Reviews

A more or less faithtful adaption of BBC's "Luther" that makes no bold leaps.

Story: Although not as impacting as the original series "Luther", the main plot of "Less Than Evil" is an adaptation of BBC's hit that remains more or less faithful to the core elements, its main characters, and some of the stories and plot lines featured in "Luther" but altered to match the south Korean underworld. For new fans this will be an interesting experience, at least the first half, while for older fans who have watched all the seasons of "Luther" you are not going to be surprised by anything in particular.

Acting/Cast: Special mention goes to Lee Seol for her portrayal of Eun Sun Jae even though she got much less screen time than the leading male actor which is one of the main flaws - in my point of view - of "Less Than Evil". Still every time she appears it becomes very clear that Lee Seol and her character are one of the main reasons why you should watch this show. Shin Ha Kyun's role as rough 'n' tough, no moral compass detective may edge around overacting but he, just as the support cast, were well picked for their roles and matched well the story there set in.

Music: "Less Than Evil" has a soundtrack that fits perfectly its procedural, crime world investigation while shifting to more sombre, soft tones during more emotional, heart wrenching scenes. The main song by BLACK NINE is really good.

Rewatch Value: Only the scenes involving Eun Sun Jae are worth revisiting, everything else amounts to run of the mill detective stories so nothing particularly memorable. The ending itself is left on a very vague note, which may imply a second season.

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Easily One of the Best Asian LGBTQ+ Series of 2022

This one knocked my socks off for sure cause I expected nothing and came out so overwhelmed that I sat in silence for a good half hour mesmerized by what I just watched. I decided to go into this one straight out the gate, no reviews, no comments, I read a snippet of the synopsis but went in with a clear mind so that I can enjoy this series for what it would bring. And damn, did it come through. DNA Says Love You is not just a gem, it's a treasure chest full of them. It was everything I needed and more.

Let's Dive In.

I call DNA Say Love You an Asian LGBTQ+ series instead of a BL (Which it still is but on a way more important scale) because instead of being entirely about two guys following in love, it covers topics that most series have zero guts to do. Being the only country with legalized same-sex marriage, maybe they're the only one with the courage to pursue such a story. Le and Yu He work at a local cafe where they've grown up their entire lives. Every day they are waiting on their childhood best friend, Wen-Wen to come back from studying abroad. However, a mysterious guy named Amber shows up and dives into their lives while also exploring the long-term gay relationship of Li and Gwan.

One thing that makes this series so mesmerizing and perfect, yet such a shocker when you come to the realization of it, is that Amber use to be Wen-Wen. I was not expecting it at all, but then when episode 4 came around, it hit me like a truck and I stayed up another 2-3 hours to finish the rest, I couldn't stop watching. It was so thrilling and interesting, and they handled it with the utmost delicate and tactical care. They were able to tell the story of a gay intersex/trans-male like nothing else I've ever seen. His story was so heartbreaking that it was hard not to want to reach through the screen and give him a hug. But he's strong enough to be his true self and go back to the place that made him feel that way. But what I appreciate the most is that Le's crush on Wen-Wen was different from his crush on Amber. We see him fall for Amber in every interaction between the two of them, and he even explains in the end he didn't fall in love with Wen-Wen, he fell in love with Amber. And I was a wreck after that. Their chemistry was off the fucking charts. I was getting butterflies by episode two. They were able to keep such endearing contact with one another, physically and emotionally, that it tears you apart inside. By the end, you're screaming with joy because they're happy and in love, and it's the sweetest thing you'll ever see.

I really enjoyed Li and Gwan's story. The only thing that's not believable is how fast Li gives up on their 4-year long relationship after a simple misunderstanding. He didn't give Gwan time to respond and instead runs away and gets everybody involved in finding him. Of course, a beautiful moment on the rocks at night, but with anything being a misunderstanding or miscommunication, it becomes annoying. However, they do touch on the topic of being open and communicative and most series tend to skip over it, so I will give them that. But overall, I enjoyed watching them. They were sweet and fun and domestic. Lin Wei Jie also is just a fascinating actor and I hope to see him again.

