Reviews

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

Read More

Story has potential but some characters badly written.

this review is not exhaustive by any means but i hope that it helps.

Let's start with the good parts about this drama:

- The twists: While it's true that I foresaw who the real culprit was a few episodes in, still, I had to admit that the twists were somewhat reasonable and believable. It's not that it will take you long to find out who the "culprit" was, it's just amazing in a sense that it's not who you would usually picture the culprit to be.

- Melodrama: Though it was kind of draggy at times, I really enjoyed the melodrama and romantic aspect of the drama, in no small part due to Yoon Shi Yoon's acting (he just gets the right expressions during these times, it's a treat watching him on the screen). I think he and Kyung Soo Jin (who, for those who don't know, played Song Si-Ho on "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo") have real chemistry. It was fun watching their flashbacks on-screen.

- Cinematography: I can tell apart the two worlds and its characters within. The styling for the characters' costumes was spot on as well.

Now, having said that, we move on to the parts where the drama could have improved:

- /some/ badly written characters: Though the acting was good, I really thought that emotionally invested detectives/prosecutors are a bit of a caricature these days. For those of us who have been watching kdramas for some time now, we can all agree that we've seen that emotionally-driven detective or prosecutor at least once in kdramas. They're smart to an extent, but driven by their emotions to a fault (like when Do Won pushed Seok Min Jun against the wall, or when Seo Kyung pushed Do Won against the wall).

I hated how Do Won was written like a Mary Sue, who was upright, handsome, and all things nice. Oh and he's also short-tempered, but that flaw is just really annoying more than humanizing. I would have loved to see him become a little bit more relatable, because his character's become a Mary Sue caricature basically. Always doing what's /good/ without having real flaws.

Plus, what was with Han Seo Kyung's character anyway? Originally a no-nonsense, here-to-get-the-job-done persona-- and does not get repelled by Do Won A's advances (hugging her out of nowhere, touching her face with her gun to his chest, etc.)?! I smell inept male writers who can't write shit about women characters.

And what was that about Do Won's illness/ringing in his ears? I really don't see how that has any significance to the plot.

I think the drama could have benefited from stronger character writing (for example, the writers could test the characters' goals and compare it against their behavior: is it justified or is it far-fetched already? Personally, I just can't reconcile how being a psychiatrist justifies serial killings because of a personal trauma--It might have been the acting, but I'm really not buying how Min Jun's character was written, and so are Mi Sook's motivations for doing what she did. It felt so flat and one-sided because we couldn't even see her detective side being conflicted about her actions.)

The drama could have delved into the motivations of the characters as much as they did the backstories so we can really empathize with the villains and find them relatable. For example, for someone who pursued medicine as a psychiatrist, you would have thought that Seok Min Jun's character understood the importance of mental health and received professional help as well, so I don't really understand how he can become a serial killer as a psychiatrist. I don't mean to say it's impossible, just that I couldn't rationalize it given the way his character was written. You could literally make him into any other profession and it still would not change how grisly those murders can be. I think the writers just made him Seo Kyung's therapist so there'd be some surprise factor for the viewers. To realize that someone supposedly gentle was behind the murders all along. But I think even if you cast him as Seo Kyung's friendly neighbor--for example, that surprise factor would still be there). And for someone who mercilessly killed someone at 17, how do you even rationalize being a therapist?! How?! Exactly my point. The drama failed to show us that.

Lastly, yeah the last victim in the story was supposed to be Oh Mi Seok (the surprise factor is she is the serial killer's mom). So all the characters are frantic and in a hurry to rescue her before it's "too late", conveniently forgetting that Oh's a police officer herself and is adept at self-defense. But we're conveniently forgetting that part of her character because she's what? A woman? This is the same case for the way Do Won treats Seo Kyung (but in all fairness, Seo Kyung as a police officer still can't defend herself for shit -- like when she was attacked by her stepbrother in that abandoned public market scene)

- unnecessary characters: I would say the two assistant detectives in the story were pretty useless. If I had a dollar for the number of times they asked Do Won where he was going and Do Won consequently ignoring them and being cryptic, I could buy a house! Plus I don't remember anything significant being contributed by these two. I wish they were written to serve a bigger purpose other than to be fill-ins.

