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Fair but could be better..
The series is good, and it's nice to see the FL again. I love the height difference between the FL and ML—they somehow have great chemistry and portray their characters well. The ML did justice to his role and executed it impressively. His small, subtle smiles were also adorable.However, the storyline became a little strange in the middle of the series, particularly in Episode 15. It didn't clearly explain the relationship between the ML and FL—were they just friends, developing mutual feelings, or something else? After a brief infatuation, some scenes felt odd and lacked proper explanation. Their relationship felt like a whirlwind. The ML and FL didn’t have enough time to get to know each other or spend moments together to establish what they truly had. They also didn’t have time to clear things up or express their emotions fully. Perhaps the writers had different ideas regarding that aspect.
Additionally, there were moments when the characters' secrets weren’t explained well. Overall, the series is enjoyable for today's era, but I feel it lacks a stronger storyline that could have clarified important details and made it even more compelling. I could rewatch it at some point, but it wouldn't be one of those series I'd revisit often.
Lastly, I didn’t like the ending. It felt rushed and disconnected from the rest of the story. The last two episodes were fast-forwarded, and the series concluded without properly showing how the ML and FL officially became a couple, no clear development. They talked and kissed, but there was no deeper progression. It was quite disappointing. The part where the ML goes abroad also felt a bit odd.
Watch it for yourself, and you’ll understand what I mean! I just wish the ending had been better.
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This is the first ever drama that I ever reviewed and actually wrote (and I watched A LOT of dramas) I just think that this drama can be a BIG hit!! And that they NEED to make a season 2 ASAP!!
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I couldn't be more wrong…
After the first half I thought I could handle this movie even though I heard it was very sad. I thought people exaggerated… And after all those cute scenes, I cried my eyes out. Then I got a few more cute scenes then the ending totally broke me.
I cried more during this movie than during all the movies I watched this year combined.
Also the aesthetics of this movie were really nice and the actors did a great job. I love this movie and highly recommend it.
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Wild Chives and Soy Bean Soup: 12 Years Reunion
12 people found this review helpful
But other than that the plot was a good ones that wasn't quite like many other that I have watched. The acting cast did amazing jobs portraying the character. The younger cast was amazing but I could just believe that because I did not see the adult cast act as much. The music was adequate and even enjoyable at times but I was more focused on the characters and what was going on.
Overall I would have to say that I would not rewatch this because of those last two episode in which it felt like the director(s) and writer(s) just gave up and crammed everything into this pathetic excuses for closing episodes.
The overall value was originally somewhere between a 9.5-10 but was dropped because of all the unanswered crappy-ness of the ending.
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A fascinating tapestry of life
A masterful period drama that is well worth seeing even if that isn't your usual cup of tea (like in my case).An excellent script about the life of one Xiao Chunsheng and people around him, starting from the turbulent times at the end of Cultural Revolution onwards, brought to life by incredible acting is the shortest way to sum up this drama. Something that is probably the biggest problem currently in Chinese entertainment - good writing - was annulled by the expert pen of Xu Bing, the scriptwriter of this drama and then flashed out by an excellent group of young actors, led by a masterful performance by Xiao Zhan.
Can the strongest friendships of our youthful days survive the trials and tribulations of adult life? At the most difficult times that no person should face, what are the choices one will make and why? Why do some stray off the moral path and why do some stuck to it? Are idealism and realism two incompatible ways of looking at life? Are our first loves, no matter how memorable, the ones that will last through the trials of adulthood?
Can a person stick to their original righteous intention and live their life through according to their core principles no matter what life keeps throwing at them?
All this and much more is answered and presented to us while the characters grow in front of our eyes, wondering the very authentic streets of Beijing in the 70s, suffer in war fields and finally live their adult lives, changed by the harsh realities of life itself from the youth they once were. They are all distinct characters, fully realised and their actions are always understandable. The viewer may hate some of them but will always know the why. There is no excessive or unreasonable emotion. All scenes are there for a reason and help tightly weave this fascinating story that will keep you glued to the screen.
