Reviews

This is the kind of drama that my poor heart needs to keep its path! If you are a suffer like me, you gonna need something like this to full your heart with joy and silly love <3

I just love this story! In many ways, this reminds me a lot of "What's wrong with Secretary Kim?" and not just because of Park Min Young. The crazy and funny edition, the jokes and exaggerating characteristics of the characters... Everything was amazing for me! Starting for our female lead, Sung Duk Mi was captivating! Her passion and the way how she maintains her personality during all the process made me love Park Min Young even more. Every drama with this woman makes me satisfied! She is a beauty (undeniable fact) but her charism makes her compatible with every male lead. I thought that I never would be able to overcome her and Park Seo Jun, but here she is also perfect with Kim Jae Wook. Here I left my note: Why this man doesn't participate in more funny dramas? He is amazing with this! I was searching for him and realized that he is in many thrillers and horror dramas, but I laugh so much with him that I couldn't imagine him being scary. The character of Ryan Gold was a masterpiece for me. A man who just loves a woman knowing everything about her and respecting her, without trying to change anything about her behavior. I had chills when I saw him protecting Duk Mi's passion as if was his passion too. THIS IS A MAN! And making a big note here: WHAT A CHEMISTRY! These two just set fire together!

About some things that I don't like... The Eun Gi (Ahn Bo Hyun) plot. It wasn't awful, but I'm a little tired of this kind of friend that appears just to make a twist in the story but you know that don't go anywhere. It's a waste of time for me. I also wish that the "fan thing" had a bigger space in the story. The plot is about Duk Mi hiding her passion and how this affects her life but kinda fades away with the process. But I'm just trying hard to point bad things here.

We see a lot of traumas and childhood issues in dramas like this, and we saw something very similar in "What's wrong with Secretary Kim?" (yes, I'll keep comparing), but here I could felt the things fitting with more fluidness. The story is equally "no way" when we think about everything that happens, and I can't imagine any of them happens in real life, but here I could believe a little more and wasn't so absurd. Also very impossible, but not absurd.

This is not a real-life drama but does its job. It's funny, VERY CUTE, made me cry... It was just AMAZING! (★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★) If you are looking for something to wash your dark heart and expel every bad feeling, this is your drama! Go for it!

See you soon!
XOXO, Mari.

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Not just one, but two!!!

Falling for two insane people is so wild. Daon does deserve a Ju Sunghyun lol but seriously tho, I was kind of shocked how far they took it with those two. And there I was at the beginning thinking, it's gonna be one of those where you struggle who's to ship, you end up rooting for a poly 😂. This was wild. Those two are wild. I wish the writing was better for sure. I do relate with Daon in some ways aka falling for people who are kind to me lol but I really wanted more from his character in the end there. I want him to be mad. HE HAS THE RIGHT TO BE MAD. I wanted a big monologue or big confrontation where he calls out how physically abusive and violent those two have been to him. And I never got it. I wasn't satisfied with that.

The romance was alright. I think Daon and Sunghyun are cute but I wish they developed their story better. Just a little more scenes here and there to make me believe they have this really strong connection. I mean, with all the wild things happening outside of their storyline, I feel like the romance should have matched that energy. It also kind of got irritating at the end there when they had a bit of miscommunication. I'm used to the miscommunication trope but if it was like that where one person just simply didn't let the other talk, I'm like????? Nevertheless, I bought the chemistry between the two actors, it's fine.

The acting was just okay from everybody. No one really stood out to me. A little awkward and very deer in the headlights vibes at times but not the worst I've seen.

Yeah, this was very different from the other korean BLs I've seen but that's just it, the shock factor. Just a little different as there's not just one but two questionable crazy characters. Didn't really blow me away but it did make me curious every episode where they'd take it so it was engaging in that sense.

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Might as well give this drama a try

This is a good drama to watch if you currently ran out of dramas to watch or you want to take a break from those lengthy, serious, and intense wuxias. However, it's better not to expect too much from it. Although this drama has good actors, beautiful sceneries, and wonderful OSTs, I feel like it lacks something.

