Reviews

the name of the drama should be “beating around the bush”

Its just about two people beating around the bush and never confessing , for 15 episodes its just goes round and round . Both fl and ml just would not stop assuming
If u are just bored as hell and life is just not entertaining for ya anymore i do suggest u to watch this, it kinda makes I realise maybe ur not the most stupid person u know. Its very short so its rlly not a waste of time I finished it in less than an hour, not gonna lie the lead’s visuals are actually pretty decent but non f them would ever confess to each others like for god sake even an ant would he able to tell they like each others but they still wouldnt get to the point and just keeps beating around the bush . Like seriously and one word to describe the guy “COWARD “ and one word for the girl is “ DESPERATE “ but both have one similarity aka one thing in common which is they will not tell each others they like them like i only watched it as i look forward to nothing in my shitty life and its just so entertaining to watch two stupid people figure their way out of a tunnel that has doors and windows that are wide open but for some reasons their so dumb they just cant figure a way out . basically quite pathetic but entertaining

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I only watched this movie because of Kang Dong Won, and boy was I NOT disappointed. Although this is a 'spy thriller' type movie, it also has some laugh-out-loud comedic moments for Song Kang Ho's character, and for the pair together.

This movie really is about both friendship and brotherhood. I am no expert on North-South relations, so I don't know how realistic it has been portrayed through the events in this movie, but I think it has been set up very well to show how both characters dealt with the conflicting loyalties they felt to friend and country.

The pacing of the movie is done very, very well. We are thrown right smack in the early stages of an operation, which escalates quickly. This quickly drew me into the movie and left me hungry to know what would happen next. The next part of the movie afterwards was slower in pace but was full of both funny and exciting moments, and left me emotionally invested in the friendship between the two main characters, followed by the last third of the movie where the pace picked up and left me on the edge of the seat. The ending was well-written.

I am surprised that I have not heard more buzz about this movie. This is a must-watch!

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Dont know why some people hate on this drama

Personally, I started watching, since I had watched shows with both leads in before. Right off the foot I really liked this drama. It had this sense of realism that it dealt with well. All the serious issues through real-life were portrayed fantastically

I've heard some people say they like the second lead couple more than the main lead couple. In my opinion, both are amazing, but the lead couple is the lead couple for a reason.

It had a very satisfying ending that left me wanting more, but not needing more, as the satisfaction was enough

Would totally recommend it.

Shows like this:

The main male lead character is very similar to his character in Reply 1988. So if you like that, watch Reply

Another show that is very good, and portrays life issues, is Sassy Go Go, or rather, Cheer up. The main female lead from this show is also the second female lead in Cheer up.

Lastly, a very new drama would be Private lives, with the main male lead being the same as this show.

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Dont let the title fool you

This drama advertises itself as a primarily romance orientated drama, but i would beg to differ. If you're looking to watch this drama, it is NOT a romance, it is just sixteen episodes of 'hagwon' (academy/tuition centre) politics, and how the hagwon is affected by said 'romance'.
So, that explains why i feel like i wasted my time with this drama.
What did i get out of it? Basically nothing.
See, i wouldnt have minded if it was vice versa and the romance took the main role with a side of hagwon politics, but that wasnt the case.
I would have still watched this anyways since i am a fan of wi ha jun, he's my type in men and an amazing actor to boot, so any drama that he works on that i like the premise of is a must watch for me, but no amount of ogling at his beautful face could save this drama from the trenches of a severe lack of romantic plotline, chemistry or development.
I wouldnt recommend this if you are looking for romance.
Theres no midnight romance, its just hagwon.
If you like hagwon politics however, you should watch it.
It's a well made drama, however it's romance plotline is very weak and this drags the drama down - nothing much really happens between them and they have barely any romantic tension after episode 8.
Basically, after episode 8 the drama is entirely focused on hagwon politics.
Quite disappointed. I like the ost a lot tho, an the acting is very good, if it didnt have these qualities it would have been a 6.
Love the actor playing si woo, i will be waiting for his future roles, and the actress playing hye jin is amazing and encompasses her role very well.