- underutilized character: Personally would have loved to see the two Do Wons cooperating because they had the same goals anyway, just that Do Won B was a hopeless junkie. But the writers pit the two of them against one another, which was annoying, to put it lightly.

- lack of attention to detail: wherein sometimes they don't use gloves whenever they're investigating, which might contaminate evidence (like when they used the card to swipe on Lee Sung Wook's belongings and Do Won storming into Oh Mi Sook's place to find /that/ photo).

Plus, the fashion styles (also personalities) of the two Do Wons being polar opposites (Do Won A: smart and casual; Do Won B: more upscale and pedigreed), you would have thought the characters from world B could have more easily picked up that there was something different about the two Do Wons. Alas, they didn't.

- some bad acting: I don't get why Kyung Soo Jin always had that worried, furrowed eyebrow look on her face for every scene. Jesus. It's so cringey watching her scene after scene you start pitying her. She was so one-dimensional I had to fast forward her sometimes. Shin So Yool was a better actress.

- unecessary monologues/lines: Lee Hang Na's Oh Mi Sook mostly (NV: "we have to find the body", "no matter what happens, I'll protect you"). There are probably still some more within the drama but I can't remember them all.

Overall, I think the show gets its message across: reason to never cross over into another world is because your actions can have consequences, even the smallest ones such as handing over an umbrella. Did I think it was good? Certainly a good 12 hours to spend. But do I wanna watch it again? I usually don't, so it's no surprise I think this only makes for a one-time watch. I think I can only really strongly recommend this to hardcore Yoon Shi Yoon fans because seeing him act is the only reason I started watching (and stayed watching) this drama.

Read More

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!

Read More

A Promise of 3-course Sweet dessert tasting, but the last course was Espresso!

Subjective Gut Rating: 7.75

** I did not read the web novel. The review is solely about the drama itself.

I can see why so many are disappointed in “The First Night with the Duke”, especially after a very fun first 7 episodes. It’s like you are promised this very delicious 3-course dessert tasting but the last course was a cup of dark and bitter espresso. I expected the focus of the plot would change to be about ML’s backstory and his relationship with the king, and I understand that. The disappointment is in the writing and execution, because many of us signed up for sweet desserts and not a cup of espresso (at least give me a sweet frappuccino!).

There are two reasons for me watching this:
1. The plot of FL trying to play matchmaker for ML and 2FL but ended up falling in love with ML. I like this trope!
2. Ok Taec Yeong - need I say more about how tall and handsome he is, and with beautifully sculpted muscles?

Well, for these two reasons, I am quite happy! I came into this looking for a romantic comedy and it was delivered in the first 7 episodes. As I said, I like the trope and I love the obsessive tyrant who is possessive, clingy and gets jealous…and he’s actually NOT mean to his girl! I had a really fun time watching those early episodes. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing but I got what I wanted. The acting in general is not bad and the chemistry between the main leads is pretty good. We got a couple of not-totally-steamy scenes and good kisses. They are cute together as a couple. The supporting cast is OK. The mean girl isn’t too mean, and the ‘innocent’ girl is to be expected. No plot twists here.

But things go downhill with the introduction of another character at the end of ep 7. That’s when the shift in tone happened. We got revenge, palace politics and a fight for the throne in the last 4 episodes. The comedic tone disappears and we’re left with a typical historical political drama. The writing is fine, the villain is fine and the king is fine. It’s all very average but where was my promised dessert for the 3rd course? I don’t want espresso now! “The First Night with the Duke” is unable to balance the comedy throughout the drama.

Since this is a fantasy drama, I am not going to be picky about the how and why FL was transported into the novel. There really can’t be a ‘realistic’ explanation because it’s not real. You can only judge whether it's creative or not or it's the same old same old. But you can totally tell that you are NOT watching a C-drama because the censorship police did not come and give you the standard ending to a Chinese transmigration fantasy drama (know what I mean??).

Overall, I have a decent time watching “The First Night with the Duke”. It’s only 12 episodes long and at least I enjoyed two-thirds of the drama. I don’t hate the last quarter, I just wish it was executed better. I would only recommend this drama if you like the actors or this particular fantasy plot. Otherwise, you can save some time and watch something else.

