issues in life and figuring out how to get through them. My personal favorite story was Jaemin’s. The bits with the online class he was taking had me laughing. Not only was it relatable but I can totally picture a guy doing a no-fap challenge to get a girl he likes. Yu Ri’s story hit close to home with me because it’s kind of what I’m going through currently in my life. I’m sure a lot of girls out there are waiting for a genuine guy with good intentions to come their way but instead end up feeling disappointed and used. I’ve yet to see the last episode but the ending to the first two stories are satisfactory. I’m glad to have finally found a show with teens who have realistic issues that are relevant to their age because you don’t see that much in the kdrama world.
The acting is good too despite the no-name cast(except for Miyeon). All the actors involved seemed to genuinely portray teens in an approachable way, which was fantastic for the viewer. If you’re looking for something quick, lighthearted, and not too silly, then this show is for you.
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This review may contain spoilers
So Bad but So Good; I watch this drama not for the plot but the male lead.
"I fell in love with the most dangerous man, why can't I let go?"The lyrics above definitely describes my feelings about the male lead in this drama. His character is indeed portrayed to be a typical "Dangerous Man" that is mysterious, dark, intense, and toxic. Ngl, if it's in a real life, he would've been canceled because he's such a red flag 😭. However in this drama, despite the toxicity, the male lead is also very charismatic, good looking, charming and intriguing that you can't help but fall in love with him. It's all thanks to the actor who has successfully delivered the character to be that attractive. His acting is top notch and is totally on point. I can say the male lead and the actor are the best part of this drama.
One more thing that I like about this drama is the romance between the male lead and female lead. They have great chemistry and there are a lot of steamy kisses. I read some comments saying they don't like the female lead character because she's clingy but I think I have different opinion about this one. Yes, the female lead is clingy and looks weak but she's not a passive person. She made the first move to pursue the male lead, confessed her feeling first, comforted the male lead and she always ensured the male lead that he wasn't alone. The female lead gave the male lead the sense of security and he could find solace in her. I think their characters complete each other.
As for the story, this drama obviously has many flaws. To be honest it has so much potential but unfortunately the writing is weak that there are many loopholes in the plot. I suggest you not to use your brain when you're watching this drama and you can ignore all the non-sense things.
Overall, I think this drama is not perfect but it's still worth to watch and I totally enjoy watching it despite all the flaws. As for rewatch value, I think there's possibility that I might rewatch it again only for the male lead (lol). However, if you're typical a so called "woke" person or if you're looking for a solid plot, this drama isn't for you.
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My Little Lover: Minami-kun no Koibito
11 people found this review helpful
Advantages:
*The cast. Actors in this drama are very young and their acting skills aren't magnificent but they are more than good and the fact that the characters and actors ages mach which is rare makes it more realistic.
*Nakagawa Taishi's acting skills are pretty good but there were some moments where I just wanted to clap, because he expressed the emotions perfectly. Actors in KDramas are always like angels fallen from the sky, unrealistically beautiful, but Minami was like a cute classmate, still very handsome, but more relatable, more human. His character was realistic and just so close to heart.
*Horikiri is a character that actually has some personality. Only after watching this drama did I notice that in a lot of dramas the main female lead has no hobby, nothing she likes and it just feels like the girl exists so she could create a romantic relationship with the main female lead. Chiyomi Horikiri is a character that has actual hobbies, ambitions like a real human being.
*The supporting roles weren't left out. Sure they couldn't get a lot of screen time, because the show is short, but every character had at least one scene where they personality developed.
*Pleasantly surprised that I didn't hate the second girl who was trying to get Minami's heart, Nomura. Sure she was a little bit bitchy, but never did I hate her, actually I kind of liked her.
*In the aspect that the main character lead is shrunk down to a tiny person the story is pretty original.
*That one kissing scene that made my heart beat like crazy. You'll know what I am talking about when you watch this drama. That's why i love JDrama's, because the kissing scenes actually have some feelings of intimacy.
*It isn't supposed to be a comedy, but the situations the main characters got themselves into were just so ridiculous that I couldn't help but laugh. And be prepared for a lot of embarrassing moments. I can't even count how many times I had to pause an episode and do something else, because I just couldn't handle the embarrassment. Some might think that this is a flaw, but for me it was a plus. This drama made me feel with the characters.
*Some people thought that it was draggy. Well i didn't. I hate when dramas get dragged on for too log and that happens way to often but this drama was so short it had no time to get draggy.
*The opening song <3
*No unneccessary and stupid drama.