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Toxic, Not Naughty

I am still wondering why I bothered to watch this drama. I wasn't a fan of Cutie Pie, toxic relationships made to look cute are not my thing, but the trailer made me wonder if this drama would put some of that in the past. I should have known better. Naughty Babe, quite simply, is a disaster. I'm not sure what was worse: changing the original story, the lack of plot, the complete lack of character development despite years having gone by, or the acting. Honestly take your pick.

So let's start with the story. There really wasn't one. Honestly it felt like a toddler throwing anything and everything at a piece of paper and calling it a masterpiece. With only 8 episodes, they needed to stick to a central story line and they just didn't. The mystery of who messed with Diao's car and caused Yi to crash is probably the most consistent story line, but even it falls flat. The choice to change the childhood attack Diao suffered from a dog to a tiger was absurd. The CGI tiger was awful and the change didn't serve any purpose other than creating inconsistencies and erasing some of the development in their relationship from Cutie Pie. Because it was so disjointed, the pacing felt off. It never got a good rhythm going and I struggled to stay invested. Things like their plan for the wedding was just so nonsensical and out of the box, and not in a good way. They were in on the plan together, so why Diao kept going on about being afraid he was going to hurt Yi and break his heart and blah blah blah just didn't make sense. And the ending, maybe it was just me, but it felt like there was a level of favoritism for their son over their daughter. They interacted far more with him than they did with her, especially considering it was her birthday. Again, could just be me reading into it too much.

One of the biggest issues though truly was the complete lack of character development. It's supposed to have been what, 6 years or something since Cutie Pie and three since Cutie Pie 2 You and literally nothing has changed in their relationship. In fact, they've taken steps backward. I didn't watch it, but my understanding is that a lack of development was present in Cutie Pie 2 You as well. Relationships change over time, that's just a fact. That Diao and Yi's relationship remained so stagnant shows that the writers and production had no clue what they were doing. Because of the foolish decision to change the attack to a tiger, some of the issues between them that had been dealt with or at least acknowledged were rendered pointless and they were right back where they started. And you would think, after all the time they'd been together, that they would have figured some things out. But no, they are still unable to communicate effectively, they make assumptions, there's a clear lack of trust and understanding between them, oh, but they're madly in love. Cue eye roll. The imbalance in their relationship is still very present. There are times that Yi comes across almost as more of a father with his controlling ways than as a fiancé. And Diao, for all that he does stand up for himself on occasion, it never seems to be when it matters or when it would do the most good. Frankly, they're just frustrating to watch. And a bit disturbing, because, all joking aside, at the heart, their relationship is not one built on love, but rather years of manipulation and Diao being conditioned to rely on Yi. And that is simply not addressed. It just points back to the fact that nothing has changed since Cutie Pie and their relationship is just as toxic and discordant as it was then.

Lian and Kuea reappear and while Lian does have his useful moments serving as a sounding board for Yi and actually giving solid advice at times, Kuea causes some issues by sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and making incorrect assumptions that he then feeds back to Diao. Together they're alternately vaguely amusing and mildly cute. While their relationship in Cutie Pie displayed the same imbalance as seen with Diao and Yi, they seem to be on more equal footing here. Nuea and Syn also pop up briefly and bring a few moments of levity. The only other character that I actually liked was Yi's father. He had a decent balance of comedy and seriousness that worked fairly well.

Nat and Max are not the strongest of actors and expecting them to carry their own show was asking a lot. Of the two, Nat was the more compelling to watch. His expressions are limited and there's really no nuance to his acting, but it feels more authentic. Max is just wooden and his emotions always felt very surface level. It looked like he was acting.

The production value was meh. There was nothing special about it. The product placement was incredibly annoying and distracting. It's been a minute since I saw a drama that was so in your face with it. And the music felt pretty generic. Nothing like Cutie Pie which had some decent and catchy songs.

Naughty Babe is simply a continuation of the toxic relationship first shown in Cutie Pie and a further romanticization of it. I don't generally totally regret watching a drama, but I fully regret taking the time to watch this one. There is frankly nothing positive about it and unless you are a die hard Cutie Pie or Diao/Yi fan, I would avoid it like the plague. You'll never get those hours back.

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I really like it!