If you read the web novel, can you drop me a comment and let me know if it does a better job in balancing the comedic tone throughout? Was the politics handled in a much better way?


Completed: 7/29/2025 Review #608

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

Not too good but super cute!

I can't rate the drama highly but I really LOVE every single frame of it!

The cinematography and the music are amazing. This is the first reason why you should watch it if you just simply want to relax and nothing else. I mean every scenery is so beautiful with the lighting, the choice of shot size, camera angle and movements. As Ye Xi Yan (FL) says, Lu Ming Yu (ML) does know how to enjoy his life, doesn't he? He live in a place including the village, the tea garden and the beach. Every song used is nice, so are the funny sound effects.

The tone is comedic, romantic and peaceful, which is totally opposite to the dramatic synopsis. The director chose to show us more about the countryside life than the city work life. I'm glad I saw the drama for its posters, not its synopsis. By the way, the posters are really different, they're full of green, the color I rarely saw in other dramas' posters.

The main couple is cute and funny, green flags are everywhere. FL and ML has a lot of hug and kiss scenes. The bathroom scenes are really something I didn't expect. And I love how they have the same tone as the drama, not hot, just peaceful.

The main cast makes me surprised, how can they look so serious and funny at the same time? Especially Eric Hsiao (萧子墨), a Taiwanese actor playing Lu Ming Yu (ML), I have never seen him before. His look is average but really manly. I'm glad he got the role because he's perfect for it. I can see he has experience with action scenes.

I feel calm and comfortable watching this drama.

Despite all those good things, the whole story is quite simple and the plot development is too fast. The plot has so many plot holes. For example, why does no one doubt when Ye Xi Yan (FL) pretends to be someone they've known for many years? The villains are weak and I mostly forget about them.

After all, if you are looking for a simple and restful drama to entertain, then Love in the Tea Garden is a choice that you should consider.

Read More

darker vertical mini series

Overall: this is a darker series with an unsatisfying ending. Watched for free on Shortime app, 46 episodes about 1.5 minutes each (episode 1-5 were free, I watched 6-10 with ads that showed under buying the passes, 11-15 with watching 10 ads on rewards page, daily random box and check in, fortune read and made it up to 18, it took 4 days to watch for free which wasn't bad) Shortime also has Falling For My Boss and The Secrets of Male Students both of which I liked better than Buddy Boy. My invite link is https://playground.shortime.app/en/invite/NKNIWI - the code is NKNIWI (those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i) and it should get you a bonus.

Content Warnings: attempted suicide, teacher/student relationship and grooming, child abuse, past death, non con kiss, non con picture taking, blackmail, manhandling, homophobia, slap, fight, beaten up, unwanted public outing

What I Liked
- how a characters age was given thru conversation
- bonding moments

Room For Improvement
- that teacher needed some major consequences
- cliche female character
- the ending was not satisfying (he tried to drown himself, other guy saves him and then that's the end)

Read More

A different drama

Almost every episode had a twist that leaves you dumbfounded and the leads did a superb job displaying such grey characters. My problem is that the main villain felt like a caricature compared to Hai Yiping. Kangping prince in the end came out as a royal who was lucky enough to have clever subordinates than being clever himself. His ending was also anticlimactic, and his arc didn't quite fit the tone of the whole drama making it look like an afterthought story addition, making the last episodes a bit draggy.
The main story though is truly hitting the spot. Torture and rape and the trauma caused are nicely delivered making the pain and suffering of the victims real and not just a McGuffin.
Now the romance felt like a much needed sneeze that was never realised despite the constant nose tingling. I'm sure you know how it feels. There was such potential there, especially in the last episode when they fell into the water. That would have made it chef's kiss.
All in all, the drama deserves more hype. It's one of the few that focus on 2 nobodies trying to make something better for their country, without any real ties to royalty and wealth and the only one I have watched that shows the strengths and depths of women power and friendship without turning them into simps halfway through the story.
P.S. the OST is shockingly good. It's the second drama I did not skip the intro

Read More

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.

Read More

Michelin star ingredient that turned out to be fright chicken instead.

Here am I again, emotional about the binging 49 episodes of the Wolf and conflicted about how I will rate this drama. Apologies for the lengthy review.