Yu He is a darling character. I loved her to death. I also love the fact that she didn't let her ignored feelings from Le overtake what she knew him and Amber had. Instead, she becomes a supportive best friend of both of them and I adore her for that. The only thing I would've liked to be a bit more clear was that Le and Yu He weren't siblings. It might've just been me, or maybe I wasn't paying great attention to that part, but I believed up until the last few episodes that they were brother and sister. She gave looks every now and then, but I thought she might've been curious about Amber. Also, it might be an honorific thing I didn't quite understand because she called his mom mom too. Either way, it wasn't too much of a bothersome, just a better clarification.

Everyone deserves a mom like Le's mom. He was so worried about disappointing her, but she came out supportive and bright and I was a mess for that one too.

Rating:

Story: 9.5 - I loved it so much. It was perfect to the T and kept me engaged the entire time. It never once fell off track or became filler, everything that we see was important to the plot and to the characters. it all moved steadily and I like that we see a lot of Amber and Le together and that they handled such an important topic with grace.

Acting; 9 - Everyone did a fantastic job. Erek (Amber) stood out the most, with Li's actor right behind. But everyone did amazing, even the kids.

Music - 8 - Went well with the scenes. I mostly noticed it during Li and Gwan's story, and it was good.

Rewatch value: 5 - as much as I loved this, with everything in me, I could probably never gain the nerves to watch it again. I was a mess, and a mess for a while while the sun started coming up.

I highly recommend this series. It has now become my favorite BL from Taiwan and I'm still debating if this is my number one of all BLs or if ATOTS still holds that position. if anything, this one will be on my top list for sure.

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More than a Sitcom

Not your usual Kdrama Star Doctor Story (no spoiler)
An internal medicine doctor who decides to open his own clinic in his 40s in order to get his family a comfortable life. The story involves Park’s daily life’s ups and downs and his desperation about how to survive as clinic isn’t much different from any other form of self employed business. The life which seems to be colourful, successful outside but carries a formidable weight beneath.

Cast & Acting - for me the best part of the drama was its casting. Well Ra mi-ran and Cha chung-hwa are quite known for their comedic presence but what surprised me was Lee seo-jin taking the lead. The reason i think i got to enjoy this drama more was majorly because of Lee seo-jin’s portrayal, not even single act felt awkward, specially the 4th episode is pure gold. He was exceptional as Park won-jang and i can’t imagine anyone else doing that role with such a grace. Other supports also fitted well with the story, every ensemble was picked really thoughtfully and i really commend the director for choosing such a quintessential ensemble.

Overall - Dr. Park’s clinic made headlines since it’s poster release and if someone who has read the webtoon and watched the kdrama they need to admit that the drama surpasses in terms of quality than former (as someone who read the webtoon along with drama). The webtoon writer is an ex-doctor and now a full time webtoon writer who basically wrote his own story, struggles, experiences that could resonate with other doctors in korea and that was probably the reason it was so famous among the medicos and later even got adapted as a drama. The drama brilliantly brings life out of the webtoon from episode 1 as it’s a sitcom some people might feel little awkward but when you reach episode 4 you start to develop fondness towards Park’s family, friends and colleges. They make you smile, laugh, sympathise and sometime even get you teary, specially the wholesome moments between family, friends and patients. Even though it’s an originally webtoon it showcased some of the serious issues faced by doctors in such a lighthearted way. The last 2-3 episodes whereas felt weak in comparison to initial episodes, those episodes could have been worked on more as for the plot otherwise they nicely wrapped the show with 12 episodes with a beautiful ending video. I might be biased but i would have been happier if they increased the number of episodes and included every part of webtoon like the backstory, it would have been much better but still no major complaints.

As someone who started this drama purely as an experiment not even knowing it’s a sitcom, it came as a surprise and was a wonderful journey of 12eps. Even though it’s a futile hope but i hope for a season2 from tving.

