Extremely good plot twists and engaging plot
When this show came out i purely watched it because the cover page looked cool but from the second episode onwards i was hooked!! the plot was so good that i was at the edge of my seat till the next dayActing/Cast:
Jing Boran has done a great job in demonstrating the various sides to "fei-ke" he made me hate, love, pity and empathize with this fictional character that had lived a very pitiful life....The supporting cast also did well and they did their parts especially the actress who played Xuan-er, i felt enraged on her behalf and she did a very convincing job at switching personalities...The female lead was pretty good but her acting wasn't a show stealer for sure, what i mean by this is that although she does her part very well her role itself isnt that impactful in the actual show
Plot:
The plot was done so well!!! I read a comment saying that this is a special type of drama where all crimes are punished at the end regardless of the reasoning and I think that I would have liked this drama regardless of whether it had a happy/sad ending...The parallels drawn between the "victims" and "the fraud" were very well done and by the end you can't really hate anyone....I also felt like it aptly shows how even the most intelligent people can be affected by their past and how important a good upbringing is for a person.....One thing i will point out though is that you will enjoy this drama way more if you wait for the next episode rather than binging (in my case i spent a lot of time theorizing which made it a more exciting experience)
Conclusion:
If you are looking for a short drama that has a pretty conclusive ending (an extra season is not required but i read some comments on the speculation of its possibility)
there is no textbook good or evil, and every character is a person rather than a plot device for the protagonist
DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE SHOW, although there are meaningful gazes between leads and hinted feelings, and skinship between the supporting role with ml there is no actual romance as a plot in the story
( I tried to avoid saying anything close to a spoiler but if you want to know anymore details feel free to dm :) !)
Was this review helpful to you?
Acting was great. I love MatsuJun, it's always a treat to see him. Juri did extraordinarily well with him and I felt they both had a lot of chemistry. Also, her hair style is adorable. The minor characters were good actors as well, but the main two were great, as expected.
I have to say that the cinematography, lighting, and overall feel of this movie is exceptional. It's truly beautiful from start to finish, it fits the film's message, it makes you feel nostalgia for these characters that you've only known for 2 hours. It's just fantastic. If you have no other reason to watch this movie, watch it for the shallow reason of "It looks so goddamn pretty".
The music is pretty good, but I don't recall anything from the OST that stood out. With one exception. I swear, whenever I hear "Wouldn't It Be Nice", I am going to cry.
Overall: watch if you like love stories or any of the actors in the film. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely worth it to give it a shot. Or, if you're shallow and love movies that look pretty (like me), definitely watch this movie.
Was this review helpful to you?
I have never seen her in anything before, but I did NOT like Krystal in this role. I could be wrong, but it seemed like she was trying to emulate Park Shin Hye's acting style, but she did it poorly. The expressionless face, always speaking slowly in the low tones.... only works if your voice is rich and your eyes alone, can express more than one emotion .
I don't know how Korean Culture views this, but I had a big problem with the idea of a girl hooking up with her dead sisters fiance'. It is just not something I can feel sympathetic about. Even if he was my soul-mate and I didn't find out the connection until after I was pregnant with his child.I still wouldn't date my dead sister's boyfriend. lol... okay, I am exaggerating, but you get the idea. That said, the story itself would not have been as much of an issue, if the Chemistry between the leads was even remotely believable.
On a side note: I enjoyed L in this part, I hope to see him as a romantic Lead in the future. I also always love the second lead female in everything she is in, and would love to see her as the lead in a noona romance... maybe with L. That would be worth the watch.
Was this review helpful to you?
Stephen Chow have made a good job on directing and producing this film. Although he was not on the movie but he picked the right character to play the male lead role instead of him. The female lead role was also great and funny, you would love her :) <3
I give it a 10 stars! I'm so picky in giving a 10 stars on a movie because it is so hard to find a movie that deserves to give a 10 stars. But this one really deserves a 10 star ratings. You would love it! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Was this review helpful to you?
The story is ok. It is not the age gap. The actor who played Yoichi portrayed the sad emotions and insensitiveness required of his character well. Sakurai handled the maturity of his character well. But what was lacking is the chemistry. The Chemistry to bind the two characters acting well for this love story was missing. That makes everything less interesting. Even though the actors put an effort to justify their roles, the lack of chemistry makes it looks like the actors have not put in enough effort. If you look at the intimate scenes, it looks like the actors are unwilling or awkward(in a bad way) to do it. And that really put me off. Oh come on Sakurai San, you need to show the intense love in a very expressive way. Minagawa Kun also need to be more expressive. I felt Minagawa was intense but need to be expressive. These subtle expressions would have paid off in a big way if these two had Chemistry.