Is it a perfect drama? No, there is no such thing as perfection and there are always things one can nitpcik but this one, like Xiao Chunsheng himself, strives to get there, sticks throughout to what it set out to do from the start and ultimately succeeds in delivering. It does not get any closer to perfect than that. You will not be sorry if you give it a chance.
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Probably worst show, with best cast.
Common sense gone out the window, Good Plot bad Story, Good Cast Bad Directing. First show I see good people just hurting one another, and demons just watch the stupid show happen. Story does not build up, just forced stupid, senseless scenarios that happen again and again. Dont even know if the producer and writer even read their story. If not for Xu Kai I would have stopped at the dry first few episodes. If you looking for something good, dont watch this show, but if you are just here for the cast .. then its not bad.Was this review helpful to you?
Slap Kiss
Crazy Ex
Mother In Laws
Misunderstandings
Another g / b having a crush on the same girl.
Jealousy
arranged marriages
fake marriages
I loved the secretary, his suits lol.. Colourful like Versace style :) I love the little brother Dong Goo, but even his half sister was not really looking after him, he was always with Hyun Tae, like Hyun Tae is his half brother or dad. Needless to say Dong Goo is the cutest little Actor.
Yoo Mi is ashamed of her mother, she was an erotic star (well I 'm watching a Thai Drama, main lady's mother was a prostitute mother is married to main guy's dad and the daughter is not ashamed of her mother, I don't know which is more acceptable, I think I'd feel the same if I was in Yoo Mi's shoes )
The problem with this drama was it was extremely slow, they don't get to anywhere. She's ashamed of her mother, her half brother..
When it comes to the cast Song Ji Eun is a perfect choice for Yoo Mi, as she looks innocent
Sung Hoon is and always be a perfect match for rich, handsome, casanova playboy looking but on the inside it's extremely the opposite chaebol.
Mother hhaah I can't find words to describe the mother Nam Gi Ae she is another actress that is a perfect fit for this type of mother. I believe I have seen her at least in the 6 of dramas I have watched in the last couple of years, maybe more..
I expected to see a little more of their love Jin Wook & Jin Eun, at least I wanted to see getting married but nay...
Until the Secretary meets the kitchen girl tbh I thought he's gay!!
ep 11-12-13 not worth of watching, if you wanna know how it ends although it is not gonna make you happy just watch ep 14 and that's it.
We have not seen why Jin Wook mother left we have not seen him taking Yoo Mi to his mother, or even both of them going to his mother's restaurant. We have not seen much of mother son time.
For a bit I thought Yo Mi's ma gonna flirt and hook Jin Wook's dad but I was wrong but if they made that way it way it'd be quite funny though.
The music was good.
I so wished that the lil bro was their secret love child but he's half bro :((
there are loads of incomplete things wish they make S02 for us.
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On the surface this is another romance about a girl who pretends to be a boy, and gets away with it, and a spoiled rich guy who falls for her. What makes Coffee Prince different, is that there is so much more depth than is usually in KDrama romances (yes, even the good ones). The themes are more realistic, and the content is more adult. Coffee Prince shows us how extremely complicated love can be, while still being fun to watch.
The cast is perfect. Yoon Eun Hye is the most convincing androgynous character I've seen in any drama. It's more than her just looking enough like a boy, it's her whole demeanor that makes the idea of her being mistaken as male completely plausible. Gong Yoo is charmingly goofy, and instantly crushable (watching this began my minor obsession with him). Equally crushable is Lee Sun Gyun, who I would fall in love with again later in Pasta, but is much more kinder, gentler, and understanding in this role. Then there is Chae Jung Ahn, who is frustrating to watch, and hard to like, but equally brilliant. The chemistry between them all is amazingly acted, and their story is well written. People who aren't fans of romances normally, may appreciate how imperfect this story is. There are also plenty of cute moments to inspire butterflies in die hard romance fans. It also has the most beautiful love confession in the history of dramaland period ! (or rather, exclamation point)
The minor characters are also very well played. I loved the dynamics between the Coffee Princes too! This is the kind of cast that you miss when the show is finally over. I can't believe Lee Eon died shortly after, but he was my favorite of the other "princes".
