Reviews

The Musical started off so strong. The first couple episodes were funny and the leads had a good chemistry...

When the characters were actually working on the musical it was very interesting. Then somewhere in the middle the story took several directions. Towards the end it became just very dramatic and there was no focus on musicals. I actually forgot that this drama was called the Musical just because there wasnt that much music. I didn't watch the end but heard it was rushed so I'll probably just read a recap. Still though for most of the time the story kept my interest.

I think the casting was perfect...except for Ko Hye Sun. I think what brought the quality down was her poor singing voice. Also, her character development was poorly written so that plus her awful voice just made it hard to want to root for her. Daniel Choi was perfect in his role. I did like all the supporting characters.

The music was memorable but nothing I'd want to listen to outside the show.

I'm not sure If Id rewatch this or not.

Overall if this drama was written better and casted with a better female lead it would have left a lasting impression but since thats not the case I'd just rate it as being average but worth watching once.

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You either hate it, or you're absolutely obsessed with it. There's no in-between.

This drama is not for everyone.

But it is for people who have an open mind and an open heart. Because this drama gives you the story you need, but maybe not the one you wanted.

Let me explain.

This drama is a typical costume drama with court politics, schemes, epic battle sequences, and stunning costumes. Now, what makes it special is that there is a fantasy element to it. And it comes in the form of a mermaid. Unexpected, I know. The fantasy element plays a small role in the overall story, but an important one, nonetheless.

Also, there’s a romance between a student (Haishi) and a master (Fang Jianming).

With this information in mind, you expect that you’ll get a mix of court drama that ends with the main characters falling in love. And at its core, that’s exactly what the show gives you.

Except, it also gives you three very unlikeable characters at the start of the show (Haishi, Fang Jianming and the Emperor). One struggles with unrequited love, one is emotionally inept, and the other is taking grieving to a dark level. So, naturally, there are moments where you might dislike the show because the characters are dislikeable.

But this show makes it very clear halfway through, that it’s a story about massive character transformation. All these characters go from unlikeable to immensely likeable. And the acting is strong enough to make these transformations convincing.

And what keeps you watching the show, despite the frustrating slow-burn romance and some annoying subplots, is how unpredictable the show is. Trust me, once you start the first episode, you’ll see what I mean.

To me, the show really picks up from episode 30 onwards. It took me 30 episodes to realize this show would be on my favourites of 2021. But, because of how unpredictable the plot is, it’ll be a breeze to get to episode 30 where everything starts falling into place.

Finally, if you’re like me, and you hate sad endings, you might be surprised how much you won’t regret watching this show despite the tears you might shed at the end.

Favourite thing about the show: The dialogue and character banter (I would pause, rewind, and replay a lot of lines).

Technical elements: Obviously, the OST is stunning. Diamond Zhang is on the record which is an automatic green flag. Also, this is a high-budget production so expect epic battle scenes, rich costumery and lush cinematography.

Some trigger warnings: sexual assault, self-harm, major character deaths, violence.

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The movie was Explorative, but the plot seems displaced

The story concept was actually good, it raises issues of daily living (such as trust and betrayal, domestic violence) beside focusing on romance, and has potentially interesting characters (nail artists, cheese maker, widow)

But regretfully, the plot aren't so nice, too much screentime are wasted for unnecessary scenes, repetitions and flashbacks. On the contrary, scene's that are required to make the plot tie together are missing, hence the overall movie felt displaced and aren't flowing smoothly

The characters and chemistry between them doesn't seem to develop enough, the romance wasn't there. It seems like the movie only focus on the ending and not the process

Perhaps if the movie has more screen time (or was made into drama series), it could have been developed into a better work of art

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I wished it was more than 38 eps, i can watch it many times without getting bored.

This is one of the best slice of life drama I’ve ever watched, i don't watch this genre that much but since i like bailu i guve a try when i first heard there will be 38 eps, I was worried there might be filler ep but I was wrong. Each and every eps were interesting. The camera work, scenery, script, acting, everything was flawlesAll the actors delivered outstanding performances and it didn’t feel like acting. The drama was so fresh, realistic and pure. It teaches you how to live life as it is and to find stability. It also shows how strong the bonds between their childhood friendships and their familiesAt first, XWH was desperate to succeed and forgot about humanity and had no empathy but XFH helped him realize success wasn’t everything and to live and love life. And that there’s nothing wrong with failing and that anyone could get up again, Bailu delivered her best and did really well although she usually don’t act in modern realistic dramas. Her acting was raw and her eyes were filled with emotions. She even cut her hair, put on heavy tanned makeup, wore braces although it was uncomfortable without any complaints.

