STORY:
This is the story of Duk Mi (played by Park Min Young) who is a fangirl (like a rabid fan – and a little too much like me). She just idolizes Cha Shi An, nicely done by One. She also has a real job curating an art gallery. Queue ornery but very breathtaking new director, Ryan Gold played by Kim Jae Wook (way to beautiful for comfort). It isn’t long before he realizes something is up with Duk Mi and well it all spirals out of control in a nice cotton candy flow-y way.
CHARACTERS:
Two leads aside, I liked the supporting characters a lot. Also, Duk Mi plays this part very similar to how she does in Secretary Kim so I’m concerned she might be a one note wonder. I haven’t seen Kim Jae Wook in anything else yet, but I plan to. Their romance is a little textbook but entertaining. The storyline of Duk Mi becoming an emotional support for Ryan Gold is touching and removes some of the cliché-like taint from the story.
Duk Mi’s friend’s Eun Gi and Seon Joo are good for some laughs (I do like Park Jin Joo’s Lee Seon Joo the very best). The co-workers including Cindy (fellow celebrity stalker) are interesting and Cindy’s mother is so out of control, its like watching a car accident. I admit I found Cha Shi An endearing and sweet and hoped he’d have more visibility in the show or at least at the end, perhaps a concert or something. I was a little frustrated his character never found out the identity of the fan (it was Duk Mi). That would have been nice to see his reaction to realize he knew her, but….it wasn’t necessary to carry the story to the ending.
MUSIC:
The music wasn’t bad but forgettable. Truly, I can’t remember one song about this show, but I wasn’t annoyed by it. I don’t make a habit to download songs but over the summer I found a few shows with music now firmly planted in my playlists. (Is that a good thing or a bad thing?)
RECAP:
Park Min Young, like Secretary Kim, has fabulous hair and costumes. I want fabulous hair and costumes!! I will say that considering her last two shows were with Kim Jae Wook and Park Seo Joon, she must be the luckiest actress in all Asia. I’ll admit that I want to watch all her movies just for the leading men.
If you are looking for earth shattering, scenes that make you want to scream or cry, political intrigue, or high art, please don’t watch this show. Her Private Life is something lighthearted and friendly that you can detox with when watching too many c-dramas. When your done watching, I promise, you’ll be smiling….however, also ready to move on.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I have seen Swords of Legend (2014) featuring Yang Mi & Li Yi Feng - which also had a very mysterious and intriguing plot. This "sequel" is not directly tied in with the previous but continues with having introducing new legendary and powerful swords to us. In SOL2, we are introduced to the Hanguang sword & Zhaoming sword. Hanguang is supposedly an evil sword that's cursed It’s a powerful soul that requires strength as it can decrease the energy of the person that wields it. Zhaoming is a sword that was used during the ancient battle of the gods (see below) but was broken into many pieces after the battle, and never seen again. Zhaoming sword is so powerful it can cut off the “spiritual energy” of a person.
The plot of the story is that during ancient times, during a mythological battle the sky was damaged so God Shen Nong had to slay a giant turtle to help hold up the pillars of heaven. He used the colored stone to help repair the sky. During this battle, an ancient group of human beings "Leishan tribe" assisted in this battle. As their reward, God Shen Nong granted them to live in a floating island above the earth and presented them with a tree that can give them "immortal" abilities - such as longer lives, super strength, etc. in return the Leishan tribe worshiped God Shen Nong. However throughout the years, the barrier around Leishan's tribe starts to deteriorate and the tree starts to die and people start to get sick, but the god is nowhere to be found. A demon, Li Ying, sees this opportunity and sneaks into their city and grants them help. But in turn, must help him spread demonic tree-roots throughout earth. A group of four heroes from earth discovers the truth and help rally up the martial sects to fight against the atrocities caused by Leishan’s tribe and Li Ying.
Yue Wu Yei (Fu Xin Bo) - Is a spoiled brat and Yanjia enthusiast. (Yanjia is like robots/steampunk type of creations). He is actually of royal lineage of the Wolf Clan of Jiandu (they were destroyed by war) and adopted by “the enemy” General Yue. He’s raised in a lavish environment, being given all by his adopted parents (they do love him though). He was rescued by Xie Yi (Yanjia expert) and later becomes his protege and inherits his skills & powers.
Wenren Yu (Ying Er) - Is a warrior from Baicao valley. She left the valley and now “wanted” by her clan. She is on the search for her master, who went missing after discovering Leishan’s tribe's diabolical plan. She ends up falling for Wu Yei.
Xia Yize (Aarif Rahman) - He is part of the royal family of Chang’an. His mom is consort, who happens to be a mermaid so he’s considered half-monster. He doesn’t want the throne and instead wants to practice Taoism cultivation with his master, but is thrust into palace intrigue. He ends up falling in love with “Fairy of Mount Wu” - Ruan.
