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Now I will be honest and say that I started this drama because I watched Devil Beside You and wanted to see more of the chemistry between the main leads.
I am fully aware that the two have nothing to do with each other. That being said I still like Devil Beside You more.
I loved Why Why Love up until episode 11 and then I wanted to die. The twist in the story happened way to late in the drama to be effective. If they were going to use that twist then they should have done in earlier in the drama. So because of that I dropped this drama at episode 11. However, because I am a person who has to finish a drama once I start it. I trucked through it and finally came to the ending.
I will give this a solid 8 overall because I did enjoy it up until the last episodes. Will I ever watch it again? Probably not, unless I'm doing a Mike He marathon.
Since I did enjoy the drama for the most part, I recommend this to anyone!
Happy Watching :)
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So much potential!
Legend of Anle was undoubtedly one of my most highly anticipated dramas for this year. I knew I liked Gong Jun after his remarkable performance in WOH, and the accolades surrounding Dilraba also intrigued me. I was eager to witness their talents in this new series. The captivating synopsis and intriguing trailer further fueled my excitement.From the moment the drama premiered, I was religiously invested, watching the episodes daily and meticulously jotting down notes as the story unfolded.
Initially, I must commend the strong start the series had. The first ten episodes were brimming with potential and skillfully set the stage. Ren Anle, the female lead, instantly won my heart as one of my all-time favorite leads. Her wit, charm, strength, and humor had me laughing and thoroughly enjoying every moment. Han Ye, although quite different, proved to be an equally impressive lead, portraying a gentle and kind character whose personality complemented Ren Anle's perfectly, making them an endearing couple. His unwavering loyalty to Di Ziyuan revealed the essence of his character and set the tone for his development.
A notable aspect that pleasantly surprised me was the abundance of strong female characters who were not the main lead. The drama skillfully portrayed numerous women with strength and intelligence, be it in martial arts or other aspects of life. This contrasted with typical cdramas where the focus tends to solely revolve around the female lead's strength, making Legend of Anle stand out in this regard.
The early stages of the drama also excelled in presenting captivating investigations led by Han Ye and Ren Anle, showcasing their intelligence and establishing a profound bond that played a pivotal role in the rest of the story.
Regrettably, my enthusiasm took a hit as we reached episode 12. From that point onward, the plot began to lose its momentum, becoming sluggish and uninteresting. To my disappointment, the main leads received less screen time, while secondary characters dominated the narrative. This shift hindered the story's progression, leaving me feeling like nothing substantial was happening, and even the leads' charisma seemed to wane amidst the prolonged focus on characters like Di Cheng'en, Luo Mingxi, and Anning.
Speaking of secondary characters, Luo Mingxi, the second male lead, failed to resonate with me. Despite his importance to the story, I found his personality dull and unengaging, struggling to form any meaningful attachment. Di Cheng'en, while intentionally unlikable, became an excessively detestable character, though I admit her role served the plot effectively. Anning, initially introduced as a strong and high-ranking general, fell short of her potential, often coming across as dim-witted and uninteresting during the stagnant episodes.
Nevertheless, Wen Shuo's character was a bright spot. His endearing relationship with Han Ye and his developing bond with Ziyuan were a pleasure to watch, though I felt some emotional scenes in the final episodes could have been better portrayed by the actor.
One aspect that disappointed me was how Han Ye discovered Ren Anle's identity. The potential for a profound and emotional revelation was squandered, culminating in a montage of memory scenes and a shocked expression. Similarly, the revelation of Di Ziyuan's true identity diminished the intrigue of her character.
Fortunately, the last ten episodes were better, even managing to make warfare engaging despite it not being my preferred theme. However, the plot involving Luo Mingxi and the loss of Qingnan city felt convoluted and lacked courage to make him actually do something wrong, which made it feel like a missed opportunity for compelling storytelling and cowardly writing.
The final three episodes were strong and provided a satisfying conclusion, though I regret not seeing all the scenes of Di Ziyuan and Han Ye that I knew had been filmed.