The overall storyline of a mortal and a demon falling in love through different lifetimes was good and quite interesting at first but 4 lifetimes with the same lovestory in only 36 episode was too much and rushed. It was like just repeatedly watching the female lead meet and quickly fall in love with the male lead as he secretly waits and protects her but both eventually gets seperated and meet again in the next lifetime. The only difference between each lifetime they spent was the character setting of the female lead. First, she wast a maid that married a different guy because her memories were distorted. Second, she was a country girl that got married into the palace. Third, she was a brave general that silently loved him and was contented with him fighting and staying by her side. Fourth, she was a cultivator that was taught to kill demons. As you can see each lifetime would have had wonderful set-up but sadly each of their lovestory was not wonderfully developed as each only spanned a few episodes. Personally, I feel like it would be better if they had just stuck to 2 reincarnations of the female lead or they could still originally include 3-4 reincarnations if the drama was about 50-60 episodes. But nevertheless it was heartwaming to see the male lead protect and love her for hundred of years no matter who she is or was born as, and how the female lead always ends up falling in love and choosing the male lead in each of her lifetime.

The second couple was my favorite. I loved their contrasting personalities and cute interactions. They were one of the main reasons I didn't dropped this drama and I actually preferred them over the main lead couple. It was lovely to watch Qinqing, the lively and takaltive bird elf melt the icy cold heart of Xue Qianxun, the lord of Luofeng Pavillion. Aside from their relationship, I am also fond of Dagon king and Qingqing's friendship and as well as his frienship with Xue Qianxun. It was nice to see how loyal Qingqing was to Liuying that she accompanied her even when she was reincarnated as Ayu, Chenyue, and Qingyan.

In a nutshell, although Miss the Dragon has a lot of room for improvement, it was certainly not a bad drama and was still beutifully-made and quite interesting to watch. The sceneries were surreal and breathtaking and The OST in this drama was spectactular, it matched each scene and magnified the all feelings and emotions conveyed by the actors. I would definitely add these songs into my playlist: 1) Liu Zhuan Ying Hui by Shuang Sheng, 2) Favor by Ding Ding, and 3) Meeting fireflies by Henry Huo.

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Remembering the pain of the past.

A quiet, slow and beautifully shot movie about an aspiring manga artist in search of inspiration who finds meaningful connections to the past.

Ring Wandering doesn't only explore the subject of loneliness and personal relationships, it also highlights the importance of not forgetting the past. It's a movie that slowly reveals its different layers and leaves room for interpretation. What stood out to me the most were the visuals of this movie. The gorgeous nature shots, especially at the beginning and the end of the story.

While I did appreciate the atmospheric nature shots, the narrative would have benefitted from a shorter length. Some parts are too slow without adding any value to the story. I didn't mind it as much since I enjoy slow movies, it's still something that you should be aware of going into it. In an effort to convey universal messages, it neglects the connection of the audience to its main characters, which made me feel pretty indifferent towards them.

Ring Wandering is a serene movie with gorgeous cinematography and an almost meditative atmosphere. I genuinely appreciated the different themes it explored and its subtle depiction of loneliness, showing that even the smallest connections between people can go a long way.

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Is ethics for nerds only?

So many are sleeping on this drama and it is pity. No wonder, there is not enough content in TV, the net, cinema, SOCIETY talking about ethical things... well it needs thinking and for the majority of modern people it is "painful". Anyway, when I found out there would be a jdrama about ethics in schools I needed to watch it.

I must to say I enjoyed this drama and plan to read also manga in the future. Why? Because as a person with a philosophy, pedagogy, and ethics degree I know a thing or two about this beautiful and for most people "useless" science" called ethics. I was really curious how they would manage to put ethics into a Japanese high school setting.

Actually, so many things were poorly explained but only real scholars would get it. The majority of the audience won't get it anyway but might find it interesting. Ethics in Japan is of course is practiced, seen, and done differently than in Europe. All in all, drama touched a rather wide range of representatives and their works which were included in modern students' life and troubles they had to face. * SPOILER * One thing which ruined a feeling of the whole drama for me was the unnecessary "student-teacher confession". Like can they stop promoting this kind of fetish? It was totally out of context and it left a bland taste of the whole drama. *END OF SPOILER * So, not great, not terrible, this show had more potential if it was longer and scriptwriters had done their ethical research done more thoughtfully.

Ok now let me continue with acting - great choice of young actors/actresses, so nice to see fresh talented faces. The kids really did a great job. And Yuki was brilliant as mysterious ethics sensei. My only dissatisfaction was the length of each ep. Just 20 min was not enough to fully explain and deeply involve the attentive viewers in the stories of the students. So many things were unsaid but ok I understand the manga is still ongoing.