There are quite a few negative critiques for the Dance of the Sky Empire (DoSE). Before you read my review, I have to say: I AM BIASED. People who read my reviews know that I love Xu Kai more than any actors in the C-Drama land. In this review, I am trying to be the most objective as I can: I really like this drama.

Be warned that there are some minor spoilers. So here we go.

1 "Emotional Rollercoaster": 5/5 ★★★★★
I agree with many of you that if you would look this drama from a serious perspective, it lacks in many perspectives: the naiveness and weakness of the "spy", the missing plot to develop the background story of the ML Li Xuan, the unnecessary second love couple. After a few episodes, it is clear that this is not a deep, mind-wrecking, spy-drama, in fact, it is a funny, romance, school drama, set in an ancient/fantasy world. The whole birth and spy thing are just how other school-romance shows create misunderstandings and put roadblocks for the leads but in a unique way. As long as they make the audience tear and cringe, they have achieved what a great school-romance drama supposed to do. That's why I really like this drama.
So what are the components of an excellent school-romance drama: comedy, romance, and heart-wrenching sorrow. And the mix of DoSE is perfect. I went from laughing out loud during the school scenes, to "oh my gosh, this is so sweet" during their time inside the realm, to crying from pain in the middle and around the end of the drama. The end of the realm arc has one of the most abusive scenes I have seen in drama land. Once again, I need to emphasize that Xu Kai performs the most beautiful crying scenes I have ever seen in a male actor. I actually think he has some sort of button he clicks to control the flow of his tears in terms of position and speed. This is just insane!
Wu Jia Yi did a better job in Arsenal than here, but I blame it on her character design rather than her acting skills.

2. "Sleepless Nights.": 5/5 ★★★★★
I was binge-watching the entire drama and could not wait for the new episodes.

3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": 5/5 ★★★★★
Despite the light-hearted school elements of the drama, it cleverly integrated a serious topic: discrimination and how useless war and revenge between races are. Netizens have pointed out that the FL Su You Lian's is too soft-hearted and her behavior is not suitable/realistic for being a spy. Don't forget that not everyone can be cold and heartless once trained. YL soon realized how kind humans are in reality and was conflicted between her obligation as the holy lady and her foundness towards her school mates.
I would find it more unrealistic if LX would fall in love with a fierce and heartless spy who was determined to deceive everyone. I could also perfectly emphasize with LX or YL why they would behave the way at each point of the story.
There are some minor plot holes and illogicality (e.g. superpowers which are there when they need to be but disappear when they are not needed), but I was able to ignore them.

4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": 4/5 ★★★★☆
The show employs a few very beautiful and young actors, who did a pretty good job. There is a personality for everyone.
Big applause for the performance of Zhou Jun Chao, who played Xiao Feng Ming. I saw him in "Handsome Siblings" as the villain Jiang Yu Lang and do believe he has a bright future as an actor. I also really like the best friends Chang Qing and Ling Cheng, two very different characters but with a strong bonds that warm your heart. Another honorable mention is the crown prince played by Zhang Song. Despite playing this dorky, stupid prince, who no one seems to take seriously, his acting was extremely to the point, and his talent cannot be ignored!
Last but not least, Yu Xing Tong's performance as Long Wei Er. She has a, if not the most interesting roles in this drama that provides more depth than other dramas; her character development is convincing and heart-wrenching towards the end. I can understand why some netizen end up rooting for her rather than for the FL.
The one minus point is deducted for the siblings from the country of Sha Guo. There are both very pretty people, but their performance of playing the important ML2 Yu Feng Mu and FL3 Yun Shan is disappointing. I also saw myself fast-forwarding some of the scenes between Yun Shan and Xiao Feng Ming as I found the romance scenes forced and the chemistry missing.

5. "Proper Pacing": 4/5 ★★★★☆
With only 28 episodes, I saw myself wanting for more. The last 1-2 episodes feel slightly rushed and though I was hoping some of the emotional climaxes could have been depicted better, I find the episode number to be suitable for such a light-hearted school-romance drama. There is a nice climax in the middle following by a second arc. There are no unnecessary watering down, though sometimes there could have been fewer flashbacks.