On a more technical note, the OST was good, with some tracks earning a place on my playlist. The visuals, while generally appealing, occasionally bordered on being overly exaggerated. The CGI, though, met my expectations.
In conclusion, Legend of Anle possessed considerable potential that remained untapped. While not a terrible drama, it did not live up to its promise. I wouldn't rewatch it, but for those with patience and the willingness to use the skip button occasionally, I recommend giving it a chance.
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Is peace an excuse to hold on to imperial power?
If you want well-paced, fully realized world-building, well-written characters and relationships, intriguing political plotlines, and good action scenes, then this is the drama for you. It is the best chinese drama I have seen yet that fits my criteria neatly. It toes the line between classic chinese wuxia and the fantasy elements perfectly. The characters are all multi-dimensional and the plot is carried along through a fun-loving main character who doesn't lack any depth himself. Xu Fengnian is the most interesting main character I've seen in a long time. He tries to embrace both the meticulous scheming as well as the martial foolhardiness and the writers and ZRY are good enough to pull it offThe biggest plus point of this drama is the use of a rather slow plot advancement to build on intercharacter relationships. No character in this series is black and white, complete good or evil and it wrestles with the debate about what peace means in an exploitative imperialist state.
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Not as cute as Only Boo and a red-flag character...
As always when "New" Sijaw is directing, most series glide into childishness and cringe. In this case it was more subdued then in most other series (Fourever You Part 1, Perfect 10 Liners) but it's still there especially in the first two episodes. There are times when childish beheaviour is appropiate but in most cases it's not.The script is a mixed bag. The solution of the time-travel was a bit weak and Mr. Redflag (Van) side-couple felt a bit unrealistic. How he handles the situation is dispicable but also the script was quite lazy depicting it. Also there was not the budget to "age" the actors to make them distinguishable from now and the future selfs. So the production is ok, but it looks constraint by the few locations they had. Of course there are a lot of stupid things in it and the direction is bad.
So overall it's on the "good" side of BLs we had last year. At least Sea "Junior" did improve a lot with his acting which is also a plus for me. Keen has the talent, it looks like it's easy for him. I will not criticize too much in this case, it's pleasant enough to watch and many will have fun with it.
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HIStory 3: Make our days count is following the steps of HIStory 2: Crossing the Line that is, by far, the most loved story from the series. When HIStory 3 was announced, everyone was expecting another masterpiece and some got disappointing with the road Trapped took, with its no ending, repetitive storyline of "i almost died". Make our days count, by other hand, took us back to high school with the puppy romance and teenager hormones going over the board.
The story, that at first presented the overused trope of "enemies to lovers", surprised everyone when the characters started to act completely different from the stereotypes expected. The "bully" isn't really a bully. The "shy" guy isn't shy. The "bad girl" isn't bad.
There's no "I'm not gay, i just like this one guy", there's an "I like guys too". There no "I don't feel bad for hurting this one person", there's an "I feel so bad I feel like dying".
The characters are so incredible real, you sometimes forget it's a story that will end at some point. The chemistry of the main couple is so strong that, if you are single, you'll definitely feel jealous.
The story talks about the struggle to conciliate senior year with part-time work and the first love. Coming out to a homophobic family and acceptance of friends. Age difference (not the illegal type) from someone that lost faith in relationships to someone who's experiencing his first love.
The year didn't end yet, we never know what's going to happen, but, for now, HIStory 3: Make our days count is the best gay series that came out this year.