Alsooo, want to say a few words about Takayanagi sensei. He is not the happy-go-lucky overly hyped annoying nosy teacher. On the contrary him being deep, enigmatic, introvert, observer, philosoph with a cynical view of the world and people. Even though he is broken he empathically helps people when needed and gives his students much more than just empty useless words. Actually, he inspired me too. Definitely, he showed introverts can make more capable teachers and mentors than his extroverted colleagues. I indeed learned a lot from his role which I want to keep to myself only.

I recommend this drama mainly to philosophy geeks or people who want to get a bit view of how (not so real) ethical classes are. It is not a drama that attracts many people, some might find it boring but some might found new inspiring ideas and get interested in ethics.

PS: Rewatch Value is low because I am not the type of person who rewatches films/dramas even if I like them. Also, there was not much music to rate. And I tend to rate things quite strictly, so some people might give a better rating.

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When heaven and hell collide

Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari is a body-swap drama that focuses on the central characters of a female police detective and a suspected serial killer, and what happens after they “switch bodies''. With their roles now reversed, from the pursuer to the pursued and vice versa, how will both characters deal with the aftermath? Will justice somehow prevail or will the serial killings continue? And will these two characters revert to their original selves before the story ends? These are the questions that will be answered as the story unfolds in what has been an intriguing roller coaster of emotions.

This TBS “Sunday Theater” production is co-directed by Yuichiro Hirakawa (Tenno no Ryoriban, Tonbi, JIN), Takahiro Aoyama (Grand Maison Tokyo), and Aya Matsuki (Hanzawa Naoki, Tokyo MER). The story is based on the original screenplay by Yoshiko Morishita, who has written for many well-known dramas such as JIN 1 & 2, Tonbi and Tenno no Ryoriban, among many others. The prolific composer Yu Takami (BG: Personal Bodyguard, Library War, Ichiro) serves as music director. The 1st movement Allegro con brio of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 (Fate) is used as the opening theme where the famous motive recurs throughout the drama.

The concept of the body swap is based on the Japanese myth of the Moon and the Sun that originates from Kagoshima and Amami Oshima, where legend has it that “the moon was supposed to be the sun and the sun was supposed to be the moon" in a dark twist of fate that changed the positions of the two entities forever. Interestingly in the drama, the body swap actually takes place during a full moon.

This drama attracted much attention on MDL last year and I can finally comprehend why. The hype is truly justified, so much so that it had garnered a number of accolades including the 24th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix with Leading Actress Award for Haruka Ayase and the 107th Television Drama Academy Awards with Leading Actress Award for Haruka Ayase and Supporting Actor Award for Issei Takahashi.

What I Liked

The acting is truly phenomenal, as reflected by the awards won. The thing with body swap stories is that the role reversals have got to be very well executed, otherwise the entire concept would fall flat. Fortunately that is not the case here and the portrayals by both leads are absolutely on another level, particularly that of Takahashi Issei. How he switched personalities from a gender perspective and utterly assumed the personification of both distinctively disparate characterizations is remarkable beyond doubt. Seeing is believing and having witnessed the performance firsthand, I’m completely mind-blown! From the overall body language down to the intimate mannerisms and subtle quirks, Takahashi Issei killed it as both female detective Mochizuki Ayako and psychotic Hidaka Haruto.

Ayase Haruka is no less impressive herself and demonstrates a masterful display of juxtaposition between the freneticism of Mochizuki Ayako and the ultra coolness of Hidaka Haruto. Generally the more subtle of the two leads, Ayase Haruka brilliantly projects the nuanced microexpressions that convince viewers to immediately buy into the personality switch. The interactions between Takahashi Issei and Ayase Haruka are a particular joy to watch and certainly elevates the storytelling even further because they share such wonderful chemistry that adds profound depth to their characters’ dynamics.

As far as the story is concerned, there are two components to the plot - the criminal investigation and the body swap mystery. I was actually more captivated by the body swap segment, for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, the investigation aspect is quite smartly written although it isn’t a particularly inventive or refreshing take on the crime genre.That said, I do appreciate a certain unexpected twist thrown in towards the end. In fairness, this isn’t a drama that is overly complex on the uptake and it does not take itself too seriously either. Despite the gruesome nature of the crime and depictions of gore, as well as certain dramatic moments of emotionally heavy dialogues, the drama is mostly lighthearted with instances of comedic relief interspersed throughout.