*It is so freaking relatable. Since my native language isn't English it is hard for me to express myself and I don't know if i am using the right words, but uhhh this show even with the fantasy element was more realistic than any KDrama i have ever watched. Maybe because I am in high school myself, but My Little Lover just hit the right spot in my heart for me.
Disadvantages:
*Some times the acting is kind of weird, but I feel like it's just the Japanese style.
*Besides the fact that our main lead is a tiny person, the story is not that original.
*Riku Takagi was kind of creepy. :D
*Sometimes it felt like the drama itself didn't know if the scene is supposed to be funny or serious, because I laughed a lot of times when serious music was playing in the background. Maybe I just have a weird sense of humour wich I dont think I do or it could be that the Japanese are the masters of sarcasm.
While writing the advantages the things that I liked came to my mind in a second, but when I had to write the disadvantages I really had to think for a minute so I want you to know that these "disadvantages" didn't really bother me while I was watching the show.
Overall:
I have no idea why I liked My Little Lover so much. Might be because I am a girl in her teens that just likes cheesy rom-coms. But you know I gave Full House (Thai), which is known for its cuteness, a 6, so I don't think that is the case. I don't really care if this show is cliche, because it is a really well done cliche. And If you are looking for something cute and fluffy look no further.
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Surprisingly fresh with real life characters
Okay so apart from the ML's one drama (Psychopath Diary) I haven't seen any other dramas by either of the leads. Honestly, I started watching this drama while I was waiting for the weekly episodes of Its okay to not be okay and Backstreet Rookie. Hence I began with zero expectations or idea about story, lead actors, reviews.This is such an underrated gem of a drama. So many of the 2020 big actor dramas have been kind of disappointing or not really left a lasting impression. However, this drama and its main characters leave a mark and I was sad to have the drama end.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS DRAMA. One of my most favourite in 2020 and will also make it to my All-time favourites. The acting is so fresh, goofy yet natural. The comedy is not forced, great flow of storyline with perfect transition from one plot to another. While having the element of politics this drama is not over-the-top with confusing political sub-plots and schemes. The romance part is also great and I liked the fact that the FL takes matters in her hands most of the time while dealing with their relationship. ML is good in supporting the FL and yet not overbearing as some other K-drama ML characters. A special mention about the 'camera angles' which some people might find unsettling but you get used to it and in fact it adds an interesting storytelling facet especially in the comic scenes.
I urge everyone to watch this drama for its story, acting, comedy, romance, politics and slice of life vibe. Its a must watch of 2020.
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Perfect Movie To Start New Page
If you are looking for a simple romantic story, this is for you! The director behind this movie is famous for that genre and A Year End Medley won't disappoint you. In this cold weather, we get to watch 7 different heartwarming beautiful tales from 7 different couples on Christmas day setting.Every character here are individually interesting and has a well written background to build their personality. I thought 2 hours movie wouldn't be enough to show every character's details, we don't have only 2-3 people to introduce, but a whole 14 characters! Despite the duration, they managed to show each of their layers, goals of the couple arc, and how they are linked to one and another.
I must mention out of all the couple, my favorite couple here goes to Yong Jin x Lee Young. Such a cute mature girl with supporting boyfriend! Beside fav couple, I love all the characters plot but if I have to choose, I will pick Kang Haneul's character as the best arc! From depression to comedy and move to breaking down, what a journey from his acting! Of course all the actor & actress also delivered the plot well, but Kang Haneul is just beyond.
I love the production team took care the clothing. They are all so pretty to look at. The cinematography in this movie also well taken. What I dislike from this movie might be the soundtrack only, they use a cliche classical music *cough* canon in d *cough* and that kinda ruin the flow for me, i just wanna laugh at that part.
Anyway, this is a nice movie to start the year, I wish there will be a sequel or maybe make it into drama series instead, all the stories are interesting to watch and they still have many to reveal.
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Bromance but great tension nonetheless
GUYS DISCLAIMER I spent the entire show waiting for these two men to kiss. THIS IS A BROMANCE. it wasnt in the tags when i started it and I was honestly not in the know about this being aired until i started it since it looked fun and interesting. ALso I just realised after writing all of this that this became a bit on the longer side.So to the actual review of the show, as I went into this expecting an enemies-to-lovers situation. The setup was honestly right there, police x crime lord. The tension? There. The chemistry? There. The constant feelings of me yelling at my screen “why are you looking at him like that?” moments? Also there. SO loads of potential for that but censorship I know.
And then about 10 episodes in, after till no kiss and not even an actual romantic subplot, I discovered that this is, in fact, a bromance.
A little recap of me that i feel like this show needs for people to get my feelings correctly. Me knowing this was bromance did not stop me from yelling at my screen for the rest of the show:
“Okay, you should kiss him now.”