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Story: When I first started watching this drama about a year ago, I really didn't want to watch it. At all. In the first episode, it was really difficult to like Hye Mi or any other characters. Hye Mi was overly proud and felt unrealistic, Baek Hi had no personality other than being Hye Mi's follower and I didn't have much sympathy with her and Jin Gook came out of nowhere and randomly decided to be the knight in Shining Armor and confused me. If you asked me what I thought about this drama back when I had only watched episode one, I would say that it's a waste of time and that there's much better out there. I understand that the writers were trying to set us up for the inevitable "change" in which everyone becomes better, but there's different ways of doing it so that the audience doesn't start out hating every single character. *Sigh* That was my biggest problem with this drama. The writers wanted to show how *much* the characters changed, going from one extreme to another. But the thing it, real people don't change so dramatically. We do it in subtle ways, so slowly and so quietly that we can't even tell unless we're forced to realize it. Months later I finally got around to watching episode two. It wasn't much better, but I have a policy that no matter what, I have to finish anything I start. I was pretty much prepared to give this drama a five and move on with my life, so my expectations were pretty low. Episode three was a little better, and so was episode four. It went on like that for a while, until I finally found myself liking "Dream High" instead of merely tolerating it. The main romance story really surprised me, because I had no idea who Hye Mi was going to wind up with until episode 15. I liked how the writers showed her interactions with both Sam Dong and Jin Gook and how all three of them slowly developed feelings. I also liked how the writers made it so that you could wind up liking characters you hated in the beginning- or at the very least wind up respecting them.
Acting: Taecyeon and Suzy were okay actors. They forced themselves sometimes, but they managed to decently convey the story when called upon. Kim Soo Hyun was amazing and pretty much carried the entire show with his portrayal of Sam Dong, Wooyoung and IU were cute, and everyone else ranged from good to amazing.
Music: As a music drama, music is the primary focus of "Dream High". The music here was targeted to a very specific age group, people from the ages of about 13-24-ish. It was young and upbeat, with all the actors' voices to carry the music.
Rewatch Value: I'd say there's a fair chance of me rewatching parts of this, but I probably won't for a while.
Overall: "Dream High" is an acquired taste. It sort of grows on you as you move along through the story. It's not the most amazing drama out there, but it brings something new to the table.
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War is bad
This is a drama, that basically tries to tell us that war is bad.The end.
Okay, maybe not the end,
The drama did have a romance with mostly decent acting by the leads medicre english and odd acting by some of the side characters. The female lead got on my nerves more then once, the male lead as well as his interactions with the female lead were fun to watch most of the time but he also had some moments of annoying. This main couple was probably the couple in dramaland that communicates the most with each other without actually communicating,.But their chemistry kisses where decent, even though I pretty much shipped the male lead with a guy at the mental hospital at one point just so he wouldn't go for the female lead and her childish ways.
There is a pretty decent obviously (if not for censorship) gay couple who could have made a great thruople with dr. Pei or maybe we could ship her with A Zhan... that could work too... The boys interactions had great chemistry enemies to lovers vibes far, far away from brothers.... And while A Zhan probably made most peoples heart flutter in the early episodes, He was swiftly overtaken by Ben in the later episodes, a guy who made the best of the limited screen time he got.
Back to the war is bad part of the plot. While there are several conflicts going on in the world. This drama is purely a work of fiction, Or at least that is what they tell us. Combining issues seen in conflicts all over the word doing their best to keep it clear from a specific war they do make sure we know that war is bad China is good, kind, the land of heroes there to protect the poor poor people of war (basically any American war movie out there, just with Chine instead of US). Rebels are evil creatures who see children as shields and are in it for the thrill of killing the innocent even the dogs get killed by these vultures who long to make things blow up.
Why the rebels decided to start blowing people up is of course completely irrelevant in this story as there is clearly only one side that is good and the other is bad. Period (agin much like 80s American war movies). With the nuance of war being profitable to mercenaries and evil journalists who do not care for the people.
However what they do add to the war is bad, is the amount of ways war is bad trying to evoke emotions over and over again. Trying to put faces and tie stories to the victims of war showing how it affects families, orphaned kids, kids who die, kids who eat candy and then die, throwing in some human trafficking and child brides, And top it all off with severe PTSD, depression, anxiety etc. By the end I actually felt very little. While I believe they tried to make us feel stuff and wanted to say that journalistd and pictures can change the world. I felt that they pretty much explained the process of dehumanisation/normalisation by over exposure instead.