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A Gaming Disaster

Let me just share with you my opinions and you can decide if you want to watch it or not. I'm a huge fan of gaming or sports Chinese dramas because the story follows their own set paths and not have the typical Chinese dramas cliches so I was excited about this one...... until I actually watch this one.

This drama have the potential to be a great gaming drama. The signs are all there but because the writers introduced the typical Chinese cliches in this drama, this is what ruined it for me. It's a 35 episode drama but I would say the writers wasted a good 20 to 25 episodes full of nonsense, headaches, and anger that was pointless.

A bickering ML & FL with each other in the beginning I can understand and I can understand the hardship the ML faces in the beginning, but when the writers kept repeating this pattern of ML & FL suffering for about 75% of this drama, I've had it. It resulted in skipping. Evil people in this drama whose punishment is barely anything gets me furious. Don't even get me started on the brushing off that the writers did on the sexual assault that the scumbag manager did on the FL's friend and the attempted sexual assault on the FL. I really hated how this was handled like it was nothing. Then you have a few side characters who are just the root of evil. Why do they get so much power on doing certain things even though they're not important? And all of this sudden, they get caught and last minute change because they lost everything? Yeah right. Oh and there's that stalker ex of the ML who seems okay at first but they decided to ruin her character by making her obsessive with the ML, even toward the very end which ruined the last few episodes for me. They ruined the ML's character because of this ex and I'm not happy about that. Tons of misunderstandings and an evil stepmother who's so rude but all the sudden has a change a heart immediately.

Also, I'm very disappointed that the FL's dream of being a commentator wasn't presented well in this drama. They stalled on her progression too long by making bad things happen to her due to that evil jealous co-worker. Progress was needed for her to learn and improve yes but she should've been shown commentating the esport long time ago, not just for the final showdown. Yes, she got to experience her dream but it should've been for multiple events not just the last one.

So what's good then? Well I did like the developing relationship between the leads, started as friends to eventually growing to like each other. Their friends are the goofballs. The FL's friend is the overprotective mother while the ML's friend is just silly overall. Of course, these two friends do like each other and there's another sweet couple too that I wish had more screen time. The gaming is okay but it's more of just seeing them playing on the computer than actually seeing game action scenes. The SML was my favorite. Even though he seemed like a non likable guy, he was just a fanboy of the ML throughout the series which ended up making his character pretty funny and cool. But overall, it's the bond and friendships the ML makes with others I really enjoy seeing.

So in conclusion, a potential to be a great drama but adding nonsense, headaches, and frustration ruined the quality of this gaming drama for me. Very rushed last several episodes and a lot of wasted episodes. The typical Chinese drama cliché of a problem occuring even towards the end of this drama ( I hate this!). This is probably the worst gaming drama I've seen but I stuck by it and not drop because of the lead characters and their friends.

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Struggled to finish the drama

The drama kept me interested for a while until the two main leads GBZ and WSY started all of a sudden caring so much about each other and getting all emotional when something happened to the other. I think the plot was interesting, it kept me watching with the mystery aspects but the romance was done terribly. I think the two main leads had like two interactions and all of a sudden they are willing to die for each other and getting all jealous and wanting to control each other's decisions. It just didn't make sense to me. I like the plot and I think it could have been a great drama if they didn't add these poorly done romance aspects. Another annoying thing was how they characterize BLHY to be this super smart guy but a lot of figuring plots out is given to the character GBZ, and they show BLHY's intelligence mostly by BLHY figuring out what GBZ is trying to convey to him in threatening moments. The characterization and plot together just wasn't very coherent to me. I liked some of the support characters back stories like that of GBZ's lady friend, while the addition of other supporting characters were quite confusing. Like, why give such characters so much screen time when they have little influence on the plot? It was just annoying watching them (like that of LR's brother). The point of LR's character and her ear-piercing "Er Lang" was also confusing to me. Why??? What is the point to show us this besides annoying viewers?

