Reviews

they saved the best our skyy 2 episode till last

this episode.. i don't even know where to start, it had my crying multiple times but with tears of happiness, it was everything i needed and more.

we got to see many more sweet earthmix moments we did not get to see in the bad buddy crossover which i am so grateful for. whilst i did not wait as long for this as other atots viewers did, as i did not see atots for the first time until last year, it was still a long time to wait to see tian and phupha again and it was definitely worth the wait to see their happy moments together.

if you have seen the cross over episodes with bad buddy you will see this one has a bigger focus on their sweet and loving moments, which i suppose is obvious and bound to happen since this was now their 'own' episode but it was not expecting that much sweetness given how phupha was acting in those cross over episodes.. it made me so emotional :')

this episode has some of the most beautiful moments out of all 16 in the our skyy 2 series, and is potentially my favourite out of them all, i urge you to watch this if you like a tale of thousand stars, earthmix truly deserve all the love and support for this episode, as well as the cross over episodes (however i much prefer this one..)

the ost they sung for this is great, and sung beautifully by them both as always!

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Culinary Alchemy: Cooking up self discovery with side of food and formulas!

Fermat no Ryori—where culinary arts meet math, two things I'm about as skilled at as a fish on a bicycle. Yet, surprisingly, this quirky blend managed to hook me in with its mix of food and formulas.

Onto the main course—the food and math combo. The series isn't just about cooking up dishes as I expected but it emphasized more about cooking up some self-discovery. Our main leads Gaku and Kai are as complex as a recipe with too many ingredients.
Their attempts to adapt to each other's ways, followed by failures and subsequent self realizations kept me hooked. The narrative emphasizes on the importance of personal growth within any kind of relationship.
Honestly I came here looking for all the food talk (which I did get) but stayed for the stories of those who made it.

While it was an unconventionally tasty and intriguing concept, sometimes it felt forced and a bit gimmicky. And speaking of issues, the pacing was a bit like Swiss cheese—full of gaps. I don't mind a slow-paced drama, but at times it felt a little draggy.

The bromance between Gaku and Kai was the dessert! It was entertaining to watch especially the hug where Gaku comforts Kai. As for the ending, it was happy and melodramatic, but that smile while cooking in the last scene made me swoon.

Overall, the drama serves up a strong premise, with execution as uneven as a lumpy gravy, but with decent acting!
Bon appétit!

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Breath in..... breath out.... calm.... calm.... calm......
NOT CALM!!! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ENDING!??! I NEED SEASON 2, RIGHT NOW!!!

I without a doubt loved this show.... which is crazy to me because I never planned to watch it. Mostly because the whole concept screamed "Inside Out" to me and I'm not really hip to the whole coattail thing, but I gotta admit, they did a amazing job with this and I'm obsessed with all the cells! Hunger cell is my purly my reason for living. Lol

I remember seeing a post (that I really wish I could remember what it was about) and it made me more curious about the show than anything and I thought "eh why not" so -- I looked it up and only intended to watch a few minutes of it just to see what the hype was about.... It quickly turned into a binge watch black hole. Lol I mean, when your opening scene has a shirtless Minho, who in their right minds can turn that down? LOL!!!
But in all realness, I get it now. This show -- I have no words. Least none that cover how mind blowing awesome it was.

If you saw any of my updates, you know for a fact, I want to fight Woong and Sae Yi should maybe meet her match of the white truck of doom. I SAID WHAT I SAID!!! These two drove me up the wall with madness every time I saw them.
Yumi really didn't deserve everything Woong put her through. And gosh damn they needed to learn communication. Why is it so damn HARD to open your mouth and be like "hey we need to talk about some stuff"? or just be honest. Sheesh.
Let's just say this, the second he said "I can't lie" -- you knew, we all knew, that was a damn lie and a red flag straight from hell. It was like a ominus bell of doom the moment he said that. Not saying Yumi was perfect, but she really did try. Even when she kept getting sus over Sae Yi, Yumi really self sabotaged a lot around that time but I'm glad in the end, she talked to him about it. But I'm more pissed that he defended Sae Yi literally till the last moment. I get friendship is strong and everything but come on... you know damn well what she is doing and how she feels. It's insulting to Yumi to play the way he did. "I was handling it" pshhhh my ass!!!