So while the music is touching saying goodbye my friend... The ocean of sadness and attacks where Lost in the wait and I guess they didn't really make me find my way back to the emotions, The silent tears didn't find their way out and the only thing that felt like a knife in my chest was the OST who plays over and over again in my head and in my buds.
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I expected a lot of darkness (look at the poster!) and some melodrama in it. The drama does have a dark tone to it but it has comedic relief which makes it less serious than it is. It was mostly focused on finding the killer and the emotions of the three siblings. Although their motive seems like they are capable of big actions but they are all soft and kind inside.
The characterization was really good. All three siblings are equally likable and you can always defend their actions. I ended up feeling sorry for them when they reminisced about the events that changed their lives, and laughed hard whenever they tricked other people. All I can say is these three are a lot smarter and stronger than they seem. My favourite character was Kouichi and I loved Ninomiya Kazunari's performance. He can act quite well. Being a fan of Erika Toda, I liked her here too. I am used to watching her as a nice girl in almost all her dramas but when she played bad here briefly, it was different. This was her best performance till now out of what I have seen. I also liked Nishikido Ryo. He made his character relatable and didn't fade into the shadows like an underdog.
And as for the mystery- I guessed correctly in the beginning itself. But later when they were doubting someone else, I went with the flow. The murder didn't seem random neither the culprit. It was added up well and made sense. Things were strung together pretty neatly. They didn't mess up the plot in anyway. Apart from that, I didn't care about the romance because it failed to touch me. I found those parts boring and repetitive after a while.
The ending wasn't what I expected. The morale of characters made a major role in here. I would have changed two major things if I could, but it's alright since this ending makes it different from other murder stories I have ever come across. A cliche would have ruined the whole thing by making it seem predictable, but I have would have liked it better. I don't know if I completely agree with the current one but it is sensible so it's hard to criticize it.
I think it's a great drama and not too depressing to watch. Everyone should give it a chance and not hesitate.
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A fun way to pass the time, but DEFINITELY overrated
As someone whose scope of Korean dramas has been heavily broadened the past few months, I`ve learnt to categorize most in this helpful, albeit generalized way:Dramas that will make you feel something for years to come and dramas that serve a much shallower, yet more colorful purpose:to simply entertain you. Most, if not all dramas, fit into one of these two categories. It`s very seldom you`d find a drama that encompasses both sentiments, but I hoped "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo" would be that drama. Unfortunately, my expectations were half met. This drama certainly can be categorized and it falls in the category of pure sweet entertainment.As I like to preface all my reviews by saying that I`d first like to highlight positive sides of every drama, I`ll do the same here. I`m a firm believer of firstly giving praises to the cast, director, writer and everyone else involved because it is not easy to make a drama(this coming from a writer). So, what did I enjoy in "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo"?Well, first of all, the cinematography is clean and very competent. It`s bright and fits the overall mood of this drama excellently. The OST also does a great job of amplifying the vibe this drama is striving for. It`s fun, at times eclectic and it`s just on the cusp of being repetitive, but not quite. The characters of Bok Joo`s father and her friends are definitely the best for me when it comes to comedy. As most people can guess by my watchlist, I`m not big on slapstick or drama comedy in general, but there were a few moments I found genuinely funny and it was coming from the aforementioned bunch. And I also appreciated that they used actors of all body types, which I rarely see in Korean dramas(wish they had the same approach when it came to choosing our main character but alas).As for the chemistry between our leads-it`s free-flowing, mostly natural and clearly generated(meaning that the chemistry wasn`t underdeveloped nor forced, which I greatly appreciate). I did hear it was due to the fact that these actors were dating for a few months while filming this drama and it shows. Their moments of romance, though stereotypical, range from serviceable to your-cheeks-hurting cute. Joon hyung is a great male lead and I related to him the most throughout this drama. He`s charming, but emotionally intelligent enough to not be discarded as just another bland flirt. Their relationship reminds of those high school sweethearts links. Which is cute in isolation, however, my mind suddenly came to a conclusion that these people were supposed to be around my age. Thus shock settled.