I liked the music part.
If you are expecting an intense love story, you might be a bit disappointed. Still if you have nothing else to do and just need to kill time, then watch it.
Was this review helpful to you?
Character wise, Mei Nagano was spot on. She was just so refreshing to look at. Miura Shohei on the hand also did great. But sometimes I just want to comb his hair lol (I know, they're just referencing the manga but still...) and Alan Shirahama... well, I may be a little biased about him since I was really pegging for Kentaro, never-the-less, he pulled it off somehow. The little smiles he makes were really cute.
All in all, it was a great live action. Plus, it was quite faithful to the manga despite some deleted scenes and characters.
Was this review helpful to you?
"The sunset was so gorgeous; its clothes were made of clouds."
This series is so beautiful that I eagerly waited every day to watch it on time when a new episode was released. The actors all performed exceptionally well, bringing their characters to life in a way that I won't forget for a long time. I loved how everyone from Wufeng had their own story, and you could empathize with them. I was able to feel both sadness and happiness with the characters. The relationship between the two gong brothers (shangjue and yuanzhi) was what I liked the most in the series; they found comfort in each other and helped each other to keep going.Was this review helpful to you?
Come on!...what just happened?
I read some of the reviews, and whole heartedly agree with the following:1. Slow! Slow! Slow! Too many " fillers".
2. Unnecessary, l o n g staring...while Zung expresses his feelings thru his eyes, it cannot be said about Mark's insanely long, unpenetratable staring and long, well, saying nothing...
3. Does anybody really believe Aek's ( Mark) lack of sensing the love/lust coming at him? If he struggles with his own feelings, there is no clear indication...and we are already on ep 8...
4. How many nasty/ jealous/ having their own agenda Chefs do we need in one story???
As for why I will continue to watch it:
1. Main couple is beautiful, and hopefully the natural chemistry will come thru...it is a bl!
2. The photography...the food...the music...Aue supporting family...
3. The trailers ( happy ending...).
4. Hoping the director will let Mark show some real acting going forward...I trust he can act. Zung is great already.
So far, a bit disappointing. I have noticed in other BL stories the tendency to keep slow motion untill the last episode and then tidy everything in a real hurry....hoping this is not the case here.
Update after the 10th episode- what I was hoping for happened...Mark (Aec) is expressing what he is feeling, and he can act! Finally, he becomes clearer and we understand what he going through and his inner struggle...glad the director did not wait to the very last moment. I changed my overall impression accordingly 😉
Well...I just watched Ep 11, and reduced my overall impression accordingly. I hope the producers read these reviews - I hereby strongly suggest to never employ the screen writer, and especially never use the director! What a waste of two talented actors! Everything about it was wrong! The idiotic dialogues ( who cares about pork??? Yes, we got the symbolism of the food in prior episodes), the unrealistic lack of progression in their romantic and physical relationship ( a peck of lips and a hug?!? really?), turning the MC into a boring, secondary couple to the dessert Chef and his BF giving them a bed scene and the longest love confessions scenes (one minute was enough), Playtime is involved with Eve!?!?..What was that all about???? 10 last minutes showing scenes from prior episodes!?!?! Why? We saw it already! Nothing made any sense. I am so disappointed with this lackluster end...
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
do better
If you’re thinking of watching the Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint live action… Please don’t. Like seriously, just read the novel or the manhwa instead. It’s so much better. The live action barely even feels like the same story.I haven’t even watched the full thing myself tbh but from everything I’ve seen and what people have been saying, I can confidently say it’s just Not it. The changes they made?? Wild. And if you actually care about the original, it’s kinda painful hearing what they did to it.
First of all WHY are they saying Dokja hated Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse (TWSA)??? No he didn’t. He literally LOVED it. He was the only reader left by the end, like he stayed with it from chapter 1 to the end. The author wouldn’t have even been able to keep writing without him. That story meant everything to Dokja—it was literally his reason to live.
And then they’re saying he was a bully?? What??? Dokja was the one getting bullied. He was quiet, alone, and barely holding it together. The novel was his escape, it was all he had. Flipping his whole backstory like that just completely messes up his character.