“Aww… this is the perfect time for a kiss.”
“He deserves a kiss. KISS HIM NOW!”
But honestly, even without the kisses, the sweetness between the two leads was there throughout, and there was some genuinely great tension between them. They have the kind of chemistry that makes you constantly wonder "surely they’re going to kiss this time?" only for the show to once again say absolutely not. And IMO thats what a good bromance does. Always makes you wonder if they will ever kiss or if that tension surely wouldnt delve into something deeper.
I also have to admit that I went into this expecting more of a mid-50s undercover cop vs. mob/triad leader kind of story. I had NO idea there was a supernatural element involved, so when the whole “werewolf poison” thing started happening, I was sitting there like… excuse me, what show am I watching? I was super thrown off, but well my fault for going in blind.
And honestly, it took me a couple of episodes to adjust because I was so convinced I was watching one type of story and suddenly we were dealing with supernatural elements. Also, I’m just saying, that “werewolf poison” looked suspiciously like vampire stuff to me, but whatever. That is admittedly nitpicking on my part once again.
Despite all that, it was funny, engaging, and entertaining enough that I ended up glued to the screen for a couple of hours. It’s not something I see myself rushing to rewatch anytime soon, but I definitely enjoyed my time with it.
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1A little bit of sugar won't give you diabetes and might enhance your platter <3
I don't know if I can find any bad part in this BL even if I search with my magnifying glasses on...all I can see is spotless acting and raw transparent adult emotions with relatable characters to swoon over.YES it's cute, fluffy, refreshing and calming.
For me the most beautiful thing is that Togawa didn't forced his feelings on Nouze-san, this story happened naturally. Being single and close to 40 Mr. Nouze must have felt his life boring and uninteresting. At that time Togawa came into his life like a breath of fresh air. They both understood their boundaries as subordinates.
They are adults in love and but can giggle like a child over little things.
I can conclude this as a healthy BL to feed on whenever you're tired. Plots like this tells us that love at first sight still do exist and stays for a longer time, which makes me wonder why something like this doesn't happen to us :')
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really good drama, eng subs don't do it justice :(
Prior to this drama's release, I had heard about the cast and filming of it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the drama, the cast's chemistry, the storyline, and the soundtrack. The writers did an amazing job adapting the novel to the screen, maintaining many key moments from the novel and the two main characters' relationship, while making minor changes to plot and character backgrounds for better story flow and progression. The drama covers the story of romantic, familial, and friend relationships.I think the story portrays a very realistic relationship between the two main characters. The male lead, Li Xun, and the female lead, Zhu Yun come from very different family backgrounds and experiences, Li Xun a more tragic and Zhu Yun from a loving, well-off family. The story starts as more of a friends-to-lovers trope, but it's very clear how quickly they fall for each other. Zhu Yun, having always been an obedient daughter sees a side that she desires to be in Li Xun, and by being with him, she can rebel and be her "true self." The leads are not actually together for much of the drama, however, the team did a great job illustrating the push-pull of feelings prior to the actual relationship.Both characters have flaws--Li Xun is too closed off, a bit arrogant, and impulsive, but both love each other immensely, shown through LX pushing away ZY to protect her, and ZY still trusting him all throughout. Aside from the obstacles in their relationship, The college segment of the drama was so charming; all characters were lovable and the interactions and work they did remind me much of my own college experiences.
The distinction between the college romance and workplace romance is something I really enjoyed; there was a very obvious character development and while things seem different, they still are the same. LX and ZY still love and trust each other, continuing off from before, LX is still pushing away ZY to protect her, but ZY comes back stronger and determined to help him win his life and dreams back. I really love ZY's character in the way that she is strong and does everything in her power to protect LX because she loves him. I also think that the other coworkers at Feiyang are so funny a highlight of these emotional first few episodes of part 2.
Both lead actors portrayed the characters so well, I truly believe that they were meant to play them. Through behind the scenes clips, you can tell how hard they worked on bringing Li Xun and Zhu Yun to life. Chen Feiyu and Zhang Jingyi had amazing chemistry--there were so many moments in the episodes where they improvised and their interactions felt so natural.
I watched this drama completely in Chinese and had read the novel prior, and the Youtube English subtitles don't do the lines justice, often translated too simply or cliche/cheesy. Many of the lines hold deeper references to the novel and directly relates the personality and character progression, which is lost in these translations. Lighter & Princess is so much more than your standard idol drama; there's a long time span, imperfections in characters and relationships, and growth. While I feel like the ending few episodes of Lighter & Princess were a bit rushed, I'm still amazed by the closing scene, quoted exactly from the novel, with the carousel turning back time through their relationship, the coded heart stops beating, Li Xun's breathing, up to where they first met in college--this time from Li Xun's perspective. Though it's a happy ending, I can't help but feel a little sad every time I see that last clip. I will definitely be rewatching.