6. "Technicalities": 4/5 ★★★★☆
Despite being a low-budget drama, the technicalities are nicely done. Especially, I was impressed with the CGI-enriched fighting scenes. This goes really badly with a lot of Chinese drama but DoSE did a decent job there. I also really like the rooms' internal designs - make me want to stay in one of those student dorms. And finally the songs are just beautiful - they are part of my frequent play list now.

7. "Solid Final": 4/5: ★★★★☆
For me, the final is not only the last episode but also how it is building towards the climax. In that sense, I like the ending. I am not going to spoil it for everyone but I understand why the writers have chosen such an ending. It would have been less convincing otherwise.
I love the fact that there was so much heart-warming act of forgiveness and letting go of hate. Many historical Wu Xia is so much about revenge from head to toe and it is great to see that the pointlessness of that (e.g. the last scene Long Wei Er was so beautifully taken).

Overall, I would give this drama a 9.0 out of 10. I would recommend it anyone who likes romance, friendship, school but with slightly more depth and twists. And of course to anyone who loves Xu Kai as much as I do!

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Kotori's drama review seven criteria definition:

After having watched many dramas and also written several reviews. I have detected that I rate dramas based on specific patterns. I formulated those into seven criteria.
1. "Emotional Rollercoaster": the degree of how much my heart was moving from the acting, scenes, and story development (e.g., in pain, pounding, fluster etc.). The degree on how much I care about the fate of the main leads.
2. "Sleepless Nights.": how much I have the urge to binge-watch this drama.
3. "Natural and intelligent Storytelling.": how logically the story was able to proceed and the roles are acting within their characters. I don't have a thousand question marks when watching the drama. The feeling that the makers take us viewers seriously and that we do not always think that this looks fake.
4. "Loveable supporting Roles.": how much I love and care about supporting characters. They are not merely tools to help the main characters but are 3-dimensional and have the proper motivation behind their actions.
5. "Proper Pacing.": how well the drama is pacing and not watered down to fill the number of episodes.
6. "Technicalities": professional camera works and shots, fight scenes, color grading, lighting, editing, music, sets, costumes, use of CGI etc. I try to grade this in relation to the drama budget, so a low-budget drama can equally get a high score when used at the right place
7. "Solid Finale": how properly the drama builds dramatic and finishes with a satisfactory ending. I have just watched too many dramas that start to lose their grip around half or 2/3rd of its way.

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A Riveting Drama with Stellar Performances

Story: This drama is a well-crafted narrative filled with intricate mind games between the female lead and the two male leaders, each manipulating and using one another from the very first episode. As the story unfolds, the plot thickens, and the characters' schemes - or at times, their support for one another becomes even more intriguing. The romantic dynamics are also interesting, with a clear contrast in how the two male leads interact with the female lead, adding depth to the story.

The supporting characters also added colors to the drama. This is one of the dramas where I don't really think some of the characters were redundant, as they all put in their own weight for this drama.

Acting: I was drawn to this drama because of Ren Jia Lun, who plays Wei Zhao. Having seen his previous works, including the Blue Whisper (Parts 1 and 2) and the Burning Flames, I knew he was an exceptional actor. This was my first time watching Landy Li (Jiang Ci) and Jeremy Tsui, and I found their performance impressive as well. Special recognition goes to Jeremy Tsui for his portrayal of Pei Yan.

OST: The soundtracks were fantastic. Part of the lineup include my favorite OST singer Liu Yuning. Additionally, Curly Gao were also part of the line up.

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WHO ARE WE TO JUDGE?

This drama prompted me to do something I never do: write a review, cause it had such a profound impact that it raised a debate in me in view of my profession.

Samayou Yaiba also called The Hovering Blade is The Japanese drama I was looking for for so long. A captivating series of six episodes that prompts us to think about the impact of social justice or revenge around us, how the police deal with their own procedures, the juvenile delinquency and its consequences, the impact of the press and its management of information, but above all, how far should we allow our pain and compassion to dictate our thinking?

This drama definitely deserves to be known, I really like the way it was filmed with the absence of BGM in almost every scene. It reveals a silence full of doubts and questioning of each protagonist. With that ultimate question, what if it were you in my place, what would you have done?

I admit it’s not always easy to watch because of the violence of some scenes but it’s so well written and it reconciled me with the Japanese drama, they always knew how to treat difficult subjects in a clinical way without real criticism, just by exposing facts.