I still have mixed feelings because when Yumi and Woong were happy together and had those great moments, I would forget how much I hated him.... of course, it would quickly get squished when he would pull some shit again. It was like a yo-yo constantly. back and forth and every now and then a trick would have you spinning around, then back to back and forth. Lol

I really hope next season we get to see more of Minho and Jin Young's characters. Which I feel like we will see more Jin Young, but not sure about Minho. Kinda want to see where his love life will be going. Lol Though can we all agree it's a little weird Minho's character and Yumi's ex kinda had the same character name (Ugi/U-gi) lol
I would even love to see where Ruby will be headed in the story... mind you, I couldn't stand her at all through most of the show but close to the end she grew on me a bit. Not sure why. Either way, if she is in season 2, I hope she grows up a little.

I think I have blabbed incoherently enough X_X what I'm trying to fully say is, if you're curious about this show, WATCH IT NOW!! Trust me, the cute cells are totally worth it and are what made this show what it was (for me). Can't NOT love hunger and lust cell. lol -- I seriously want to see other character cells in season 2. (that sounds weird to say hahaha)

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“Nature or Nurture?”; The Ultimate Question of ‘ Hwayi:A Monster Boy’

Director Jang Joon Hwan and screenwriter Park Joo Seok’s attempted to delve deeper into the ultimate debate of “ nature vs nurture” with ‘Hwayi: A Monster Boy’ - a savage action-thriller that is expedited by its gratuitous fight scenes. Despite Jang Joon Hwan’s film bringing forward TV star Yeo Jin-goo’s first silver-screen debut, the film’s scant insight into the motives and drives of its odd ensemble of characters alongside shoehorned storytelling and dialogue, will likely test the patience (at times) of action-genre enthusiasts and casual watchers alike.

The movie focused upon the titular main lead Hwayi ( Yeo Jin Goo); a high-school boy who was kidnapped as an infant and brought up by a gang of sadistic thugs. From a young age Hwayi has been reared into becoming a perfect killer by his five “ dads”: Suk-tae (Kim Yun-seok), Jin-sung (Jang Hyun-sung), Ki-tae (Cho Jin-woong), Dong-beom (Kim Sung-kyun) and Beom-soo (Park Hae-jun). However after turning seventeen, Hwayi is soon forced to face the reality of his upbringing as questions soon rise towards his birth parents against his violent nurturing and environment.

Jang Joon Hwan’s 2003 success ‘ Save The Green Planet’ was a work that combined graphic violence, fantasy and social critique to create a daring result. In many ways ‘ Hwayi: A Monster Boy’ shared a lot of similar themes with its predecessor- bloodlust gore and themes revolving around captivity and humanity blooming to life in an attempt to hook and intrigue viewers. However, whilst ‘ Save The Green Planet’ was a movie that possessed tactful multilayered themes and topics, ‘ Hwayi: A Monster Boy’ struggled to sketch-out the same depth as Joon Hwan’s previous work due to a notable key issue; writing.

In theory, Hwayi’s complicated relationships with his five fathers should have been the backbone of the entire movie. However, their character-drives and definitive personality traits were so ineptly draw together at times in Park Joo Seok’s fictional and niche microcosm of convicts and killers, that it was often difficult to truly differentiate them apart. Aside from Suk-tae acting as the boy’s main rearer and as the leader of the group( who is revealed to have his own motives in a twist which whilst climatic, lacked pretension, )and doltish Ki-Tae who sincerely showed affection for the boy , the other men’s reasons and personal motives for bringing up the boy and corrupting Hwayi were rarely tackled or given convincing explanations.


Playing Hwayi as a character pushed over the edge, Yeo Jin Goo could admittedly often lack an air of subtlety by overstating his character’s angst. Nonetheless Yeo Jin Goo gives the main lead an edge of complex fragility, instability and sympathy for audiences. His budding romance for classmate and potential love interest Yoo-kyung (Nam Ji-hyun), one of the few female characters of the movie( who lacked definitive qualities) , acted as a lighthearted respite from the movie’s downbeat narrative.