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A paradox indeed

First the positive:
None of us can deny, that the mains delivered what we knew they would deliver. Especially Son and Choi both bring a nuance to their characters that honestly I wouldn't have gotten from the writers.
Cinematography and editing are immaculate. This probably can also be hugely due to very good direction. I thought I would get dizzy from the match cuts after a while but they continued to be se interesting I didn't (the fact that the cuts actually added to the storytelling is a big plus).
All in all very pleasing to look at.

However the unwillingness to decide on a tone was hard to ignore. Is it trying to be gritty? funny? melancholic? what is going on
Messaging is also quite muddled.
This is all due to the writing I must say.
And it all goes wrong with the addition of a character (actually two but one is dependant on the other). The moment we meet RoBin this kind of falls to pieces for me. And as soon as that happens our story shifts from whom I assumed to be the main character for the first 4 episodes. Tang kind of runs around grabbed by his strings throughout the rest of the story. Seeing how his character conflict from the beginning is his inability to decide on what to do and just going with the flow I felt like we threw all of his chances on changing that out the window. Unless I am missing something his character gets stuck right there and it is frustrating.
Personally I couldn't bring myself to be interested in Cho whatshisfaces story. That might be just on me. But each time he occupied the screen I was wishing for Tang and NanGam back.

All in all this story failed for me. On one side due to my expectations of this being a sharp cat and mouse game a la Heat or Catch me if you can (to be fair that is what the promo made me believe). On the other side losing us due to the writing in the second half.

That being sad I enjoyed our mains and again technical aspects of this are brilliant. The drama is a solid middle tier for me.

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This hidden gem is one of the most under-rated dramas in the drama universe. Yes, it is not perfect, yes, you can notice that it has had a little budget, the actors are not the most famous ones... but... it has so much to say and teach, such a big hurricane of emotions... I am in love with all the characters... ALL OF THEM!

The story? It just describes the lives of the most ordinary students who have taken their direction in life... music+acting=musicals... but, is the simple combination I had in mind before watching this still working for me? Guess what - it doesn't, now I am thinking, how could I have been so naive to have thought like that for that long!
As the story progressed, as the students were getting into the world of musicals deeper and deeper, I was studying with them, I was absorbing every word their wise professors were teaching them. I came to know much more, for example that acting is not always the emotions that you make yourself believe you have at the moment, the greatest acting is when you actually feel the way your character would have felt at the moment, and you stop acting and actually feel that way, you cry real tears, you smile a real smile, you really get angry...

In the beginning there are several stories, as every character has an issue to deal with be it a parent related, lack of self esteem, haunting past mistakes, fear of exposure, guilt, cry for freedom... then, as the story goes on, and all this, at the first sight separate people, become closer, share each other's pain, happiness, tears and laughter, the stories become so entangled, that, when one of the issues gets its resolve(not always the perfect one), you breath such a sigh of relief, you could fly...

There are so many moments I would like to complement the actors for making my heart skip a beat, I would end up telling the whole story. There are so many moments I was on verge of tears, just because I felt so overwhelmed and touched... the first time JaeHun sings, the tears in his eyes at the moment, TaeHee's song for him, their first dance, DoSung's battle with himself, with the music in his head, ByungGun's first song heard by the ghost, his second song heard by many, TaeHee's conversations with her father, JaeHun's consideration for her father (actually his photo), his lover for her, Professor SunWoo's 50cent information for TaeHee, his advice to the students (especially the last one about the 'show stopper'), all the students' songs and performances...

As this is a musical drama, there are many songs here, but especially heart clenching peace is called 'With You' performed by TaeHee and ByungGun, I can't stop listening to it... And of course Park Bom's You and I, very artistically inserted here, was a very good addition to the collection. How can I not mention the great covers from famous musicals like 'Jekyll and Hyde', 'Grease', 'Fame', 'Phantom of the Opera'...
My lament is WHY THERE IS NO OST??? How can this happen? *I am really on verge of tears because of this* These is no OST, and I listening to the songs through ripped version directly from the drama...

I will actually not say 'recommended' this time, as I am sure some plot holes, smoothed out ending, and other issues will stop many people from watching this, or liking it, but I loved every moment, and I absolutely did not want it to end...

I hope there is Vol.2...
What's Up? hihi~

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Is this Show a duck or a goose?