The only thing mediocre about this drama is the music, which is fine, but I did not rush out to find the soundtrack, even after obsessing over this drama.
The other criticism is that the drama does become a little less engaging in the final episodes, but at that point you will probably love the characters so much that it won't make you love the show any less. The ending wraps things up perfectly in my opinion.
My main reason for writing this review now, even though this was one of the first dramas I ever saw, was to promote it's re-watchability. It also manages to not feel as dated as many dramas tend to be over time. Besides the flip phone technology, this drama could easily be successful today. It's also very timely, concerning issues regarding gender roles and sexuality, which is a hot topic these days. In that respect, maybe it's ahead of it's time.
So, yes, of course I recommend Coffee Prince! It remains high on my drama favorites list, with no signs of being bumped lower any time soon. If this is one of those dramas that you always meant to watch, but never got a chance to, just do it! This is one of those occasions when it is safe to believe the hype!
*warning: not only may you very likely crave coffee while watching, but you may either be tempted to eat everything in your fridge, or be too disgusted to ever eat again, after watching Eun Chan eat!*
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Light-hearted Rom-com
Not sure why this drama is rated as low but personally I've seen worst drama that as higher ratings than this. I would describe this drama as a light-hearted romance comedy.Pros: The leads are visually appealing and the acting is good and the music/soundtracks are memorable. The over-the-top antics of the 2nd leads may or may not appeal to you.
Cons: There are no real depth to the story so if you are looking for some life-changing lessons or etc then this is not the place for you.
Personally, my wife and I enjoyed this very much. Overall, I would say I had a good time watching this and have no regret's on the time spend on this.
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Final episode was Horrible!
I can’t believe i watched all of season 1 and 2, just to get jipped in the final episode. There was no closure, just confusing as hell. It made absolutely no sense. What happened with xiling and tangs war? What happen to fuzi is he coming back? Did sangsang finally become her real self and live happily with ning que? Seems like ning Que got a prettier looking girl now she’s stealing sangsangs man 😂 that’s what i got from the ending. The show must have ran thru all the finances and concluded the show with a janky episode. I hate how so many Chinese dramas end like this. So so so bad. Ruined the whole show for me because of one final episodeWas this review helpful to you?
Bryan Chang plays Zhao Xu Zhen, a devoted cop who begins to investigate cases involving a mysterious website. This review has been updated now that I've finished this season, although the last story in particular was a bit of a slog.
Futmalls is well produced and edited and the first case was quite interesting. The show's biggest weakness is its stereotypical and over the top male lead; the kind of genius cop who eats at crime scenes and mansplains forensic reports to crime scene investigators. He is a jarring and often annoying cliche and the investigative elements of the show are its weakest. When it veers more into the vaguely-menacing horror that is Futmalls' push advertising to people who are at their most vulnerable, it's definitely stronger.
This ends up being the show's biggest weakness since, after its first case, it essentially jettisons the horror element and becomes more process driven. The procedural police aspects are incredibly weak and the male lead is too much of a cliche. In its third case, the show drives its narrative with torture porn of female characters and a weirdly sympathetic portrayal of a skeevy man and his blow up doll. Yes, men wrote this. You can tell.
The show never answers any questions, never overlays any logic onto Futmalls, never seems to know if Futmalls is a menacing presence or just something that exists to drive its cases (one entire story never becomes a case at all) and then just... ends... clearly setting itself up for a season 2. It's deeply dissatisfying and wasn't good enough overall to tune in for another set of episodes. So I regretfully conclude it's not worth your time.