Costarring alongside Yeo was Kim Yun Seok. The venerable actor added a running streak of brutality and viciousness to his onscreen persona Suk-Tae. Nevertheless despite the brilliant dynamic charm of Kim Yun Seok onscreen, tedious dialogue exchanges against lukewarm chemistry between him and Yeo during scenes rarely instilled tour de force moments when ambiguous feelings of love and contempt became apparent in their final conflict.

In terms of pacing the narrative is filled with adrenal energy- suspenseful and expedited by its violence, but given the myriad of action sequences and locations shown throughout the film, the pinnacle conflict of the movie was climatic yet slightly incoherent also . ( Especially due to sporadic editing at times.) A notable issue which should also be addressed within ‘ Hwayi: A Monster Boy’ was its presentation of female characters. Whilst it is arguable that Joon Hwan and Joo Seok may have been trying to present a critique towards the infringement of gender stereotypes within South-Korean society, the lacking scope for female archetypes aside from the nameless, abused wife of Im Hyung Taek ( Seo Hyung Hwa), and “ love interest” Yoo-Kyung, served little purpose or depth exploration aside from being plot devices to keep the storyline moving.

Of course it’s wrong to entirely critique the movie. Admittedly well-mounted cinematography served as aesthetic eye candy for viewers with inventive and intuitive choreographed fight scenes paired together with a subtle yet momentous score.


Overall ‘ Hwayi: A Monster Boy’ was a film which will likely appease and irk audiences alike. The notable cast lineup did not disappoint and whilst the polished and slick fight sequences and gruesome violence will likely appeal to many fans of the genre, the bogged-down dialogue against cliche-ridden characters and plot will test genre aficionados and casual watchers alike. However, whilst the ending certainly helped to wrap up several key plot points, the end outcome of ‘ Hwayi: A Monster Boy’ was a mixed-result of gory and hare-brained carnage against some insightful delves into nurture, crime and parenting along the way.

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A more relevant and modernized version of a classic story done amazingly well!!

Review Summary/TLDR;
1. The classic plot has been revamped to make it more relevant and interesting
2. Plot holes have been fixed and details added, making the story richer
3. Well-paced episodes, that don't feel too slow or rushed
4. Dynamic and fleshed out characters, made to be more real and complex
5. Excellent character development
6. Stellar acting from the cast
7. Incredible chemistry between characters, whether it be as friends or romantic partners
8. Good music, that really enhanced the story

Overall, a great watch that will have you laughing, crying, squealing, and feeling all the other emotions possible.


Full Review
Of all the various remakes, I have to say Thailand did it best. Whether it be in production, music, visuals, acting, or anything else. I completely enjoyed watching this version of F4.

Let's start with the plot. While it's true they didn't change much of the plot, they changed it in ways that matter. They've added details, backstories, and even some new plot lines that really explain character motivations and honestly help the viewers connect and empathize more with the characters. The focus on the world of business, the harshness associated with it, and the privilege the rich get, is something extremely relevant to society today. They were able to incorporate this into the plot and make it seem like it was always meant to be there. I liked that they also aimed at exploring the power of social media throughout the show, whether it be at school or following the lives of the boys. Essentially they've fixed up plot holes and added in details, that make the entire thing fresh and new, which is exactly what it needed. Even If you have seen another adaptation of F4, there is no way you would find this boring or repetitive. It was the perfect blend of romance, humor, angst, and emotional payoff. The pacing was incredibly well done as well, the 16 episodes were structured and planned out so well, I can't think of a single thing they missed. Of course, I wouldn't be mad if we got more fluffy moments between the main leads though. If I had to complain, I should say that there were a few scenes that were much more dramatic than they should have been or plots that were taken a little too far. I think it's just something inherent to Thai dramas as a whole, and it didn't happen often, so it didn't really bother me too much.