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First off, I'd like to point out that the details section and another review say that one of the main characters, Tao Ye, is straight, but his sexual orientation is actually not completely clear, at least for me. This ambiguity is one of the main reasons that kept me watching because I relentlessly wanted to find out. It's definitely worth watching if you're interested in BL (boys' love), so you can also try to decide for yourself what you think Tao Ye's sexual orientation is, once you finish watching.

Since it's only about 2 hours long in total, the drama seemed to only be able to get in the main points/scenes across without dwelling much on every main characters' lives/thoughts. However, this didn't really harm the overall quality. It perfectly depicts how people in China view homosexuality and nicely illustrates the (love) life of a gay teen living in a traditional Chinese household. The story was full of twists and turns that made me go from being so happy for the main character, Xu Zhengxi, to being so sad for him that I wanted to comfort him myself if it were possible.

The story was good enough to make me love the song near the end of the movie. The lyrics are amazing when seen/heard in context. That itself is an accomplishment.

As the other review says, the friendships are precious. The good ones make you adore the characters, and the rough ones... keep you watching. I sympathize so much with the main character and thought that the conflicts were unsolvable without someone getting hurt.

As I've said in the beginning, I highly recommend watching this drama. It's not that long, the boys are cute, and there aren't many dramas from China that focus on homosexuality, so I find this to be one of the better ones.

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Started good but ended up leaving some unsolving cases.

Watched this series with high expectations but ended up disappointed. It was good when they just focus on how Blacklist solve the case in school but when they start to give the romance between the veggie gang and blacklist I started to feel annoyed. Is it necessary though? The Principal supposed to be the main villain here but they still want to give some unnecessary twist by putting Teacher Jin is a villain you didn't know. The closing was rushed. How did Fah escape from Teacher Jin? How did the teacher asked her to write the letter to framed Traffic? Is The God's Hands already handled? And how did Teacher Jin still teaching when she supposed to turn herself to the police?

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A Classic Vampire Romance with Abundant Twists & Turns!!

This is it! This is the time for the verdict.

I’ve been waiting for “My Golden Blood” since it was announced in 2023. The pilot trailer was chef’s kiss, and as a die-hard vampire lore enthusiast, I was buzzing. Now that I’ve devoured all twelve episodes (more than once, mind you), here’s my final, fang-filled verdict.

Not Everyone’s Cup of (Blood) Tea

Let’s be clear: this show is not for everyone. It’s camp, melodramatic, sometimes gloriously over-the-top, and sprinkled with Bollywood-esque flair. There are mixed reviews, and that’s fair—each to their own. But for me? I absolutely loved it, and here’s why.

A Bollywood-ish BL Done Right

Before you scoff or snort at the heading, I will tell you how endearing I find the love for melodrama among the Indian and Thai fiction media! And the plot and tropes of My Golden Blood reminded me of Bollywood films for that reason.

My Golden Blood is a beautifully chaotic cocktail of action, pining, dramatic face-offs, bad guy-bashing, and a reunion that makes your heart do somersaults. It’s quite unlike anything GMMTV has dared before, and for that, the entire team deserves a standing ovation.

Bringing in director Ark Saroj was nothing short of divine intervention. His keen eye for symbolism (those black and white dream sequences are brilliant!) and his photographer’s sensibility shine through every frame. Each shot is meticulously crafted: the lighting, the atmosphere, the editing—top-notch.

Read the complete article here-

https://the-bl-xpress.com/2025/06/18/my-golden-blood-series-review-ep-3-to-12/

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A hidden, under-appreciated gem!

I’ve already watched all 24 episodes on IQIYI. Some might say this drama is cheesy or has a lot of silly humor, but I personally loved it. There’s nothing wrong with cheesy humor if it makes you laugh, and this drama made me laugh. To me, this is what ROM-COM should be – romance AND comedy.