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This is my third longest korean drama I've seen. The first is Ojakgyo Brothers, second is Smile,You and then this drama. And I never regretted after watching those. They are all Jjanggg drama despite the very long episodes you would never feel bored ;)

For those who find and have concern for more meaningful, realistic and love between family I recommend you to watch this :) This drama definitely have all you're searching for.

To tell the truth actually I watch this drama because I start to like Lee Hee Joon after watching him in Jeonwoochi and Joo Yoon Hee after watching her in Nine.They're such a cute couple in this drama. Wish they date for real.Hihii :D

At first I like to watch their scene more than the main couple and eager to wait for their next scene to appear. But as the episodes goes, I love every character in this drama. All the actors did a very very good job in their acting and you can feel as they are family for real.Chemistry of every couple in this drama nomu nomu jangg! :D

Watch this! Trust me you would never regret using 58 hours of your time for Unexpected You :)

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Great little variety show about four actor friends running a cafe on Jeju Island to raise funds for a charity. Prior to watching, I didn't really pay attention to the fact that these actors were all in this... so when i clicked on it haphazardly just to check it out a couple days ago, I was startled to find some of my favorite actors from shows I've just recently been watching or am currently watching. I especially loved trying to forget that Yeon Seok was not still Gu Dong Mae from Mr. Sunshine. LOL (I miss that character!) The show is well worth the watch - enjoyed every minute of it. The dependency on each other as a team under stress was intriguing to watch and often times super emotional. Once I started it I couldn't stop. They have a handful of guests on the show that make it fun as they come in for a day or two, including Jo Jae Yun, Nam Joo Hyuk, Baro, Se Hun (EXO), Yun Ho (TVXQ), Daniel Kang (Wanna One), and last but not least Baek Jong Won (their teacher and guest). You can now binge this like I did since the show wrapped up on March 8 2019. There really wasn't that much music driving this show, so that's why I gave a low rating.

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we grow slowly from endings, then we realize the dreams we wish to come is our first priority

goshhhhh I love how the storyline goes on after season 1 :') It feels like im debating between the cells and the characters haha. I do love how it all started and how yumi find another life to live, which is moving on from her past relationship with woong, until she gets to fall in love with someone she met from work (which is babi). I love the continuation of the story, especially the story gets even more deeper... as its diving deeper to yumi's healing process from her heartbreak and how she changed her life completely due to her dream of being a writer ever since she was little. With the said storyline, I also do love how it is also based from the webtoon. This gave me so much questions to ponder inside my head from the scenes leading through the story, and wondering if this, that, or those would happen. And actually, I do love how I predicted some of the scenes on the go that made me get so proud at myself and binge-watching it as well! I finally decided that the two seasons would be part of my favorite kdramas of all time :>

STORY/PLOT
The story continues after Yumi had her previous heartbreak, as she slowly matured enough, healing from the pain and suffering she encountered. Until then, thoughts ponders her head as she wants to pursue to be a writer. As few of her cells are fading away, but the other cells remains but a different primer cell is leading her life. With that, Yumi and Woong had a different path of life while focusing by their own dreams as they slowly get their success... but then, Babi, a colleague worker who give inspiration to Yumi until as they grow closer, Yumi had decided to open up a new relationship with him. The different path of the cells are having their mission to be a success, but with challenges and unexpected twists and turns to happen with Yumi and Babi. Will Yumi still had the feelings of emotion and love while chasing her dreams to come true?

That question ponders through my head while I was in the middle of the episode of the second season. I also love how the cells are slowly growing back together, controlling Yumi, and new cells are being introduced to make the story seems more exciting and interesting as well haha. Well with the second season, some parts of the story answers few questions that gave me a second thought of why and how it happened during the last season.