In terms of production, F4 really outdid itself. Everything looked amazing, the cars, the clothes, the houses, the school. In addition, every scene was shot beautifully, and with meaning. Everything thing had a touch of symbolism to it, representing a bigger picture. I loved that. Even flower garlands were used as metaphors at one point. I haven't seen any other works from this director, but you can be sure I am going to check them out. They are extremely talented.

Now my favorite part of the entire series, the characters and acting. In my opinion, everyone did an amazing job, but some did stand out more than others. First of all, for this to be Tu and Dew's first series, my mind is blown. They did so well. Tu was perfect as the strong-headed FL and Dew made me swoon with every move he made as Ren. Win and Nani did great as well. I love that they and their characters were given more of a chance to shine as well. In past versions, they seemed like side characters, who were just there, but here they had dynamic personalities and actually advanced the plot. I love love love what they did with MJ, and I am a fan now. You can bet I am going to watch everything Nani is now. Even Prim as Kaning was adorable, and I enjoyed watching her relationship with Kavin develop.

The standouts for me have to be Bright and Cindy though. Oh my god. Bright is already a well-established popular actor, and as always he did great, but his version of Thyme is honestly the best one I have ever seen. He isn't a single-minded arrogant bully, who was turned good by the power of love, no. He is a real person with real flaws and actual motivations that lead him to do the things he does. From the very first episode, we see a glimpse behind the curtain of his facade as a ruthless bully allowing the viewers to truly understand, empathize with him, and at one point even start caring for him. Something we never saw in other versions. Instead of just watching his journey of falling in love, growing up, and becoming a better person, it feels like we are taken along with him. We see every instance where Gorya has an impact on him and how it slowly starts to change him for the better. His personality is much more dynamic and well fleshed out, which is honestly one of the biggest reasons why this may be the best F4 adaptation. I love character development, and Thyme had the best of it.

Cindy though, wow! We didn't really get to see her shine until the last few episodes, but every time she was on screen I was captivated by her. Her acting was outstanding, easily my favorite of the entire series. She has been acting for a while, and you can see the experience, but I know some veteran actors who aren't as good as her. She did amazing. Thyme's mother is such a complex, intriguing character. She has actual motivations and reasons for her actions, which is one of the best things that can be done for an antagonist. But an antagonist who does what she does out of love is such a hard character to play, and she nailed it. With every expression, and look in her eyes, you can see the emotion just rolling off her in spades. Whether it be hate, arrogance, love, sadness, or fear, she expressed everything so beautifully, even if I tried I couldn't tear my eyes off her. Even though it came off a little rushed, I was so glad to see her character development because it was something I was waiting for. From the beginning, you could tell, that while her actions appear selfish, her motivations weren't, and we just had to wait for her to realize what's truly best for her son.

As amazing as each actor was individually, the chemistry between all of them was outstanding. The couples were cute and made me squeal, but it was their friendship that sealed the deal for me. They had an actual bond and truly cared for each other. They were real friends that were truly supportive no matter what and it was amazing to watch. It showed that as important as romantic love is, friendship and family are just as important in shaping a person and helping them grow. Even F4s interactions with Gorya were adorable, in my head, I call them the Gorya protection squad, and honestly, that should be canon. Also, I don't care what anyone says, but Kavin and MJ are the true MVPs, they never failed to make me laugh.

Lastly, the music. It was so good, I loved it. Who am I (the intro song), is easily my favorite, shooting star is really good too, and I personally enjoyed Nani's Best Life. I am not a huge music buff, so I don't really pay much attention to the music, but F4 did an amazing job. Nowhere did I feel that the music was odd or mistimed, in fact, it only enhanced every scene it was in.

This was an enjoyable watch and my favorite part of Saturdays. Every week, without fail, I would wait to watch this, and promptly after the episode was over I would be in anticipation for the next. Without a doubt, the best remake of Hana Yori Dango. If you are skeptical about picking this up because you didn't like the previous adaptations or are worried it's going to be more of the same old thing, let go of your doubts and give it a try. I guarantee you will be hooked.