The casting too 😭 I’m not tryna be mean or anything but the actors just don’t feel like the characters. It’s not just about appearance either, they just don’t give off the same energy at all. The whole thing feels super disconnected.
Also Yoo Sangah being a healer now?? Since when. She had thread-based abilities and she was strong in such a calm quiet way. They really just took that and tossed it. For what.
Heewon using a gun instead of a sword is crazy too. Like her whole constellation was tied to justice and the sword was such a big part of that. Also she wasn’t even supposed to be in the story until Dokja entered TWSA and changed the plot. But in the live action they made her the protagonist?? That’s not how any of this goes.
Joonghyuk was the actual protagonist of TWSA. In the novel, Dokja spent years reading about him and admiring him from behind a screen. It wasn’t a bond or anything like that, not at first—Dokja just idolized him. He was obsessed with watching his journey and surviving alongside him from the outside. That whole dynamic was super important and they barely even touch it in the adaptation.
Idk. It just sucks seeing a story that meant so much get turned into something that barely feels like ORV. It doesn’t have the emotion, the depth, or the weight of the original. It’s just not the same at all.
If this is your first time hearing about ORV please please read the novel or the manhwa first. That’s the real story. This live action ain’t it. ORV deserved so much better.
To whoever directed this please do better and actually take criticism.
Was this review helpful to you?
Excellent, phenomenal and intense drama!!
To start off with,this drama has a solid plot.The screen play is very intense,grippy and there is not even a bit of nonsense till the end.The pace is very good and the cat-mouse games between the 3 leads is really interesting.
Ren Jialun as Wei Zhao,is excellent in portraying his role.Being a smart,cunning,complex man with many mysteries,yet has many emotions.He is phenomenal in his acting.
Li Landi as Jiang Ci,is a smart,naive,decisive yet kind girl from Jiang village who comes to capital and gets herself involved in the midst of ongoing political tensions.She is very good in her acting.
Jeremy Tsui,as Pei Yan,is smart,intelligent,cunning,stubborn and yet becomes a reliable friend who stands for Wei Zhao in difficult times.His acting was excellent.
All the characters have their own goals,personalities,and are very complex and are written perfectly.
The sets, costumes,production,locations,screenplay,plot,twists and turns,everything is good.
The last episodes were too good.Thefriendship of 3 of them was very nice.I liked the way they supported each other in difficult times keeping aside their grievances.The emotions were beautifully portrayed.The characters development is Excellent.The war and action scenes were excellent.
Overall,I would like to describe this drama in one word-excellent and phenomenal!!
Was this review helpful to you?
A Sugary Sweet Romance Tale...
Based upon the renowned manga (Hori-san to Miyamura-kun) and having been released fairly simultaneously with an anime series in Japan, the drama version ” Horimiya” undeniably regurgitates the same plot premise of social butterfly Kyoko Hori ( Kubota Sayu) beginning to date seeming otaku Miyamura Izumi ( Suzuka Ouji) who hides a deep secret from his school-life persona. While there are prominent points to praise about “Horimiya”( which will be raised later), there are notable faults which arise from the drama production from casting, trying to transcend notable setups from the manga into a real-life setting, as well as the abridged closure ( or lack of it) in the finale.Before anything else, it is probably important to address the primary issue which has surrounded the drama with casting choices.
Respectfully, Kubota Sayu wasn’t entirely ‘’ terrible’’ as our female lead Hori. In fact, in an odd way, Sayu did seem to grow into her role fairly well with a sense of genuine emotional investment into her character. However, it is difficult to really point out anything particularly captivating or striking about Sayu’s performance as Hori.
Ironically as a character, Hori is fairly unforgettable by her her eccentricity and outspokenness. Of course, this is not turning a blind eye towards the typical tropes used as a drama sourced from a manga such as the “ popular girl” , the “ academic student” and the “ tougher than she seems” cliches , however, even in the drama, Hori’s greatest trait remained within being able to overcome certain stereotypes about herself as well as her relationship with Miyamura. Hori was given an actual chance in the drama for viewers to fortify her characterisation through her interactions sans with Miyamura, such as her interactions with her father Kyosuke ( Kimura Ryo; one of the few actors who felt fairly well-cast within his role) and her younger brother Sota ( Takagi Haru). Arguably, Hori’s interactions with her mother Yuriko ( Kawai Aoba) and her later friendship with Sengoku Kakeru ( Onodera Akira) and Ayasaki Remi ( Marsh Aya) felt fairly minimal within the drama version, nor truly giving viewers a chance to see Hori’s interactions as a friend as well as her maternal relationship with her own mother in a respectfully fairly masculine household .