Let me start with what I genuinely like about this drama.

★Set-up:
The story of a boy raised by wild animals and later on fall in love with a human girl is nothing new. But putting this into a historical background in China, when the boy became a ruthless general serving the evil king, is new. The drama explored the grey areas of love and hate, revenge and forgiveness, evil and good, friendship and family, power and helplessness. The drama drew me into its fascinating world since episode one, and I just could not take off my eyes.

★Production:
Beautiful natural scenarios:
Many of the wide-angle shots are shot directly in the beautiful natural scenes of Shangrila. They are simply breathtaking. Even those scenes that have been created with the help of CG (e.g. the great battle) were very well executed. I am also impressed by the CG animals which looked extremely real and their fighting scenes thrilling.
Marvelous soundtrack:
Jolie Tsai herself sang the title song, which throughout the 49 episodes I only skipped 2-3 times. It is unique with a beautiful chorus mixed with modern rap. Jolie also sang a few great background songs that just were fitting perfectly to the scenes. I can see myself listing through the OST, again and again, remembering the scenes of this drama.

★Characters and actors:
This drama has an excellent set of characters.
For me, the most memorable remains the wolf, being one of the most complex characters I have ever witnessed in a Chinese drama (the other one being Li Cheng Yin fron goodbye my princess - in fact, both dramas have a lot in common).
The Wolf or Chu Youwen went through an extreme character development of being an innocent wolf pup to feeling betrayed by Xing Er (Ma Zhai Xing). From there, he turned to a powerful general, understand the warmth of family and friends but at the same time gaining power through brutality and creating fear. Ma Zhai Xing re-appear in his life, he started to love again and regained some of his initial purity. However, the more he fell for her, the bigger the guilt he felt towards the FL. When he finally could not hide this fact, he used the cruelest method to chaise away his love of life so she can use her hate to kill him. He thought this could protect her and returned her happiness. When all the misunderstandings were finally cleared, he realized what it was mistaken, and they could finally enjoy a few moments of joy until the tragic ending. There were moments in the drama that I could not understand the wolf and his way of loving the FL. But later on, it all made sense, and I am grateful to see such an incomplete character coming to life. Darren Wang was the perfect actor for the wolf. He adequately depicted the young wolf's innocence, prince Bo's coldness and power, and love towards the FL. Most surprising of all, I think I have not seen a more "manly" Chinese male lead than Darren Wang as the wolf. I had seen Darren in previous roles, and he was just like any other idol Chinese male actor. I became a huge fan.
There are still a few aspects he could have done better, such as micro-expressions showing flashes of sorrow when trying to chaise away the FL or emotions of relief or affection during moments of reunion with the FL. I can see that he has great potential, and I am looking to his future roles!
A few words to the other characters:
I also enjoy Ma Zhai Xing's character a lot. I think she and the wolf had great chemistry. Just like the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, MZX went through enormous growth from a naive girl to a respected ruler. It was painful to watch when her hatred towards the ML blinded her, but you also cannot help but feel empathy, knowing how everything she ever believed in turned out to be a lie. Luckily, just like butterflies can always find their flower when the truth came out, MZX freed herself from all the chains to fully love and trust her WangZai.
This show would not have gained this big of popularity if not for Ji Chong's character, starring the famous Xiao Zhan from the Untamed. I can see this positive, carefree, brave, and kind-hearted role truly fits Xiao Zhan's personality. In fact, he reminds me a lot of Wei Wu Xian. In the end, like an eagle, Ji Chong longed for freedom and exploration which is what he decided to do. The only improvement is probably the romance. I wasn't sure if I understood why he fell in love with the FL and how he was ready to give up his desire for freedom for her; it felt abrupt and out of place. The same went towards the end when he decided on Princess Bao Na. Of course, Bao Na is a character loved by many, but it does not fit the list of reasons he has given why he liked the FL.
Besides, I need to mention Yao Ji. I love both her tragic and deep character as well as Xin Zhi Lei's performance. I enjoyed her acting as Duo Duo in Joy of life and certainly could compete with the FL in terms of skills.
Finally, two of my favorite supporting roles: Ding Yong Dai as the emperor Chu Kui and Zhang Hong Na as Ma Jing. Both had a very memorable performance in their roles and helped the main cast to shine.