Ruan (Jiang Coco) - Initially we think she’s “Fairy of Mount Wu” but she has lost her memory, as Xie Yi had locked her in stone for 10 years. She gradually figures out who she is in the end. She is very sweet and naive and gradually falls for Yize.
Important Side Characters we should know.
Xie Yi/Chu Qi - Is a Yanjia mastermind, and priest from Lieshan’s Tribe. He initially doesn’t agree with causing their people to suffer from the foul-air so he creates yanjia creations to try and break the barrier set by God Fuxi, but he inadvertently lets in Li Ying (the demon). He ends up rebelling against the Supreme Priest because he doesn’t think they should save their people by sacrificing earthmen for Li Ying.
Li Ying - scary/smoke demon. He feeds on people’s emotions and fears.
High Priest/Shen Ye - He is the leader of Leishan’s tribe. All he wants it is to solve his people’s dilemma of sickness, and he is willing to sacrifice earth people’s to Li Ying’s plan to ensure that his tribe can survive. He’s like a good anti-hero of this series.
Yu Qi - The sword spirit inside Hanguang. I liked how cool they made the sword spirit is portrayed in here. He randomly comes out to scold Wu Yei but also gives him advice. He later helps the crew by melding together Hanguang and Zhaoming sword.
Overall, this drama isn’t terrible. I thought the plot was intriguing and I was captivated and wanted to see how it ended. I wasn’t in love with the cast, I thought it was meh (but I thought the same for SOL). I just didn’t feel “connected” to our cast. The romance isn’t super cute, but the ending was overall happy for most characters.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Nothing great but finally a coherent story in a Jdrama (for me)
My review will be biased because I've been so disappointed by Jdramas in the past that this seems gold, lol.Finally, a coherent story that was also enjoyable. It is not the best story, and even the acting is not the best, but the ML really tried. And the story progression makes sense. For once I was not pulling my hair out while watching a Japanese drama.
I feel like the mother's drama was unnecessary and not needed a lot. It was pretty short to be fair, but in 9 episodes, even that seems long. Other than this one thing, I didn't really find anything to complain about per se.
For the FL to be experienced, her reactions to any sort of intimacy were quite hilarious. Nonetheless, a very easy and simple watch. :)
Was this review helpful to you?
I liken it to "Liar Game," where people manipulate each other for money by lowering their debts. Both have tons of puzzles in a game that will test their humanity, morality, loyalty and, of course, friendship. So it comes down to the premise of "Tomodachi Game" that should be translated as "Game of Friendship".
The drama was very well planned, starting with the story that is not at all simple, it is rich in tormenting elements, where they test all the feelings of the participants and stirring the feelings of the spectators.
The quality of the cast here is irrelevant, after all they are all players of distinct minds who act differently under the pressure of a complicated game with a soundtrack that helps and much to give the climate of tension necessary for the story. Reasoning in a limited time to choose the correct answer is undoubtedly torturous, experiencing real tension and emotion is difficult even for those who watch, imagine who plays.
"Tomodachi Game" explores all the variables and perspectives of the participants, just a wrong answer and you are out of this game! Where friendship will speak louder than money or money will speak louder than friendship!
Was this review helpful to you?
Very Entertaining
This was a very funny series. The script was great because it mixed the right amount of comedy and drama. The cast did a great job portraying their characters. I also like how the actors did not take their character seriously. The only character I didn’t like was Fifa. She was portrayed as too whiny and annoying. I don’t know if this was a problem with the script or how the actress was told to play the character. As for production, the cinematography, sets, and graphics were awesome.Random Note: Annie’s house was also used in the 21 Days Theory series as Q’s house. I always get a kick when I see a familiar location used in different series. However, this was the first time I saw the same location as I was watching both series in one day.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Must-watch Historical Rom-com
First off, I highly recommend this drama to anyone looking for a historical rom-com. I find myself laughing at almost every episode. Along with the comedy, this show packs several plot reversals that quickly advances the story. The pacing is quite perfect. A few episodes toward the end suffer from some rushed editing, but it does not affect my overall enjoyment too much.I am very impressed by the character development and casting. Many characters have their own backstory and motivation for their actions. Each actor fits their role perfectly. Among the entire cast, I really can’t pinpoint a single bad actor. I am especially impressed by Neo Hou who can delicately depict Rong Xia’s emotional trauma. The cast members deserve praise for their outstanding performance. The production team have created interesting characters and select the most appropriate actors for them.