The relationship between Hori and Miyamura was the focal point of the series and the plot development. For Hori, Miyamura has a metamorphosis from the archetype “ weird kid” in her class, to a more multifaceted individual. Against all odds of the notable problems which arose in the series and can strike to the surface of romance dramas with emotional gaslighting and “ obstacles in the way of their romance” , the pairing between both characters felt fairly natural as teenagers. Neither character followed the cliche archetypes of having “ had a crush on one another forever” , nor manipulating “ to win someone else’s affections”. Hori simply entered her relationship with Miyamura upon shared grounds early on in the series before the rest of the drama focused upon both characters learning to understand one another and for their feelings for one another to grow mutually. (Perhaps the one element of the relationship that the drama version did better than the manga and anime, was leaving out the more “sexual undertones” of their relationship . This isn’t to condemn these elements in either versions as they do help to portray a more realistic notion of teenagers, however, this always felt slightly mismatched against both characters as individuals even in the original manga and therefore wasn’t really necessary.)
It is fair to say that whilst Sayu is a good actress, she was slightly miscast as Hori by struggling to channel Hori’s personality as a character, consequently making Hori in this drama version, a fairly forgettable character against other romance heroines. ( A shame for an otherwise interesting character.)
Then of course the biggest elephant room (regarding casting) is often raised by the choice of Suzuka Ouji as Miyamura Izumi. Similar to his costar Kubota Sayu, Suzuka was not inherently appalling within his performance
as the male lead. In many ways he did certainly help to animate his character away from the more one-dimensional realm of male protagonists as “ emotionless” . On the other hand, Suzuka did seem to mismatch his character slightly within his physical appearance. This is not suggesting that Suzuka is “physically unattractive” or a slightly younger actor would have been better for the role,however, it does raise certain questions when the drama production sees Suzuka in a terrible long-haired wig without even attempting for the drama production to make this look natural.
Similar to Hori, Miyamura was an intriguing character against all odds of setups. Although initially appearing as “peculiar” and taciturn, Miyamura was fairly kind-hearted as well as hardworking and altruistic by helping out at his mother’s bakery, as well as the ongoing and unusual friendship between Miyamura and his best friend since middle school, Shindo Koichi ( Inoue Yuki). Parallel to Hori, Miyamura enters his relationship with her romantically upon mutual grounds before growing to like her more in a natural process which felt odd against the more cliches stereotypes of the drama. However, there’s a lot to note about the dynamic between Miyamura and the other characters of the series ( sans Hori), both within his fraternal friendship with Hori’s younger brother and father, as well as of course with his best friend and their complicated reasons behind becoming friends in the first place. Arguably, the one element of the series which did feel incredibly rushed and underdeveloped with Miyamura as a character, occurred within his past, especially with his estranged relationship with Makio Takihara. Therefore whilst Miyamura was a fairly intriguing character, it is fair to say that Suzuka was perhaps not entirely suited for the role.
The other side characters of the drama such as Kakeru, Remi , Kono Sakura ( Sakura) and Iura Shu ( Sota Ryosuke) should have been by default interesting characters, however, lacking screen time and setups, easily made them fairly forgettable over the course of the series as individuals (besides their occasional involvement within the plot dynamic between Miyamura and Hori).
Overall whilst certainly not an unwatchable or dire production with some praiseworthy features of having a healthy, fairly realistic relationship between teenagers as lovers and friends as well as some intriguing characters, poor pacing, tropes, miscasting and lacking focus upon certain plot lines for characters, often made this drama feel underdeveloped. The ending of the drama whilst arguably allowing some ground for a second season , did not truly bring a sense of closure or help to tie off characters and the relationship between Miyamura and Hori, as well as friendships also. Therefore it’s important to summarise that whilst Horimiya is not a terrible drama upon any grounds and was sweet within its ultimate concept , there are certainly better dramas to watch out there.
Was this review helpful to you?
Watch it, it only takes up 45 minutes of your time.
Watch it it’s only 45 minutes of ur timeSo I watched this because I saw it somewhere on YouTube and thought why not? Funny part: I did not know at all what genre this was... I basically went in there expecting some innocent BL (although the title kind of should have tipped me off).