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This review may contain spoilers
Why I end up being disappointed with this epic
Qin Dynasty Epic used to be called Qin Empire 4, I watched the previous three installments last year, they were about previous kings/duke of Qin, all building up to this installment's Ying Zheng unification and start of 2000 years of Imperial China. I'm not overly familiar with Ying Zheng, but he's too well known and has too many achievements for this to not be epic, but I came away rather disappointed. (spoilers reference historical events)First of all, the drama focused on the wrong bits and have terrible pacing issue. Ying Zheng died at 49, most of the common achievements people think of are unification at 38 and what comes after it. He had a fairly interesting childhood and rough start, so I totally understand giving fair amount of attention to that. I'm perfectly willing watch him grow from ascending to the throne at 13 to gaining control of court at 22, clearing obstacles and finding awesome generals and ministers before starting to conquer other kingdoms. Hell, aside from setting up prefecture system, standarising writing system, linking great walls and building roads for carts, his life after unification could have been neat too, he defended Qin against Huns, conquered Bai Yue (modern southern China), and did bunch of things to ensure his reform stayed. Not to mention there's the whole elixir for immortality, didn't name a successor that resulted in Qin's early demise.
The drama covers up to unification so 78 ep over 38 years, which I somewhat understand, since it's more positive ending then setting up for tragedy. It spent 13 ep on first 13 years of his life, bit longer than what I expected but hey it's a long drama, and then 9 ep on last 9 years. These are IMO the best parts of the drama, not just due to pacing but also acting and writing were the best. I'm happy to note that the drama bought up some of the reform fairly early in the drama, and it's sprinkled here and there, so it's not just battles and unification. But these last 9 ep should have been the focus of the drama, I understand that battle scenes are expensive, you could have given me more time to battle strategies? Or other kingdoms' internal issues? Like Chu Kingdom, it lasted less than 2 ep!
Ep 22 to 60 covers him from 18 till 22, that's roughly 10 ep per year, is that really necessary, drama? There's two major events that I expected (from wiki'ing Ying Zheng when I saw him ascend the throne), one lasted 3 ep (bit longer than I expected but reasonable pacing for this story), one lasted 15 ep! There were number of episodes used to set up Zhao as a major opponent, which I don't mind as they were historically rather strong and formidable at the time (featuring two well known generals of Warring States, the other two are Qin's), but I do feel it could have been shorter, or again maybe other kingdoms could have used some focus too? Other episodes feature one major battle and two minor battles, and couple small notable events. Zhengguo Canal was a marvel at the time, but we never saw other big construction projects either, like mausoleum or the roads mentioned in later parts of the drama? The way the drama is paced, the ending arc where the meat of the story should be just feel really rushed. If you slash the middle by half, the pacing would feel much more balanced.
Secondly, the drama's writing was all over the place. Some of the dialogue swere classical Chinese, some of it were fairly plain modern Chinese, which is fine. What's not fine is certain word choices, why does the drama start with what sound like a translation of a western king's speech? What was with that conversation between Ying Zheng and Lv Buwei at ep 12 (?), they make me question if I'm watching a historical epic or a fluffy romcom? To get across the shock, hurt, and confusion, there could have been a lot of other ways, in fact if you just delete some sentences, I wouldn't be all "wtf???" Not exactly word choice, but how the scene was shot, what was with the assassin scene? Okay he got his hair cut to show it was dangerous, but why was he rolling on the floor? What were the other people doing? Why was he fighting like a samurai, it seriously looked super kendo-y? Director, did you just watch the 1998 movie and used that as inspiration and called it a day instead of using historical records?
A big part of the drama was humanising Ying Zheng, as his image to average person is a tyrant. That might have partially been due to Han's Sima Qian's "Record of Historian" demonising him and Qin, since Han is Confucius while Qin is Legalist and dynasty they overthrew, not to mention Qin probably overdid it when it was reforming. That said, I'm constantly confused by the drama being bizarrely in love with "pls love me one more time" narrative, I guess because he had troubled childhood, it make sense and it plays up the tragedy? I found it rather awkward though and it was used way too many times for my taste. The drama was also very intent on selling him as a benevolent king, and it feels super wrong to me. It's fine to have him want to conquer the other kingdoms AND also help some common people he might have met, but why does every decision where he has to kill someone, it's always like he's forced to? He's an emperor, I'm sure they sacrifice some things for their goals, and I'm sure there's some calculated moves, that would made this more interesting. Even with all his flaws (even including tyranny + elixir) , it doesn't diminish any of his achievements.