The show’s central theme is “family”. We see contrast between our two leads: Ban Hua, who is adored by her family members, and Rong Xia, who loses his family at an early age. It is also because of “family” that brings our two leads together: Ban Hua strives to protect her family at all cost and Rong Xia wants revenge for his deceased loved ones. As the story progresses, we see the interaction and competition between the different families. Despite the many hardships, the Ban family sticks together and manages to prevail. Unfortunately, some families suffer from greed for power, which lead to miserable outcomes.
Ultimately, what makes this show so heart-warming is the union of family. Rong Xia desperately longs for the family that he has lost. He tries to find another father figure but feels empty after certain events. Without realizing it, he internally torments himself over the issue of “family”. Thankfully, Ban Hua stops him from self-destruction through warmth and love.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
7.5 rating? Damnn!
I almost missed this little gem here because of the low rating here. Phew~ luckily i watched it and i damn enjoyed it. No its not a perfect series and there is lots of flaws. Dramatic but those warmth added to the show raised its flavour. Its a really enjoyable show and the main couple has exploding chemistry. Do not be deterred by the sypnosis of the main leads possibility of being blood related siblings and expect something melodrama that will crash the whole show. I was almost too scared to watch because of this but its nothing that bad about it. Its overall quite light hearted and how the main leads fall in love is natural and don't feel forced which i liked about. Its like every episode has a few small story about their client whom want to take the paternity test, not all story is good however all this little story shows us the real side of the main leads and that every problems does not appear to be just how it looks and has more depth into it. Just like how we should not judge a book by its cover, real life issue has multiple facet so we shouldnt be too quick to judge.Anyhow i really enjoy this show. enjoyment value for is 10/10. Not everyone will enjoy as much as i did but if i have to give a rating for this show excluding my personal enjoyment and just how this show fare i will still give a minimum rating of 8. Its short and sweet, fast paced but not too fast. I am writing this review so that more people will give this show a shot and not drop it due to the low rating here.
CIAOS~
Was this review helpful to you?
People are not white and black, we are gray
Any kind of love rivalry is a very common theme in all sorts of works of fiction. Even love triangle and brothers going against each other, be it for love or other things. This means that the plot and story must be really good for the series to do well, for the series to really shine. Sadly, the plot and storyline are where Double Savage falls short.Korn: His father hates him and is abusive towards him while his mother enables him to do so. I know she is supposed to really love him, but the fact that she just stood by and did nothing? Yeah, doesn’t really make her a good character in my books. His two siblings do try, but they cannot really do much unless they want the same treatment. He is an incredibly strong, smart and independent character, but his family obligations and love know no limits. Even at his own expenses. Ohm did exceptionally, he truly shined in the role of Korn. The action scenes were great, yes, but the emotional ones? He really portrayed so many emotions through his eyes. Him being calm and mad at the same time was done so well.
Win: I really wanted to like him, and I did at the start of the series. And after that, it all went downhill. I don’t even know if I can believe that he at some point truly loved Korn as a brother should. His actions in the second part of the series show his true colors and they make me question everything I have thought about him. I think his upbringing as the golden child of the family really showed. He felt the pressure his father put on him, yes, but he was also led by the idea of being better than everyone. Perth played Win so well. The scenes where Win and Korn are going against one another had be on the edge of my seat. Especially the way Perth played Win.
Rung: The girl has absolutely no redeeming qualities. She made playing the victim her whole personality. She messed things up for everyone, multiple times, and caused troubles for herself and even more to others, yet she went and blamed everyone else but herself. Boo-hoo, go cry in the corner and see if anyone cares. She was manipulative and selfish, and she only truly cared about herself. I must give it to Film, it’s hard to make me hate a character this much, but she did a great job. I really loved how she controlled her emotions and her micro expressions in many scenes.
The whole love triangle between the two brothers and Rung was done very poorly. The way brotherly rivalry was written into the plot was not exactly great either. As I said, this is a very popular trope, so it really needs to be done well. Which it wasn’t. It made very little sense how extreme Win’s reactions were at certain scenes, especially after the later revelations. And his double standards for Korn and everyone else? I am disappointed with how they decided to resolve all of this in the end too. Especially the whole Rung situation.
Li was probably my favorite character in the whole series. She truly loved her brothers, equally and unconditionally. Even when they were acting like idiots, she stood by them and supported them in any way she could. She is brave and loyal, she is caring and supportive. I could really relate to her.
I also really liked both Ah and Mek as well. The two might have been criminals, but they had good hearts. They cared not only about themselves but about everyone around them and their whole community. Even if their community turned their backs on them on certain occasions. I even liked uncle Wit. I really enjoyed how calm Korn seemed when he was around him. He is truly at peace while around him.
The rival gang – who were they? Where did they come from? What did they want? What was their end goal? No one knows because they showed up and left with no explanation. Which is another plot hole.