Now we come to my gripes with this drama. And many come from the title character herself. Kim Bok Joo. And this is a weird one for me. The character of Bok Joo STARTED OFF as somewhat of a female version of Dongman(from "Fight My Way"). They are both impulsive, easily excitable and quick to fall deeply for someone. And then, along the way, she became this unidentifiable identity. And I`m convinced that this is due to some questionable writing we are presented with. While I can admit that she is not a typical female drama lead, to say that Bok Joo`s a good posterchild for breaking stereotypes of femininity and female form in dramas is an overstatement. While skimming through some of the comments previous reviewers left, I realized that even I semi-agree with them. And I say even, because I like to think I`m not extremely difficult in suspending belief if need be. But, um Lee Sung Kyung was not a good pick for this role, when it comes to the character herself(again, couple chemistry-GREAT). She simply does not look nor is she convincing as a responsible weightlifter who`s (extremely) immature for her age. And I get that casting plays a role in this, there aren`t a whole lot of muscular women(none well-known) who could play the main character. Even still, having her dress in oversized clothing to push the idea of someone who she`s clearly not really weirded me out. And that`s even before diving into her actual character, who`s so, so confusing. As an established responsible character with a hardworking family, it really rubbed me the wrong way how easily she settled for paying exorbitant amounts of money in order to just see her crush. But I chalked that one up to messy first love(I guess). But then she also hid her budding relationship with Yoon hyung for no actual reason. Like, it actually thematically makes no sense and it made me sad for Yoon hyung who was actually great in his pursuit. Finally, instead of empowering me and other women who do not fit the society`s and much less drama`s version of femininity, Bok Joo simply came off as a confused child, prancing around aimlessly. Another complaint I have, and is the main problem for me, is unfortunately the length of this drama and how much they decide to focus on the ex-girlfriend to fill this empty time frame. IT`S RIDICULOUS. Even I, who is all for character development, had enough because they weren`t presenting any new facts by episode 10-they were just reiterating what we already know. Again, this drama would`ve been much more enjoyable if it was a 10 or 12 episodes show, rather than 16. For the kind of story it presents and level of character development we do get, it`s too, too long. Not to mention they lose a bit of momentum with our main couple because they get together in episode 11. I`m all for slowburn romances but for the type of drama this wound up being, it`s too longwinded.
In the end, "Weightlifting Fairy Bok Joo" was a mess, but an enjoyable one. However, it definitely deserves a lesser spot, because the one it currently holds is kind of ridiculous. Would recommend for an easy watch, but not much beyond that.
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It will touch your heart and soul
Whenever I watch a movie or series, somehow it's important to me that the characters looks good (I know I might sound shallow but who doesn't like good looking characters?!) and the places they shoot should be attractive as well to keep me watching. This exceeds my expectations!Cliche in every story cannot be completely ignore. So this is a classic love triangle and the struggles that comes being born rich and powerful. I love the cinematography! They do justice in shooting their scenes in Cuba. It makes me want to visit the place. I also love the beach and the tall wooden tower they have visited.
So far, I don't find it boring. Their lines are well delivered and some poetic. I love the phase on how the series is moving. The acting for me is just fine. Meaning, they are not exaggerated at all. Some of the scenes are very emotional and heart breaking. It does made you wonder from time to time if rich people do really have this kind of problem lol!
Supporting characters are not bad either. Park Bogum's friend Kim Jooheon and Song Hyeko's secretary Kwak Sunyoung are someone you need to watch out too! They are cute. The friendship between Hyeko and Sunyoung is something to be admired too. I also find the driver, Ko Changeseok funny!
Hopefully this series will not keep me interested till the end.