I thought the Show started well. A dose of mystery, a touch of humour and a hint of romance. There is a burst of manic energy as the Show introduces the key players and setup the main plot. After the meet-cute, the show slows down to a steady pace. There are some funny moments early on as the ML learn to live with ghosts and how to profit from them. However, the humour is fleeting. While it sort of sticks to the initial premise of a taxi for ghosts, we soon find out that it is far from being joyrides. Most of the ghostly tales are quite weighty and depressing. These subplots appears to be random at first but over time, we are given clues to find the missing link that ties them all together.

I actually felt a bit lost by the half way point because I was expecting the Show to go down a certain path based on the marketing and the early episodes but it turns out to be quite a different beast. I won’t go as far as calling it bait-and-switch, but I was not excited about where the story is heading.

Fortunately, the Show finally starts to pull the threads together in the last 1/3 of the run. The final destination is revealed, and we gather momentum as we sped towards the climax. I have to admit that it is neat how the loose threads are related to each other and slots in with each other. The only problem is that by this stage, I’m feeling a little jaded as I can see the Show is clearly manipulating the narrative and subplots until all the pieces are perfectly aligned. The puzzle can’t be solved because the pieces are hidden on purpose from us. We are drip fed very little concrete information while it grows painfully obvious who the real culprits are. This includes creating contrived situations while bending rules to suit the task at hand. Some of these involve questionable police procedurals while others will leave you baffled by the inconsistency if not out right contrivance. The Show will try to explain the ruse afterwards but it does test your credulity.

Acting is acceptable on the whole. I won’t call any of them breakout roles. The FL has a more challenging role than the ML. He can appear a bit wooden at times. They have decent chemistry and there is a bit of skinship in ep.12.

Production value is par for the course. It doesn't have lavish sets but they are functional and fit for purpose. Not a lot of CGI is used even though you would expect more from a supernatural themed show. What is there is acceptable but fairly rudimentary by today's standards. Once again, adequate rather than exceptional.

In the end, all the loose ends are tied up. Emotions run high and a few tears are shed. Antagonists are dealt with. Protagonists have the happy endings we all wish for. The Show turns the fan service dial to the max in ep.12. It is probably the best episode of the series and it is the real highlight for me.

Regrettably, the bulk of the show is fairly pedestrian. Similar ghost/wish fulfilling plots have been done before and often better. There is certainly something old something borrowed here. What we need is more of something new.

In hindsight, it is watchable and kept my interest but it can be testing at times. I won’t mind rewatch a highlight reel but not the whole show. Peace out.

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I think this show proves that something can be bad and still be entertaining. I don't know about others, but I felt slightly ashamed of myself for enjoying this drama. I just couldn't get rid of the feeling the writers were doing psychedelics.

The main problem I had with the show was the writing- there were too many elements mixed together. The supernatural element especially was only thrown in from time to time- as if someone occasionally remembered it was supposed to be there, but didn't know how to fit it in. The ending felt strange for that reason. The acting was a bit clunky at times, but I felt that the actors did the best they could with a dubious script- or in the case of the actor who played Alex, with a character who was written with very little personality.

But, like I said, I enjoyed this show. The romance was sweet, although I was angry at the main female lead more than once. Jin and Kay had a lot of personality and weren't bad to look at. The case of the day, while usually weird and (for some weird reason) leading everyone to forgive someone who committed a crime, was usually interesting.

If you are looking for something amusing and not overly coherent, this might be for you.

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The drama that provided me the light I needed

Kikazaranai Koi niha Riyuu ga Atte picked me up when I was at the lowest point of my life not only because of its:
1.chemistry between leads and co-stars
2. wholesomeness
3. delicious food
4.fashion
5. picturesque backdrop

but most especially with its dialogues/conversations (not too long even) that are very much applicable to real life. My favorite line is "do your best". These only three words resonate well in reality that hearing them from someone makes me go on despite the challenges. There are a lot of relatable lines that you may discover each episode and more of it as you rewatch them again making its rewatch value a perfect 10.

Words are not simply enough/ I don't even know how to begin this review but one thing for sure, this drama will remain in my heart forever.

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Foundational Romance Tropes: whipping boy, spoiled prince, obsessive crush

I love a sympathetic main character and Japan delivers introvert well (emo is their brand, after all). This is a pretty classic whipping boy trope meets spoiled prince (it’s been a while my old friend).