With rivalry comes in the middle with Babi and Woong, most especially with their own cells. From here, in between the two of them, I do love how Yumi grows apart from her past relationships. If I was asked who between the two, I would say Woong was still the best one yet, even if he had this "little childish act". But he's really good for Yumi, but seems due to their misunderstandings, Yumi decided to take a break, and where the miscommunications starts to happen, until it was a a little sad heartbreak for Yumi. On the other hand, I do love Babi, but not as same as Woong. Babi was a softie, king, generous, loyal to Yumi, but then he's too good for her. Because of his heartfelt feeling all of a sudden unexpected feelings he do feel other than to Yumi, I think its also one of the weaknesses he encountered. Not to be so biased, but in the second season, I do discovered and wondered at the same time the weaknesses that both Woong and Babi has. There, I do understand well the reasons of why Yumi ended her relationship. It also for the benefit that she could get to be away from her temptations and living no regrets at the end... :') With that, all of her struggles and pains she discovered in the middle and at the end, it grows inside of her differently. Learning from her past relationships of where she was also missing.

Overall with this part, I do love how it turns out, but still we deserve a season 3 since we need Yumi to be more happier with satisfaction :) And after all, Yumi wanted a life where she is satisfied with what's happening. Finding the happiness she deserves to feel... <3

CAST/CHARACTERS
Well well well, I would definitely thank the cast who did so well with the first and second season, but I do really fell in love each one of them also where they also find their own path of life not only to Yumi and the main characters, but as well as the characters who help cope Yumi's life ending to be a satisfaction <3

I'll go first with Kim Go Eun as Yumi. She has so much potential and she improved a lot from Little Women, Goblin, The King, Eternal Monarch (The first drama that I discovered her) and Cheese on the Trap!! Now I watched all of her projects, she deserve the recognition she has, and now since Little Women, I praised her a lot from her acting!! She's one of my lowkey favorite hallyu actress in kdrama!!
Gosh ever since the first season, I do love her and felt her feelings of emotions a lot. I do really love Yumi till the second season because in there its visible that she's growing a lot. I love her development throughout both the first and second season.

Next, Ahn Bo Hyun as Woong. Ahn Bo Hyun also improved a lot, after watching some of his roles from the very first kdrama appearance that I watched before, Itaewon Class and some of the dramas I continued watching because of his potentials as well! Such as Her Private Life, Descendants of the Sun and lastly, he's well known role from My Name!! With his character, not to be so biased, I'll start with him as I get so much feels when Woong and Yumi are together on screen!! I do get the feels haha :')) He's really paired up with Yumi as they really meant for each other. Woong's character development from season 1 till season 2 is still present. but the fact where his childness is still there haha :')) Woong is also one of my favorite characters, he shines so well for Yumi and very supportive and caring at the same time. No matter the relationship he had with Yumi, I do really ship Woomi :'))

Lastly, Park Jin Young as Yoo Babi. Park Jin Young's role is also not new to me since I also saw him for the first time from his role He is Psychometric. He was also did well with this drama. I appreciated his acting skills, but I do hate his character after all what Yumi feels. I do love the ending between them, ending with less to no regrets... <3 I do love Babi *again and again* but I was hoping he would change, but not that well... But overall, I do love Park Jin Young, but not the character much :') hehe.

And to the other casts, I thanked them because they made first and second season more interesting and how they made me happy and laughing all the way. It was a fun ride, with them and how the story was really well written <33 Rooting for the casts as well!!






To end this note, overall it was really a good watch for season 1 and 2. I do love how it ends pretty well... and speculations arise since the ending feels like there is a season 3 and hoping that it would be true tho ;') But still this drama is very recommended to those who wants to watch it <33
Great for binge-watch, a time killer, great for beginners and very recommended, love how the writer made the well made <33

And that's end of my note, I actually took almost 1 hour to type this note haha since I had good feelings with this drama having 2 seasons <33 really loving the drive of emotions I had while watching it. <33 Looking forward to the casts next projects to come!! DESERVE MORE RECOGNITION!!! <333

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Switch off your cynical brain and "fall in love" with this!