First about the acting: I can’t really complain... three 15 minute episodes are really short to make a statement about acting skills.. however I did like how all the actors portrayed their roles and it all seemed convincing. I absolutely loved how all the feelings where conveyed in episode three.
Now the story line: I like confusing things... so this was basically heaven for me. I watched episode one and was so confused that I started episode two right away, which explained a lot and ended quite interestingly... I loved episode three, though it did feel a little all over the place... however it suited the series nicely.
So I absolutely loved what they did with such a short amount of time.. there where some confusing parts till the end however not always understanding everything is sometimes a good thing. Gives you more to think about.
I’m pretty sure I’ll rewatch this again another time.
If you’re bored and don’t know what to do/watch definitely give this one a go, it’ll make the 45 minutes spent on it worth the while.
Was this review helpful to you?
Ikuta Toma made this show revolve around his character Mitsuru playing off of Koike Eiko's Ayako flawlessly. As a watcher I believed they had a shared history. Yasuda Ken acted the outsider Koji masterfully, as Ayako's new husband he finds an ally in his new brother in law when standing against his wife.
Music : Tomayo by Kanjani8 really grew on me and I have added to my playlist the insrt music added to the light hearted feel of the drama.
I do not rewatch shows often so in all my reviews this is a low score.
Overall this drama is about pacing and everyone has their own timing to do things. Some are go getters and hit the ground running with every task they do, and others have a turtle named Bolt that they try and emulate : )
Was this review helpful to you?
Pointless Idealism and disappointment
It tells the story of a secret and sweet real-life romance between Seo Hye-jin, a veteran cram school instructor, and Lee Joon-ho, a quirky student who returns after a decade to stir her heart. The secret midnight romance that begins when the lights go out in Daechi-dong Academy, and the colorful stories of the academy instructors we didn't know about.The subject matter is important to me but they failed to deliver it compellingly. I'm not even complaining about the romance but about the lack of coherence and the presentation of the story itself. The real issue isn't just the plot but the pacing, tone, coherence, and expression of ideas throughout the drama. The script starts with a strong foundation of idealism, but those core themes are abandoned by the end. It's a classic case of bad writing where the initial promises aren't fulfilled. It's too preachy and idealistic while lacking that "realness" quality. You can tell what they were trying to say but they failed to convince the audience with their story-telling and execution it in a memorable way.
Initial episode 1 to 10 had romantic buzz, their plot was interesting and it was good to watch but after 10th episode the drama got so boring that I didn't want to watch it but I watched it.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Problematic show
First of all, the background music is too sudden and makes tension scenes ridiculous. Plus, even though is can be funny at first, actors really accentuate their expressions and we can not feel invested in a serious scene. The show is overall disorganized and doesn't make sense sometimes like the homophobic dad that accept so easily his son, lmao it's just impossible regarding of the character.Now all the problems:
-Tonhon is the definition of toxic masculinity, he takes Chon as granted and didn't feel sorry at all for cheating on Chon (TriNg To pROvE He Is a MaN) and even considered it would be easy to "win" him back because Chon has loved him for so many years, I still think Chon deserves better.
- Na have been used very rudely by his friends not considering his feelings
-Tonhon dad is transphobic, considers women only as wombs and homophobic but they still wanted to make him become the good dad at the end, it's just unrealistic
-BaiPai, who I loved, didn't hesitate to out Ai and Ni, it was not her job to tell his dad and it is not acceptable but make her a remarks about that
-How Miriam didn't have a character for herself, she was literally a hardcore fangirl (I hate this type of characters, fetishize homosexuals is wrong) and a comic resort but exists only through others.
-They slutshame a lot, Miriam is chosen to be the surrogate because she is a virgin by Ton's father, they consider it is a shameful condition and make fun of the girls there. Some are here because they do not have a choice and need money, others because they genuinely like it . In either case, it shouldn't be mocked
-The tentative of rape on Chon wasn't took seriously. Overall, Amp friend is really problematic, he forces himself on Chon by heavy flirt even though he can clearly see he was uncomfortable. He tries to rape him but this subject is taken lightly like if it wasn't cool but not that bad either.
- Also the actor playing Tonhon took off his shirt way too often. Don't get me wrong, he has a great body, but it was at such a point that it was getting annoying.
Was this review helpful to you?
Recent Discussions
-
Role Reversal (RR) Drama Lovers Club9 minutes ago -
what was the last book you read?1 hour ago -
-
Vertical Short Drama2 hours ago -
Last Japanese song you listened to? #22 hours ago