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This series has quickly become one of my all time favorites, for forever and ever. Kobayashi Kaoru is the absolute perfect man for the role of Master in this series; his voice, his personality and unique traits, and his wonderful talents are mesmerizing to watch!! I've never fallen in love with a series, let alone a show or movie or book, as quickly as I have with the entire "Shinya Shokudo" series.

Everyone's personal stories were so genuine and full of honest, relatable, real humanity, respect, and unique stories I've never seen on screen(s) or read about before. I laughed or cried of worried or got angry with each character of each episode. This show is full of chaos and calm, love and heartbreak, happiness and depression, anger and kindness, respect and fear, understanding and knowledge, but most of all this show has so much honest to goodness love, kindness, respect, light, and relatable humanity! If you have the time to watch this series from beginning to end, I sincerely suggest and hope that you do!!

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This drama is simply genius love it

My response is correct for both seasons and all episodes, (no episode is redundant) this drama is simply genius, smart and sophisticated, realistic, and unconventional. A spectrum of emotions that are expressed in animation, the endless struggle between emotion and logic (in life in general (work, friends, judgment and more and matters concerning love and reliability), the second season with new insights with maturity and maturation, the importance of open interpersonal communication, otherwise it brings To analyze wrong situations... perfect casting of the entire team, perfect acting from the wonderful main actors to the last of the actors, a simply great drama and how I almost forgot - a great soundtrack, so adjusted and precise for each episode.
The kind of dramas you don't forget so quickly
For me 10/10

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It started off realllllyy good but then bae tami & morgan's romance story got boring :[

the issues regarding real-time keyword search was good too but it was unresolved until the end of the show so i wasn't really tuning in on that.

tbh for me what really spiked up the drama was scarlett & jihwan !! so glad they added these two to the plot or i would've dropped it half way. jaewook's first appearance was arnd ep7 and i start to continue watching the drama again. ngl i had high expectations from the reviews i've heard but it was somehow underwhelming. #JiHwanSaviour tho

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I love this drama! The story is engaging, each episode! It was hard to find a place to watch, I believe that is why many have not had the opportunity to see. Well let's talk about this drama.

For people who already watch period dramas, know that the best known stories usually involve the Monarchy, the Court and the Commoners. But this tells us a little about how the Department of Eunuchs, since when are chosen in childhood, to the highest title of Head of the Eunuchs. This is very interesting, because there are few dramas that show the importance of this class to the Monarchy. It also show a bit on the hierarchy of the court ladies, responsible for serving the Royal Family.

This drama is based on the stories of King Yejong, eighth of Korea, King Seongjong, ninth king of Korea, grandson of King Sejo and King Yeonsangun, tenth king of Korea (considered the worst tyrant of the Joseon Dynasty). Despite the plot change a little, still follows very faithful to the real story. It involves a strong friendship with childhood Chun Dong (later Kim Cheo Sun) and Yoon So Hwa. Thus we see the story develop. Thus it can be seen how power is something that seduces all around. As the fight to survive inside the palace is difficult and no one is free from being framed.

What I liked most of this production, was how they treated each character. All had their importance from beginning to end. Only I know how I cried during episodes. As care of certain details, leaving even more faithful to the historical literature.

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If there's a movie that I would recommend to other Nationalities that I would not feel ashamed of, it is this movie.

Alessandra De Rossi and Empoy did a very good job with how they showed the emotions of their characters.

This movie will definitely make you cry, laugh and fall in love.

And Kz's version of Two Less Lonely People In the World was just awesome.

I rarely praise movies or TV series from my country Philippines,  this is definitely an exception.

If you want to watch something worth your time from the Philippines, this is the movie you should be watching.

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Not much to see here...

What I liked:
1) The main actors were excellent.
2) Original storyline.
3) She got over being a doormat quickly.
4) Mix of the old and new.
5) They didn't harp on the fact that she was older than him.
6) Some cute moments between them.
7) Some cute cultural difference exchanges.