Last week, I finished off 38sai Batsuichi Dokushin Onna ga Matching Apuri wo Yattemita Kekka Nikki; if that show is about harsh realities of dating app, then this one is about warm fantasies of dating app. I'm quite surprised that the couple really meets through an app and are down to get married without knowing anything about each other. Not even, work place, haha.

I'm tempted to imagine logical scenarios & reasons and bam, the sugary fluffy content overrides my logic and I'm carried away by the cutesy/racy scenes postponing to address serious issues for later like Ami-Chan. The plot progresses at the pace faster than light going from cute mode to flirty mode to serious talk mode to sexy mode under 5 minutes.

I'm torn between giving high plot rating for its sheer brilliance without any bad characters & still making this show enjoyable and low rating as it keeps major issues unaddressed until the last episode. But thankfully the ending has exceeded my expectations and I'm satisfied for addressing several questions including their first meeting. My cynical brain is pacified.

Both the main characters are ideal, typical of shoujo mangas. Heck, even the Reverse-harem doesn't really get its chance. I'm surprised by the cast but they are good and well suited especially Matsui Airi's smile is such a charm.
Itagaki Mizuki despite his age, he pulls off the slightly older role well. Although there are certain minor flaws, he is good.

This show is beautifully produced given its length and the opening song is such an earworm. I too wanna dance to it.
Rewatch is highly recommended for its sugary content which is quite rare in the drama world.

Final note, don't question the logic, everybody is lovely in this drama!

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So....I guess I'm writing a review for this weird little drama. Was I the only one who liked it? Ha.

Yes, as others have mentioned, this is very slice-of-life. Possibly not even that, since it skips forward a bit from time to time. It gives the feel of little vignettes, I guess. Anyway, I didn't mind that at all. The thing that sticks with me, thinking back to watching this, is that it made me laugh. For real. It's just so wacky and out there and I guess I like that. As for the role that food plays in the drama, it's central, but varies depending on the episode. I am glad it didn't veer into either straight food porn (because that just doesn't interest me) or something sentimental (a la the k-version of Late Night Restaurant, which I liked, but that would absolutely not have worked in this drama, with these characters).

I was unfamiliar with Ahn Young Mi going into this one (even though I must have seen her in Reply 1997), but she impressed me by embracing this oddball of a character. She's brash and insecure, opinionated but willing to reconsider her stance (eventually). In short, the character grows a tiny bit (and believably), even over the course of this very short drama, without losing what makes that character who she is. No Min Woo is adorable as good-guy Byung. Byung's a bit like No MIn Woo's character in My Unfortunate Boyfriend in that he's kind of sweet and naive, but someone you root for. Cute, but not too cute. If that makes any sense. He's good at that.

I liked the music a lot, which kind of surprised me, frankly, since I usually find very little drama music that I actually like. It either sets my teeth on edge (ballads) or it's just generic (most of the rest, with some exceptions, obviously). This was very low-key, but fit well.

I'm not sure I would rewatch, but then again, it's so short that who knows. I might watch an episode or two again just to laugh some more.

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Battle of Changsha is a treasure, and here on MDL, it's largely undiscovered despite sitting near the top of the drama list for as long as I can remember. I guess the best place to hide is directly under the candle, right?

Story:
I put off watching Battle of Changsha for months because I was convinced that it would be full of fighting scenes, and those are not my cup of tea. it was only after a few trusted MDL friends started telling me about it that I gave it a second look. The heart of Battle of Changsha is not in the overarching plot of the war but how that war plot molds and changes a family living in Changsha. Every skeleton in the closet and character flaw, no matter how deep you bury them, come out in times of war, and Battle of Changsha monopolized on that concept. It takes a group of characters with flaws and misconceptions about themselves (and, in some cases, each other) and allows them to grow and bond. The best and worst of their characters will come out as the drama unfolds. It was fascinating to watch, because the story was more concerned about being truthful and honest than giving the viewer rose-colored shades.