Now let me come to the areas of improvement why I cannot give this drama a higher rating:

☆The story/scripting:
For me, the wolf had everything a great drama needed: unique set-up, complex characters, skillful production, and a famous cast. But the writing just failed in delivering to its full potential. There were countless developments, key events, and actions that felt out of place, illogical, artificial, and banal. On the one hand, I am in love with this drama, but these plot issues just once threw me out of the story numerous times. They left me with many unanswered questions in my head, feeling disatisifed when the credit of the 49th episode rolled.
Below are some of the key ones (spoilers ahead):

☆King Chu Kui and his sons
One of the most important turning points of this drama was that the king, in fact, killed his oldest son and hid it from both prince Bo and the 4th prince. He even blamed family Ma for not have lent a helping hand and justified his action of killing FL's family to prince Bo. The biggest gap is that drama never explained why he actually did it. I understand this drama had to be cut from 58 episodes down to 49, but this is a critical piece of the puzzle that just shouldn't have been left out.
Besides, the king's relationship with all of his sons remained a mystery to me. I know he was a cold-blooded person who used the wolf merely as a tool for his hunger for power, but he showed signs of affection to the 4th prince. What did the king feel when he knew the 2nd prince might not be his son? What was his intention to keep his 4th son alive after he has betrayed him? Later, did he truly wanted to pass on his throne to him when he knew he did not have much time left? Was he just being simple-minded or did he had some thoughts after he let the 2nd prince return? What did he feel when all of his sons left him, and even the head eunuch wanted to betray him in his final days of life? I recognize good dramas by giving their antagonist a soul, but the king was simply a tool in the Wolf. In fact, by answering some of these questions, the audience would understand ML's actions and personalities a lot better. Despite the brilliant performance of Ding Yong Dai, the show failed to deliver that.
Similar can be said about the 2nd prince. We knew he truly loved his wife who played a key role in the drama to keep him sane. The drama could have made this character less one-dimensional if they had let her appear in his final moments.

☆Bo Wang's relationship with the king
This point is slightly different than my previous critique as this shows more the feeling our ML had towards the king. The show's second arc focused on how Bo Wang chased the FL away, trying to protect her. Next to the guilt he felt towards his older brother, was there some degree of loyalty towards the king, or was it purely a lie he told the FL? There was one scene where he said he "needed to stop Chu Kui from his wrongdoings." Does it mean he ultimately did it for the FL and forgot about how the king raise him for seven years? Another turning point of the story was when the ML found out about the death of the oldest prince and decided to betray the king. But that was very late in the 2nd arc. What was his plan before that? Did he also intend to go against his king in any different way? What was Bo Wang and the king's last scene about when he forced him to step down? Was it guilt and remorse? That would go against the early theory. Perhaps it was simply respect... again, the show did not explain.

☆Displaying different types of love
I understand that the show tried to depict a different form of love, well-intended but ultimately misguided - which was great. The problem I have was the way the drama revealed these clues. They are hidden and maybe even confusing. There were verbal explanations to Bo Wang's Ye Cha at the start and actions to the end, e.g. by revealing Bo Wang did not throw away the wolf tooth pendant or by confessing to the FL that he missed her every day when she was gone. But why not share these earlier in the second arc? Most viewers were confused about whether the ML really stopped loving FL because of the cruel words they throw at each other. There were also little signs of remorse or bitterness in the ML expressions (which might be due to acting). It was confusing for many episodes.
When Bo Wang was sent to the prisoner's camp and protected the people there, FL said that she saw that he "changed" and he "reminded her of Lang Zai" it seemed he was remorseful about his cruel past behavior. But did he really changed? Or was he and has always been the kind Lang Zai but tried to be cruel to be strong? I will not find out the answers...