UPDATE:
I finished the series long back but forgot to update. It was great! There are several funny scenes as well. What I really admire in this series is the fact that Park Bogum never gave-up. Though it has hinted, he opted not too. In other drama, that will be case and the partner will chase back. In this case, he showed he will stay until Song Hyeko realise his worth. I love how he used the shoes as a symbol. I love it so much that I repeated some of the memorable scenes. There are several lines from Park Bogum that find very poetic.
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Story- The first episode had potential so I was excited to watch the rest of the episodes but they turned out to be just average writing. It’s your typical predictable romcom but they kind of let me down with the entertainment theme cause they could’ve did more with it. The romance was a letdown also with an ending that had no resolution and basically brings our heroine back to square one.
Acting/Cast- So Yi Hyun basically carried the show. Her character was awesome and just so magnetic. As for the male leads their acting was passable but they just weren’t able to get me to care about their characters. The supporting cast was good enough but their characters were forgettable.
Music- I actually ended up liking the OST and will download when I get the chance.
Rewatch- Since the story wasn’t boring it’s rewatchable but I have no intentions of watching it a second time.
Overall while Glowing She wasn’t boring or anything it’s one of those dramas that had potential but fell flat. You won’t remember it down the line.
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Aiba Masaki indeed do a great job as Masamune-kun. He fully showed the anxiousness and uncertainty that Masamune-kun was feeling about the changes in his life. Masamune-kun did his very best in his own way to show his daughter her value to him, realizing along the way how the little girl changed his life for the better. He loved Yuuko-san, tho the way she left was kind of a cliche, I still think that it's a nice way of using those predictable conflicts.
Ishii Momoka-chan was just so good in this :') Every time she cries, I would feel tears in my eyes. She portrayed her role magnificently, showing the viewers how mature and independent Koharu-chan is at such a young age, even after the loss of her mother and a faithful meeting with the father she only knew from stories. She would do her best to help Masamune-kun take care of her.
Other characters really helped build up this great drama and helped the two connect, like father and daughter. The music was great, as well.
It's definitely worth to re-watch this drama. It's warm feeling and sweetness will bring you guys smiles :)
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Like in many dramas of this writer (and ahem, director) there are so many details which are kind of ridiculous, at some point the show becomes a bit boring but there is this magical feeling which makes you to come back to finish.
This is a typical drama about gambling, revenge and first love which never dies. There is a lot of plotting and action but the romance is left on the backseat, I wish there was less of it because the romance part is also the most boring. But anyway, if you are sick of all the romantic stuff and want to entertain yourself with action give this show a chance.
The beginning is slow, the whole drama is kind of slow but it doesn't matter much. I really like the feeling, the atmosphere of this drama, it is very addicting. Even if I don't understand why some Koreans were hired as hitmen and sent to Africa to save a prince of some tribe. What? Yeah... The ridiculousness is part of the charm.
Acting is okay, I mean Ji Sung is in this show, what else do you need more? Well, except Sung Yu Ri, I totally hate her because whatever character she plays becomes really annoying and she can't really act. Then So Yi Hyun, Lee Wan, Jun Kwang Ryul and Ma Dong Suk. I freaking love Ma Dong Suk! The cast is just wow and they do a great job!
The plot is entertaining and complicated even though some things become pretty obvious as episodes pass and then you just wish for them to be revealed sooner.
Give this show a try, it's not like all the other dramas out there. But if you must choose, All In is better.
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Brilliant From Start to Finish
This was a superbly directed, excellently acted, perfectly paced, satisfyingly finished, extremely well-told story.Being someone who prefers a well-told story over one filled with unnecessary filler dialogue, gore, action, romance, and sidekick characters, I have to give this a 10/10 for having absolutely none of those things. Everything, every scene, every character had a story and a purpose that you weren’t left hanging too long to find out what that was.
I’d like to see much more of this type of directing in the future.
If you are after non-stop action, this probably isn’t for you. If you like a well told story, it most definitely is.
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