The cinematography was some of the best I've ever seen in a drama. It wasn't just about capturing facial expressions or that one kiss scene and using the same four camera angles like in some dramas. It added another dimension to the emotion of the scene, making me feel as if I was with the character(s) in that moment. Battle of Changsha actually had scenery worth seeing, and the production crew took full advantage of it.

There ARE sad moments in this drama, as I’m sure you can tell by the comment section here. I won’t lie to you and say that there weren’t any. However, the story doesn’t drag the viewers through constant drama and grief for 32 episodes. There’s also mischief and laughter. Loud family dinners. Romance. Lazy afternoons listening to Chinese opera.

Acting/Cast:
Even though I rated both story and cast a well-deserved 10/10, I believe that the casting is where Battle of Changsha truly shines. In such a character-focused story, the casting makes or breaks the drama. Battle of Changsha did not disappoint. You won’t find tons of overacting here like in so many other dramas. Every cast member brought their all to the table, and it shows. Their emotion is subtle enough to be realistic, and that type of delivery makes it SO much more powerful.

I could go on and on about so many of the characters, but I will highlight just one in particular that struck me. If you've seen Battle of Changsha, you can probably guess which one. He's impossible to miss, both in stature and in character. Xue Jun Shan will forever remain as one of my favorite characters of all time. At first, the plot capitalizes on his surface character - an enterprising amy security officer that’s unable to say no to a good opportunity, regardless of how ethical it is - but he's so much deeper than that. His journey and growth over the course of the drama were everything. I don't want to give more away and spoil your experience, so I will leave it at that.

Music:
The music was appropriate and powerful in its subtlety. In the beginning, the melody is innocent and reminiscent of youth. It slowly develops in complexity as the plot thickens and characters change. I especially liked how the power ballads (the ones that are in every drama without fail) didn't play ad nauseam. It would have cheapened the experience.

Rewatch Value:
I just completed my second watch of the drama. I don't feel the need to rewatch this as often as some of my other drama favorites, but the emotional scenes still captured me. Plus, I noticed details I missed the first time, and they gave me an even higher respect for the production crew. The only complaint that I have isn’t with the drama itself but at the lacking subtitle quality. The only set of subs I found had several scenes in every episode that weren’t even subbed and the translations had very poor grammar.

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OVERALL
It took me months before I actually gathered all of my courage to start watching this drama. I was NEVER a fan of historical, fantasy and romantic comedy kind of dramas, I was way more into slap & kiss dramas, but since everyone suggested this to me, I said why not? I can just drop it if it gets too boring or dragged. I'm so happy I decided to give this one a try, because honestly this has become one of my top favorite drama among all that I've watched. Everyone, if you ever get that feeling like me, thinking that this might just be a waste of time, please watch this. I know you're gonna enjoy it.

STORY
The storyline was a bit confusing for me at first. And there were so many historical scenes going on, at first I thought that it was going to be boring. But as I watched them, it made me eager, I wanted to know more, even on the history. It was a blend of romance, comedy, mystery, fantasy, I'd say it got everything a drama got to have in here. I shed tears watching this, something that an usual romantic comedy wouldn't do to you. I laughed my heart out each time the comedy part comes in. I smiled to ears watching their romantic scenes (I usually skip these kind of cheesy scenes but this drama is an exception)

ACTING/CAST
I was skeptical on both the main actor & actress at first. Bella and Pope, both never wins my heart but not even that long into the first episode, I feel in love with them. The characters, and even their chemistry. It wasn't as intense as a slap & kiss drama, and it was rather cheesy but everything was in the right amount. If you get what I mean. I really look forward to Pope and Bella acting together in the future, apart from the sequel, I hope I'll see them in a modern setting drama.
The supporting roles are as good as the main too. Each one of them carried their character so well. You're going to feel so connected to them, each character. I loved each of them, it was portrayed so well by them.