☆Jumping between black and white of emotions
This point relates to my point above. Love and hate just come and go like days and nights. ML suddenly dropped all of his affection and started to force FL to hate him the day after their beautiful wedding. Equally, when the FL found out about the wolf's truth, everything suddenly turned into perfect harmony. Both for her and the ML. Where did the conviction and the confidence go? Again, if the show had dropped hints of emotions or explanations throughout the arc (rather than a confession at the end - we are not in the mystery genre where we needed a surprise), this would not feel so abrupt and artificial.
Similarly, I did not understand the character development of Yao Ji. It was a too strong contrast where there was only suspicion and hatred between her and Bo Wang at the start (I don't blame them as she indeed suffered 5 years in prison because of him). But towards the middle, though she revealed her love towards Bo Wang, suddenly they turned out to be like "more than family members" who deeply trust each other? I wished this could have shared more about their past so we audience can understand their development.

☆Lang Zai and Xing Er
A central theme that comes up again and again is the pure love between Lang Zai and Xing Er. That was where both of them returned to and drove tears in many. But out of 49 episodes, the makers spend one episode describing them. Despite flashbacks throughout the show to fill this gap, it was not enough to appreciate and build up the emotions. I wished the team had spent more time on the first part, which was the entire show's foundation.

☆The ending
Sadly but true, the writing of the ending was not satisfactory. Though it was clear ML suffered from his early recovery from the Lang Gu Flower, but where did the sudden illness that drove him to his death come from? Why did it suddenly become so bad that he could not even walk properly? From the arrow of the 2nd prince? How did Yao Zi create an almighty medicine from the FL? Couldn't they just use any other person? And what was going on with FL's superpower that let her beating all the soldiers? Is it because of that medicine? What's going on with this ML dies for FL and then again FL dies for the ML? Wasn't there any other way to save the 4th prince? Did the FL really have to go all by herself and die in this way?
I have nothing against a bad ending. I think a BE is the best way to end this drama. But how this drama ended felt forced to create an artificial reunion and dramatic death in the loved ones' arms for which I could not shed any tears.
My ideal ending would have been: A series of push and pull between hate and love between FL and ML during the second arc. However, FL kills ML in the battle and fulfill ML's wish. FL later finds out about the truth and deeply regrets what she had done. She gave up all her titles and lived all by herself in the wolf mountain, remembering her wolf pup.

All in all,
For me, the Wolf was like a great piece of raw chicken soaked in high-quality spices and sauces ready to become a Michelin star dish. But to please the wider audience, it became fright chicken instead. But hey, fright chicken is needed. I loved it as well and will not easily forget it.

---------------
Post comment:
Apparently, the original story was more logical and would explain so many of my questions above and made the story more logical - the novel version and the first adaptation but was cut and edited later. Will try to summarize this in three points:

1. In the original story the ML himself did kill FL’s father but heard the bell of FL, recognized her and saved her. Therefore he had a much stronger motive not to tell the FL about the truth and the hatred of FL towards ML is also justified rather based on misunderstanding.

2. In the original novel, after the ML fell off the cliff he actually dropped into a poison pond that can turned him into a real wolf when he smells blood. He became more less ”human” as compared to the drama adaptation. As a wolf, he was like a blank sheet which follows the order of the herd wolf (his owner) to whom is extremely loyal - if his owner is FL he is good, if he is owner is the king, he becomes a killer machine. That would explain his long loyalty to the king even if it was obvious he was only using the ML. However, this version would make the ML more flawed.

3. The drama adaptation cut out a lot of scenes from FL2. In the original version FL2 had a snake poison in her own body that can counter the ML wolf poison. But he had to suck her blood and it can only happen twice before she dies. That's the true explaination for ”sharing the same body and dying together”. In the novel FL2 did it once for him after he was being whipped by the king. At the end of the story, there was no poison that slowly killed the ML but he himself went ahead to kill prince 2 but was pieced in the heart by prince 2 . When FL rushed to the ML, prince 2 tried to ambush her but ML2 arrives and pushes him off the wall where he dies.

Instead of travelling the world with Bao Na, she forces ML2 to marry her. ML2 finds FL who hid herself after ML’s death. In fact FL2 took away ML’s body after the fight however the ML was seen somewhere being alive. This means there is a chance that FL2 sacrificed herself to save ML and he is still alive. Thus ML2 and FL decided to look for him.

As this shows the original ending was not this tragic but hopeful. But the characters were less heroic and more flawed. To please the audience the ML was changed to more humain and loyal to FL but this confused the story and seemed less logic.

I am not sure I can support the writer’s decision. What do you all think? Looking forward to hearing your opinions!

Read More