I loved FL. She was a strong ruler without being a b****. She simply exuded strength and power by the expression on her face. She wielded power like a man – by her expression, by the way she carried herself, by her confidence. She didn’t have to be underhanded, scheming, vindictive or seductive. She was strong yet playful – I loved the winks she gave. She and ML were, indeed, a power couple, although ML tended to give way to FL, making her the dominant partner. My favorite scene: she regains her memory and seats herself on ML’s throne. When he finds her, she boldly declared who she is, but he takes it as an invitation and says provocatively, ‘Yes, my lord’, leading to a steamy kiss scene. I also loved the scene where FL is taking out the evil/crazy Qi Meng with arrows. I like a woman who can solve her own problems, and the men in her life recognized her ability to do so and stood back and let her do it.

I loved ML too. He was handsome and confident yet he fully supported FL and complimented her power with his own. He wasn’t intimidated by her – they were equals. I loved how she gave him strength and confidence when he needed it – like when marriage envoys from the third city (can’t remember it’s name right now) turned around and began to leave because SML felt insulted. ML starts getting antsy, but FL steadied him by placing her hand on his, and they ended up winning the game of chicken. He even looked cute dressed as a woman (loved that facial gesture he gave FL). I was little disappointed with how he reacted to learning FL’s true identity, but he quickly changed his mind once he thought she was in danger. After that, this couple remained solid – each loving and supporting each other – a wonderful power couple. One last thing I’ve got to say about ML – this man liked his rose-scented baths! I’ve never seen a ML bathe so much! And he has the Cadillac of bathtubs too! I hope it had a hot spring feeding it because I’d hate to be the servants that had to boil water and fill that thing!

The villainess was sufficiently hateful. Even though we had to watch her (and FL) marry ML, we knew it was a fake ceremony since ML/FL were on to her schemes. I usually don’t like these arranged marriage tropes, but it was clear that ML was in love with FL and would have dumped Qi Meng if FL had asked him to. Qi Meng wasn’t as annoying as some of these psycho chicks because FL always managed to get the best of her and foil her plots. As for the male villain, all I can say is he has a great bod which the director was happy to show us over and over again. I was disappointed that he escaped punishment at the end along with those old geezers who couldn’t accept a female ruler…even though she’d been leading them for years.

The supporting cast was loveable and added plenty of humor.

That being said, I’m not sure if I’m completely happy with the ending. Yes, ML/FL finally complete their marriage ceremony, but in the extra scenes, we see indications that there may be a sequel. If so, I’m not going to watch it because the Chinese have a way of ruining a good drama. I’m happy with finishing the story at episode 24.

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I really don't have a bad word to say about this entire drama. I loved it - from the very beginning episode to the final, it was delightfully enthralling. Though I'm not a stranger to the whole, 'girl pretending to be a boy' character concept, (seen in 'To the Beautiful You', 'Mulan' 'You're Beautiful' and 'Coffee Prince' for example), I truly loved the way this aspect was presented - creative, unique and believable (if you ignore the fact that she really does look like a girl even when dressed as a boy).

The storyline of this drama was truly brilliant; when one problem was solved, another arose, all believable and suited to the drama as a whole. There is not a single thing that I would want changed. The ending, might I say without giving anything away, in my opinion, was perfect!

The acting/cast, I cannot fault them. I came to enjoy all of the characters, which is very rare for me in a drama - there's always someone you loathe and although there were those detestable characters in this drama - I understood why they were acted the way they did and that was refreshing. I loved the cast of this drama and believe they were all perfectly suited to their roles - I can't fault them. They all worked well together and made the story all that more believable and lovable. Also, I think it must be noted, if you're after eye-candy, this drama has SO much to offer - Song Joong Ki (if you haven't seen him in Werewolf Boy, I recommend that too), Yoo Ah In (I completely fell for his character, Moon Jae Shin), Park Yoo Chun and even Jun Tae Soo.

Music - loved it. The music... and I mean every piece of music, was well-suited to the drama and I strongly believe it not only complimented the drama but enhanced it.

Overall this drama quite obviously (from my hopefully glowing review) would receive a solid 10, in my opinion. I absolutely loved Sunkyunkwan Scandal, it surely is one of my favourites. I seriously recommend this drama! I'm not the biggest fan of historical dramas but this one was truly memorable - all for good reasons. If you begin watching it, do yourself a favour and stick around to see the very last episode - completely worth it, you won't be able to fight a smile.

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