MUSIC
Each and every ost they have in this drama were so good. At first it all sounded the same to me, but as I got into a few episodes, I realized how good they were. How the lyrics and the storyline goes hand in hand. I love how soothing the music was, it made me so calm and relax.

REWATCH VALUE
Definitely! I'll start with watching the uncut versions, and I bet I'll be watching more of it soon.

PLEASE PLEASE AND PLEASE, DON'T NEGLECT THIS DRAMA. YOU DESERVES TO WATCH THIS ONE. SOMETHING LIGHT AND INTENSE AT THE SAME TIME, SOMETHING SERIOUS AND FUNNY, SOMETHING THAT MADE YOUR MOOD FLIPPED FROM A SAD ONE TO A BIG SMILE. I REALLY RECOMMEND THIS ONE <3

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This is a movie of quiet beauty. Of the awkwardness that keeps you from saying or doing things. Of the awkwardness that comes after you do do something, and then question whether it was the right thing or not.

The strength and charm of this movie is the actors' ability to say so much with so little. Both the younger and older actors did an amazing job.

Make sure you are ready for a slow-paced movie when you watch this. It will repay your patience several-fold.

There are only a few pieces of music in this, mostly variations on a theme, going from hesitant to lush.

Given that I just watched this, I'm not sure if I'll rewatch it soon. I adored it, so maybe in a few years.

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Two souls transcend anachronistic differences to bring some much needed warmth in each others' lives. This was a lovely gem of a story that made me wish it was a full length drama instead. Even though this falls in the suspended animation genre, what with the hero being frozen in time and waking up 37 years later, all brand new, some scenes reminded me of my old time travel favorite - Rooftop Prince. Of course, this was without the scheming second leads, overly dramatic (read: makjang) scenes and extremely comic hijinks but the underlying love story was charming in a similar way. A very fresh and sweet take on this genre, it's perfect for a tea time weekend watch. I loved Kim Jung Hyun and Han Sun Hwa as the leads. Both are relatively new to being main leads in dramas and after this I feel both deserve to get another lead role soon. Kim Jung Hyun has good comic timing, especially his performance in portraying someone getting used to the modern day era. I also liked that there is a nice transition from scenes in 1979 to present day and all ends are tied up well like why Man Soo ended up meeting Ha Da. Considering this was a special, it's understandable that they didn't get time to provide more reasoning behind the fantasy aspect. Each of the characters including the supporting ones, were well developed though and hence I feel they could have easily extended this to have more episodes with a richer storyline.

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Are there differences?

I love how natural it felt watching as the friendly teasing turned into actual flirting. With every couple one person was a bit more shy than the other but they were both curious to figure out if the other actually meant it when they said they were being serious about wanting to kiss each other. Despite every couple acting out the same scene there were subtle differences, which I really enjoyed since to me it reflects how scenes like this might be in reality.

The girls seemed close, best friends maybe considering they wear matching rings. Both seemed a bit shy, at first, uncertain where things were heading. The the guy in the second scene seemed flustered when the girl suddenly turned his joke around and clearly refused to let it go, even going as far as asking whether he actually meant it. The third scene had a slightly different undertone to it, there was a mild if probably not entirely serious threat of violence as a first reaction when the teasing tone between the two male friends turned into much more than just joking around. Though, it was clear all six people clearly wanted this kiss to happen - here I'm really happy everyone actually made sure to ask for consent, to make sure they were on the same page.

To me, these subtle similarities show that even though all the pairings/couples share the same names (Jimin and Soo Hyun respectively) there is still a difference in how people with different genders might act when first confronted with the idea of kissing someone (especially if it's someone with the same or opposite gender). With the two guys there was a hint of fear in both guy's way of behavior, showing they were both trying to backpedal so as not to be seen as the 'weird one', an undertone which I also slightly got from the two girls. Both non-straight couples seemed to portray the silent question how others would react to them kissing, so each of them had to make sure the other person was being serious, was not just messing with them as some kind of cruel joke - I might have been thinking way too much about it in the last couple of minutes but I think the person portraying the character of Jimin in all three scenes is much less experienced than the one portraying Soo Hyun. And yet the latter already seems to have a slight crush on the other as well, showing it by teasing and yet being also unsure whether their feelings are actually requited.