There were some plot twists that I did not expect. While some made sense and really fit into the story, there was also a lot of them that just didn’t make any sense. Or really lacked background information that would make us understand them better.
I think the acting was the only thing that saved this series for me. I think all the actors did an amazing job in the roles they were given. And yes, even those who played characters I disliked. I hated the characters, not the actors. The plot was… what even was the plot? I feel like the reasons behind what happened were not solid or made clear. Another thing is the ending… why? Just why? Redemption arc is something that should be given to characters who deserve it. And not everyone does.
If there is one thing that the series showed well is how people are not white and black, we are gray. No one is completely good, and no one is completely bad, but we are a mix of good and bad.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
However, I found that the first maybe 7 episodes dragged on for far to long and I almost stopped watching because of it. However, the drama did pick itself back up! It was a great story and a great ending, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good tear jerking romance. You do have to have quite the tolerance to get through the beginning episodes though but I promise it will get better.
You will find yourself hating the main villain, probably more then you've hated any bad guy in a show or movie before, and it will make you want to yell at your screen over and over. The actress does an excellent job at it though, as I've seen her play a complete opposite role and she does a phenomenal job at it.
So overall, very good drama, but a very slow start. This drama is what made me fall in love with Lee Seung Ki. x3
Was this review helpful to you?
Story -9.5/10
The story was founded on the premise of Eve ( the female lead) having the ability to see her future through her dreams, so somehow I am not surprised at how fast the love angle between her and Pun (the male lead) was developed. The chemistry between them was cute and their interactions were sweet, cute and not forced. I find it amazing how the writer was able to inject something that will help us understand about Thailand... their way of life, culture and regulations without drifting from the main theme of the drama. I thought everything was a giveaway but to my surprise.... the subtle twist was a warm welcome.
Acting 9.5/10
All the scenes were greatly executed and it came as a surprise to me how good Ice Nattarat acted out the drama scenes considering that he is barely new. He was good and very convincing in the crying scene... it all came so natural.... and Ice Preechaya... what can I say???? I love her so much. And the supporting casts, they were all so funny and good.
Music 9/5/10
The music was also good especially at the ending scene.... I love the lyrics too... perfectly suits the drama
Rewatch Value -10/10
I can watch the drama especially the last episode over and over again. It never fails to give me that warm satisfying feeling no matter how many times I have rewatch this.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Don't be fooled by the hate/low rating reviews!!!
Hmm I finished the drama just today after binge watching for 3~4 days and honestly I really don't understand why are people criticizing this drama for being bad because the story was really fine for me. I was quite shocked at how many people actually said mean stuff and criticized the story like even those so called "drama reviewers" jumped on the bandwagon to add fuel to even more hate on the story...Initially, I was really hesitant about watching since there was so many bad reviews about them thinking there must be big issues with the drama content. But I was so wrong! Though the drama has really predictable plots and odd comical moments, it didn't turn out as a disappointment to be very honest.
What I'm relieved about is that Krystal's acting here has became much natural and not so much rigidness but obviously she still has a lot to improve on. For Yoo In Young's character, I very much expected her character will progressed in this manner from a "very humble/lovable person to filled with jealousy kind of growth" but I really wished they didn't make her go in that direction. Kim Jae Wook definitely has no problems with his acting just that there is a lack of charm to his character...
I saw some said that they felt underwhelmed by the plot twist but really it was predictable to me since it's not full on suspense/thriller drama. The chemistry here is quite ok but not the best~ Well I mean what's important is all things end well and moving on. Recommended for people who needs some lighthearted dramas :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Another good BL
Story - the story is a typical one, Main lead dates a girl and then eventually realizes that he is attracted/loves a man. (sorry if the way that was put seems insensitive). I appreciate the writer for the way the portrayed this film and I thoroughly enjoyed waiting each week to see what was going to happen next.Acting - 1000000/10 the cast really did a wonderful job. The chemistry between the two main leads is unmatched. I also loved how supportive the family dynamic was and how much development and growth both families had throughout the film - we stan liberal & supportive parents. Even down to the "villain" OMG i really hated her kudos to her and her phenomenal portrayal of a villain.
OST - i loved the song in this show. They will be added to my everyday playlist. Reading the lyrics I could see why they were chosen.
If you are looking for a film with great acting & chemistry - then this is it.
All and all i recommend this film.
Was this review helpful to you?
Recent Discussions
-
BL Drama Lovers Club7 minutes ago -
Conspiracy Theories??34 minutes ago
-
Editorials Coming Back Anytime in the Future?36 minutes ago -
Vertical Short Drama1 hour ago -
chen duling content (+ eng translation)2 hours ago