Our POV is that weird kid who takes photos and thinks he wants to be invisible but actually just wants to be seen by one person (and belong to him). The beautiful boy who starts bossing him around is protective out the gate, having decided that this weirdo is HIS weirdo, no one ELSE can boss him around. This execution of whipping boy was a whole lot gentler than I expected, but because Hira is the seme character it did pivot into attack dog half way through and I LOVED that. One of the things I like about Japanese BL is that it's not afraid of darkness,

Utsukushii Kare managed to be harsh as all get up, angry with us and itself, reminding us of old tropes and archetypes long forgotten but still utterly appealing.

It was exactly as weird and as messed-up as any origin manga and it was great to watch a no holds barred authentic Japanese yaoi adaptation once again. Sure this was an angsty af warped little BL, but it was entirely true to itself with no attempt made to modify its POV for modern sensibilities or international audiences. It highlights one of the things Japanese cinema is best at, staying true to itself.

Up until the last episode this was a solid 8/10, right there with Japan’s other 2021 offerings... and then the final ep BLEW MY MIND. I did not understand how they could possibly end this series well, I half expected tragedy, but this BL turned into a life lesson in how to stick a landing. Japan, why you gotta do us all so fantastically dirty like that? I tend to put all my eggs in the endings basket, as a result episode 6 alone bumped the whole thing up 9/10. I may not rewatch all of Utsukushii Kare but I have already rewatched the final ep 3x. So, yeah.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, JUST KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO

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Sunshine Angel is a romantic story which follows the life of a young rich boy who unexpectedly falls in love with someone he wouldn't even bother to give a secound look to normally.. This story, Starring Rainie Yang and Farenheit's Wu Chun as the lead roles takes on the every day issues about the man who has it all, Unexpectedly then to lose everything previously valued to him before he met the girl of his dreams. I'll leave this review spoilerless..

Di Ya Xin is a young male who has it all.. He was born into a wealthy family and has friends and is the general director of a company of his own left behind after his parents death. Everything seems to go well for him, Until he takes a trip to Japan while skydiving. Falling towards the ground with a parachute who seems to be broken, Only to be saved by falling into the small bathroom of a young girl named Yokou (Yang Guang). Yokou is a girl with a far different background. Her parents are professional scammers who take money from people and usually leaves her behind to deal with the issues of cleaning up after them. Some people's finally had it with her parents behavior and demands for her to pay them back all the money her parents stole from them. With no chance of paying back they employ her with a job in Taiwan as a Maid of a young man.. This man, The same man who broke her bathroom. As Di Ya Xin slowly falls in love with Yang Guang and decides to give her his all, There are someone in his company who are trying to take all that he truly owns and cherish away from him. As the story develops you'll see Love, Drama, Proverty.. Along with lots of unexpected twists not expected.

The drama has a really good soundtrack, I Love nearly each and every song in the ost.. The songs are placed into the right scenes so I can't complain of the timing.

I'd really recommend this story to everyone, The story won't progress quite as expected. But I won't lie to you guys.. Despite of loving the main characters acting inside of this drama, It left me with a huge 2nd lead syndrome for Zhang Junning.. (Geng Fei)

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Regardless of the extra episode, I still have to give this a perfect score! I loved it! Loved it! Loved it! I love Gong Hyo-Jin, her portrayal of Tae Gong Shil was off the charts!! She was funny, witty and oh so cute (as I already knew)!! And So Ji Sub?!! I have been waiting for so long to see him in a rom/com! I've seen all of his modern dramas and movies; this was the first rom/com I know about. He was smart, brass and so damn handsome! I'm so glad that more people have discovered what I've known for YEARS!!!

The rest of the cast, I loved; including Hwang Sun Hee as our baddie Ha Na! Talk about making you hate them while they barely had screen time? She did a good job. And let's not forget Choi Jung Woo as Sec Kim. He will go down in drama history as the first Secretary I've totally loved (since Secret Garden) but even more so. His character's love for Joong Won was so evident! The little side romance (or no romance between Seo In Guk and Park Hee Bon was super cute! We are all glad the 'Little Sun' finally got her man.

And last but not least, let's give it up for Uncle (Lee Jong Won). I'll never forget his final words when he saw Gong Shil leaving Joong Won's apartment: Bang Shil, FIGHTING!!

SO BUYING THIS!!

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