From a technical perspective, the art direction and set designs are quite decently rendered. There are gorgeous vistas of the Amami Oshima filming locale on full display while I also enjoyed the costuming aspects where both leads sported rather fashionable wardrobe selections. The poignant theme song Tadaima (I’m Home), beautifully performed by Aoi Teshima, is one of the highlights of the drama as well.

Final Thoughts

Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari is a relatively engaging viewing experience that isn't without imperfections. Where it leaves a deep impression is through the acting of its leads. It is the one single aspect that literally blew my mind away and because of that, I won’t be forgetting the performances any time soon. If you weren’t a fan of either lead before this, you might have to change your mind after watching this drama.

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When I started to watch this drama, I gave it "7" at the beginning. The characters were older than in original story, and the first two episodes felt like "yet another 'rom-com' story". I must admit that the story grew on me very much with every episode that I watched.

The Cast was great. If you find most of main actresses annoying or 'weak' in character, in this drama you will find a different character. Role of Aibu Saki is refreshing and sweet, but definitely not annoying. I can't be objective about Mizushima Hiro, so ... for me he was as good as always. And finally - Hayami Mokomichi. He was great in depicting the robot. Of course his moves were strenghten with specific sounds but still, through the whole series he even always blinked automatically.

When it comes to music, you don't hear it much mainly because of focusing on the plot (at least that was the case for me). But Ayaka's theme song "Okaeri" has certain strenght to it, and it will definitely grow on everyone (especially combined with perfectly done visuals at the end of each episode).

After some time, I feel like I would like to come back to this title very much, and that does not happen often.

I think there is something special in many Japanese dramas. How even seemingly simple stories capture your attention, your mind, your heart. Thanks to great acting, great plot, nice theme song... Zettai Kareshi, in my opinion, is one of those memorable titles. Definitely WORTH seeing.

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Decided to watch it of course because of Jang Hyuk. Despite the slow paced storyline which seemed kinda boring to me, i was able to complete it only because of Jang Hyuk's amazing action scenes. Once again i was enthralled by his charisma. I've always wanted a protagonist like him who will be invincible ; nobody will be able to put a finger on him! The combination of martial arts skill and intelligence was topnotch. Other than that one might find it hard to keep pace with the movie as it has failed to intrigue the viewer from the very start. As a diehard Jang Hyuk fan, I am totally satisfied with his superb acting skills, i think those who are acquainted with his works must know about it. So nothing to say about it.

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I watched this movie and got the exact vibe and storyline that I was expecting from it. The actors portrayed such beautiful and touching emotion throughout the movie I was so moved. The movie highlighted the themes of future (success) and values (family and love). The message the movie sends is beautiful and so relevant and relatable to today's world. This movie was painful to watch at some scenes and it really hurt my heart for it was super heart wrenching. However, although it was obvious how things would end, it is definitely worth watching . I have not cried so much over a movie for quite a while. I am very moved. I highly recommend this movie it is one of the best :)

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I enjoyed watching this light hearted drama. I liked the character for FL lead which is little eccentric but i like how our ML when he gets together with her, figures out her secret and supports her, in fact many times saves her. It was cute. I also found little melodramatic towards the end. Liked the comic scenes, it was weird comedy in my opinion. Story slows down a little towards the end and feels draggy but over all a light and good watch if you in mood for something light and fluffy. Pop star i found him really cute and kind hearted character. Enjoyed watching him. Kim Jae Wook and One are such eye candies. Some of their scenes together are so hilarious.