The uncertainty and yet the constant push-and-pull until each person had their clear answer was beautifully portrayed and as someone who happens to be part of the LGBTQIA+ community that felt a bit too real at times (of course, especially with the first and third couple in this short film): Testing the waters but not being ready to jump in, ready to deny everything once questioned just to save a friendship, yeah, that felt a lot like past experiences.


I enjoyed this short film very much - while at first I thought it would be three different scenariosit turned out all three couples went through the same scenario. Altogether it felt like having a quick glance at three different parallel universes because after all there is no real difference between the couples. They are nervous, excited and yet they communicate their intentions clearly.

Altogether I think this short film shows that despite everything love is love, no matter one's own gender or that of the person you like or want to be with. After all, we're all human.

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This is difficult to rate and review as a whole since the episodes are independent stories, but I'm going to give it a shot. I wrote separate reviews for all the individual episodes too in the episode guide section, so feel free to read those too if you're looking for something more in-depth about a specific episode. I can't talk about it all here because this would be a very long review if I did (it's going to be a long enough review as it is).

I think the most important thing to know about Hometown Legends is that this is truly a mixed bag: genre, style, quality, you name it. These episodes vary widely from one another. If you go in expecting 8 horror episodes, or 8 mysteries, or 8 whatever, you will be disappointed. The overarching theme is simply to have a supernatural element of some sort, I'd say. So maybe the best thing to do here is to attempt to categorize the episodes a bit, and explain why some worked better for me than others, and hopefully that's helpful for someone out there who is deciding whether to watch, and which episodes to watch.

In terms of (subjective) quality/how much I enjoyed them: episodes 1, 3, and 7 are clearly the winners. 4 and 6 were enjoyable, with some flaws that keep them out of the top tier, but I still enjoyed them quite a bit. Episode 5 is the next level down - not my favorite, but okay. The remaining two episodes, 2 and 8, I would not recommend.

In terms of genre, the episodes range from comedy (episode 7!), to almost straight mystery (episode 3), to horror-ish (episodes 4 and 6 are probably the closest). All are sort of a mixture of genres, though, really. Most have elements of mystery and horror, but vary in the ratio. The true oddball of the bunch is episode 7, which I described as a "supernatural caper comedy" in my episode review. It also happens to be my favorite, so go figure. :)

The music also varies widely, but most didn't leave an impression on me, so I'd say it's fine overall. The extremes are episode 7, which had some creative music choices to match its general weirdness (which is to say, it fits the feel of the episode well), and episode 8, which I felt had poorly done, distracting music.

The acting is generally fine, but to go into more detail would take forever. See the episode reviews if you need more. Same for comments on writing and directing, although I will say that I enjoy watching things like this (one-offs, drama specials, etc.) because sometimes it's a glimpse into a director's earlier style, or a chance to see a little more experimentation, I think. Several well-known directors are represented here, all before their better-known works, and it's fun to see how styles change (or don't).

As with the rest, special effects vary widely in their usage and effectiveness. Clearly they were working with a limited budget, but I thought that most of the episodes did pretty well with the special effects. Nothing fancy, obviously, but conveyed what they were meant to convey without looking excessively cheap or cheesy. I think it probably took some skill to decide how best to use effects with a limited budget, and most of the time, it works okay. Sometimes, it didn't work so well, and I would definitely call them cheesy in a few cases (episodes 2, 5, and 8 are by far the worst offenders).

So this is a super-long review. But I just wanted to try to give a fair assessment of the series as a whole, as well as a little comparison of the specific episodes. I didn't really know what I was getting into when I started watching Hometown Legends. The synopses and a vague expectation of ghost stories were all I had to go on. I'm glad I watched it though, and I might even rewatch a couple of the best episodes at some point.

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