Not so much:
1) Lacking in the romance department. Lots of ancillary stuff going on.
2) Even at the end, he was still calling her "teacher".
3) Too many episodes.
4) Not a lot of emotional feelings between the couple. I felt like they were telling me they were in love, rather than showing me.
4) The killer for me was the ending. What the heck!?! Neither one of them seemed very upset about going their separate ways. Obligatory (stupid) one year time jump, and he shows up in Paris out the blue. The fact that he was in traditional clothes led me to believe that he was just visiting and would go back to his own life. Nothing drops a rating faster for me than an ending that sucks.

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My New Sappy Comfort Drama?

I am not someone who is overly critical when watching dramas so I do tend to overlook lazy writing and illogical plotlines as long as it is still enjoyable to watch. First of all, THE LEADS ARE SO CUTE. I found out the FL is 5'8 but the ML still towers over her because he is 6'2. I'm such a sucker for height differences. With that being said, this might be a filler drama, something to watch while you are in waiting for episodes of a different drama. The story starts when both the leads are in college, FL falls in love with ML but he is indifferent toward her. They get married and she realizes that she cannot make him love her. The writers take us on a ride with this one because I actually felt really bad for FL because our girl was getting neglected by POS ML. We do get some chummy moments though. Fast forward 6 years later and our leads reunite in Africa where *surprise* FL gets kidnapped. In the beginning, FL is very reluctant to even interact with ML, which is completely understandable considering he was so cold towards her when they were married. She then gets transferred to the hospital where he works and becomes his mentee. Somewhere along the lines, I'm not sure when this happens maybe I missed it skimming, she warms up to him and starts to take care of him again as she did before. Now, this is a bit bizarre to me because he makes her do unreasonable chores and tasks for him and somehow, instead of being pissed, she emphasizes with him because he had to be alone all these years. Patriarchy amiright? Anyway, they have this second chance romance going on which I thought was really cute, many people in the comments and reviews sort of bash her for going back to him but they're such a cute couple I can't really say anything. REAL FAT SPOILERS AHEAD SO READ WITH CAUTION!!!!!
Okay so here is the real kicker, the ending sucked major balls. I read the comments on here when the last 6 episodes came out and I was afraid to watch it but I powered through and honestly, it is not as bad as I thought it was when I initially watched it. I have to admit, what happened had to happen (you'll know what it is if you watch it) for the ML to grow and have a chance of changing his dogmatic ways. ML kept hurting FL throughout the drama, even after being given many chances (this is why you never give a man another chance smh) and he simply was not growing and changing into the person FL needed him to be. The last scene of the drama is really cute and leaves much to the imagination, something that I really enjoy in dramas. If you are really someone who hates this, I say stop at episode 30 and call it a day. Not much development happens after that. Overall, this drama was an 8/10 for me. Not entirely great but still a good watch. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this drama!

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This is the kind of drama that is going to be hard ro review for me. The reason for that is this show had very very good moments but at the same time alot of stuff were a little bit dragged out and unrelated to the actual storyline.

But let me tell you what the best part of this drama is, it's the character Shizuka played by Kaho. I might have to think about it abit deeper, but just at the top of my head she is one of the most interesting and mysterious characters I've seen in a good long while. Even after finishing this show I want to know more about her.

So, the storyline is pretty interesting at it's core but some moments are dragged out. I don't mind sitting through slow dramas as long as the good parts are good enough and I felt that about this show. The good parts were worth the wait. If you can't stand slow dramas you might want to avoid this or at least expect to not like it as much as I did.

The acting is pretty much flawless, that's what I've come to expect from WOWOW shows at this point. Kaho, like I said, is amazing as Shizuka and the various police officers, private investigators and other supporting roles are great. I have to admit, in the first episode I kinda felt Kaho was miscast as the main character but it changed the second she appeared in the second.

The music was very good and I still remember the "main score" of the show which I really liked.

Ultimately the reasons I can't rate this show higher are these. The first episode is really slow until you get into to the actual plot. Also I didn't really love the ending, I won't go into that cause of spoilers. And last, I wanted to know more about Shizuka.

But I recommend this drama, IF you think you can manage the slow pace.

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