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As a fan of crime and detective stories, I expected this movie to be either dark or sullen. Since I have not seen the trailer beforehand nor read its synopsis, I was visibly perplexed. But within 6 minutes, a splash of graphic novel and a grinning Gil Dong eventually revealed its offbeat vibe.
The film may evoke a dark and miserable noir-like mood of Sin City but the genre is contrary to its visual aesthetic. It's quite light, warmhearted and "cute" beyond belief. I would have categorized this in the family genre, but the excessive use of guns at the end crosses it out of that list.
Lee Jee Hoon's acting intensity was not as strong as Kim Sung Kyun but if the intention was to keep the protagonist still lovable despite his sad and dark past, I'd say his performance was jjang! And how can I forget the smarty pants Kim Ha Na(Mal Soon), who shook the protagonist solitary milieu? Her little ways to antagonize Hong Gil Dong was finger cringing and amusing.
Overall, this movie is surprisingly worth watching, especially this holiday season. A time when I want to feel all warm, happy and fluffy. *dreamy

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Feels like watching a live action version of Ghibli movie mixed with Ghost at School anime series

Absurd, weird, and tickling. Rather than seeing this drama as disturbing, I find it satisfying, LOL. I must also admit that it's so much better than what I expected when watching the trailer.

Maybe you find it confusing as they don't make the story line obvious, but well, I personally feel that's the only thing that it's lacking. Instead of expecting this to be like any other K-drama, I suggest you to expect it to feel like anime series or maybe some Ghibli movies. Yes, this drama wouldn't focus on the character relationship development, but the character point of view in life and their daily adventure. I finish it in 1 day because every episode feels so fun to watch.

And oh, feel so happy to finally see new quirky female lead character that I like. Me likey!

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An Epic Historical Drama

KING'S WAR (Legend of Chu and Han// Chu Han Chuan Qi) was a fantastic C-drama series from the makers of the "Three Kingdoms". Like it's predecessor, it was epic, brutal, historical, romantic and full of complicated story lines and an amazing cast of characters. If you are unfamiliar with the era or with Chinese historical dramas, you might be a bit confused going into this series, so I'd recommend freshening up on Chinese history beforehand.

King's War was inspired by the historical events in the Chu-Han Contention, an interregnum between the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the founding of the Han Dynasty. This series is very interesting because of its usage of the word "legend" in its title "Legend of Chu and Han", which belies some of the events are part of ancient legend and folklore rather than only the facts. I found it to be really well made drama regardless.

This series had a huge budget and it really shows in its realistic sets and landscapes, in the costumes, acting and story. The series spans an amazing length of 80 episodes and all are so well done. After binge watching this series I now feel compelled to rewatch Three Kingdoms.

This was an amazing watch and full of drama, adventure, intrigue, battle, and a little romance. The cast was extraordinary, especially Lui Bang (Chen Daoming) who played his role fantastically. Everything was beautiful. Just an amazingly well made production. Loved it.

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"Why not design your death?"

jumping into this without expectations, i was pleasantly surprised. 'yonder' does not shy away from exploring a person's grief. however, in this drama, it wasn't an overboard melancholic take but instead, we're taken into a world of mystery and uncaniness.

a futuristic world in which people can create an almost replica of their dead loved ones is quite scary to think about. besides this thought being scary, it is sad. imagine if people are not able to move on with their lives and stuck in this sort of delusional reality. as long as they feed on their delusions and the desperate need to hold on to their loved ones, there might be cases where some will think it is 'real'. once they believe in their 'reality', it leads to unfortunate circumstances. with how our own world is ever-growing and innovating, we're not far off from this to happen. that's what makes this drama uncanny and terrifying.

"The reason beautiful moments are precious is because that moment can never return" - Kim Jae Hyun

some scenes speak to you; whether it be emotional or not. it takes you to an indescribable time wherein you're longing for something. there were no long inner monologues to reveal something or too much 'show' than 'tell'. yet, i was absolutely captivated. with a stellar cast, 'yonder' truly made its mark on being nearly perfect.

this was a drama in which each episode was 30 minutes. i was worried about the pacing at first because the themes are a bit complex. was the pacing bad? not at all! in fact, the drama did well in creating suspense and keeping its viewers hooked to the story.

although this drama is almost perfect for me, the second half was not as good as the first. i feel as though it sort of fell flat when jae hyun out of no where took an unexpected decision. despite the second half almost lacking, it managed to pick up its pace but underwhelmed me when it was over.

in the first half, it didn't rely much on music making it even more eerily atmospheric. when there is music in some scenes, the scene becomes even more breathtakingly beautiful or hauntingly real. however, i feel like the second half didn't need that much music in it.

to conclude, this is definitely how you utilise sci-fi and futuristic themes without making it seem super flashy. instead of trying so hard, focus on the details and importance of a story.

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