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Gold
I love watching dramas with older cast, because they still gives me the same vibes of old romcoms I used to watch mid 00s, and I'm glad they still have the knack of it considering it's been a while since I've seen UJH and SSH in a drama.That been said it's not a perfect drama and in some parts I got bored but I blame my busy schedule that made me watch each episode in parts, so even if I like it I definitely got distracted while watching which made me lose interest eventually ~
So this part is on me 🤦
Story is simple, young woman's mind in old woman's body all over again, but this is a case of memory loss so there is a twist to it, overall nicely done slightly illogical but good enough to entertain.
I would recommend it if you miss old 00s dramas, seeing those same old actors is a breath of fresh air now that most actors are Gen Z or younger watching some Gen X makes me reminiscence good old drama days when me and only five others in my country were watching kdramas and it wasn't as popular as now lol ~
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STORY: The synopsis, although it is correct, had me confused while watching because the marriage to the leader of the rivaling country does not happen until the last portion of the drama. And I mean last. I literally watched 40 episodes and the marriage still hadn't happened yet. Everything seemed to get jumbled together in the final episodes which is something that I do not care for as a viewer, especially when I'm watching a drama that is 50 episodes long. When I read the synopsis, I was under the impression that the marriage was going to happen sometime in the beginning or the middle of the story, and maybe show how she managed to thrive as a chef and survive living amongst the enemy, all while watching her first love fight to save her, but I was very wrong (lol).
The story itself was familiar, with a royal having a birth secret and living as a commoner since childhood, as well as having a childhood sweetheart. The nice twist to this story is that Yu Die is a fantastic chef thanks to the talent of her adoptive mother and throughout the drama, she is cooking delicious food as she journeys through the country after an unfortunate event separates her from her adoptive family. Through her experiences and after spending time at the palace with the royal prince, whom she had met before, she eventually comes to learn her true identity as a royal princess. While I was interested in how/if her adoptive mother and her lover Li Ma would find her again, there was a lot of scheming both in the palace and at war between the rivaling countries that seemed to make up a good portion of the story. And of course a lot of cooking scenes which isn't helpful when you're hungry (lol). After so many episodes of the same thing, I started to lose interest and eventually stopped watching this drama for quite awhile before picking it up again. I really wanted to like this drama, especially since I loved the cast, but that was not enough to hold my interest. The way it ended was odd to me as well, I think they could've executed a better closing had they not crammed all the action to the final 10 episodes.
ACTING/CAST: I love both Zheng Shuang and Ma Tian Yu and was excited to see them together as main leads, but I can honestly say that this wasn't a stand-out drama for either of them. I believe they were in a previous drama together in the past as potential love interests, but I haven't watched it so I can't compare their performances. In this drama though, I wasn't able to get invested into the romantic relationship between their characters because most of the time they were separated. The characters would long for each other, but when they'd see each other, they would only hug and seemed a bit distant at times, which made me feel they had more a friend/sibling relationship rather than one of lovers. But they did look very cute together during their scenes. What I did like about Yu Die though is that she was persistent with her love for Li Ma, even after becoming royalty. Li Ma's character was different, in a sense that he seemed to feel unworthy of her love after learning about her birth secret even though he still loved her. Overall I did enjoy seeing how their love story played out. Steven Jiang played his part well as a royal and I liked how his character showed a different kind of love and affection for Yu Die. At times I felt like he had more chemistry with Zheng Shuang than Ma Tian Yu, but it might've also been because he had more screen time with her. This was my first time seeing him in a drama and his performance left a good impression.
MUSIC: There were only a few ost songs played and they were decent, but most of the time traditional instrumentals were used. Sometimes all you need are nice instrumentals to help carry the story of historical dramas and this was one of those cases.
REWATCH VALUE: I don't think I would sit down and watch this drama again even if it was fully subbed because I felt like it was too long . I don't think it needed to be 50 episodes, especially with the way they crammed everything together at the end. There are better historical dramas out there and I didn't feel there was anything that made this drama stand out on its own to set it apart from other dramas with similar themes. Fans of Zheng Shuang, Ma Tian Yu, and Steven Jiang might enjoy this, but they have other works that are more superior both story-wise and performance-wise. Nevertheless, it was still a decent watch and I'm still glad I decided to check it out.
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