I had a lot of fun celebrating amazing relationship between previous kings and their ministers because they shared common goals and overcame obstacles together. Ying Yiren and Lv Buwei sort of have that, but there were too little time for it. Lv Buwei became a reluctant antagonist at some point due to circumstances, but Li Si didn't fill his gap as he should have. In fact, Lv Buwei was the most interesting character of the drama, and I could see his love for Qin and I bought everything he does is for mighty goals. Li Si on the other hand, tend to be all talk and not much action, or what little he does seems to end up with a huge mess, e.g. Lao Ai. The writer's plotting simply isn't as awesome as they seem to think, and they really spent way too much time where every single person seem to think unification was totally sure-in and shout it at every chance they have, that's not the case!
Thirdly, our protagonist is completely miscast. I know casting Ying Zheng is real difficult, there's lot of expectation. He did so much when he was young but your average 20-something probably can't hold down such an epic drama and act reasonably well against so many veteran actors. I also know that dramas try to have main lead come out early, but if Han Wu Emperor's Chen Baoguo can come out at ep 22 (out of 58) and leave a classic epic behind, so can you! Casting 40 year old is totally expected, though I would have preferred 30 year old since aging makeup is easier than deaging someone. I can handle 40 playing 20, but you can't possibly convince me they are 13, especially when your actor look older than their age! Couple with some plot points that only make sense if he's super young, he constantly pulls me out of the drama. What's wrong with having him appear in ep 20 or 22 out of 78? You know what, your drama ends before Ying Zheng even catch up to Zhang Luyi's age!
I've been a casual fan of Zhang Luyi since I watched his slow burn republican drama The Red. He fit that role perfectly, he even had a tinge of Shanghaiese accent despite not being one, (it's fairly rare for accents or dialects to appear in cdramas!) Oof this role though, he really really doesn't look like an emperor, ok? He didn't look like one playing Li Longji in Legend of Demon Cat, and he doesn't look like one here. He doesn't always hold himself straight and seem to lean forward at times, it's very apparent when he meets up with Zhao Yan, who looks real regal next to him. The winter costume piled onto him also made his neck disappear, and couple with his posture, it's....not pretty. He tends to yell a lot during intense scenes too, it's not that he can't yell, but he doesn't have that powerful volume? powerful aura that I expect him to have, sometimes I think the scenes would have been more effective if he was quieter. e.g. there was an intense scenes with him and two kids, he looked dangerous and it was nerve-wrecking.
Then there were other little bits that's just really annoying. I know you want to differentiate the countries, but you can't possibly tell me Han could afford purple for the whole army 2000 years ago! Purple is not an easily found natural dye, especially one that bright, it's why nobility/royalty likes purple, did this not cross anyone's mind? Zhao Ji is really really stupid and appeared way too much, Lao Ai shouldn't have that much power and shouldn't look like a final boss! Seriously, why was there street celebration for that arc and not unification? Why was sexual assault even necessary as a plot point? Being Uncle Ying Xi is real suffering, but he was supportive all the way, just because of that one look? You could have implied something happened during that night or was it two nights (ep 12?)? Don't tell me they just stood there and talked?
Despite all of my complaints, I did like fair amount of it. It opened and closed with epic battle scenes, best battles I've seen in cdrama, thank you tencent for all your money. I really like the music, I think that one song that makes me cry is from previous installments but I still love every scene that use it (and important scenes really love using it). I actually rather like Zhao Kingdom's cast and their characterisations, they were source of comedy at one point, later on they had fabulous Queen who could actually scheme and plan and very hateable Guo Kai that I end up half rooting for. There were some memorable supporting cast that only appeared for few episodes, like Ying Yiren who managed to win people's heart with that one speech, or Han Fei with his lofty goals and dignity in dire times. There were a lot of segments I really liked as well, Ying Zheng and his dad overseeing the army and stating their goals, Li Si detailing Qin's couple failed opportunities to conquer, Lv Buwei's final scenes, Zhao Yan's entire visit to Qin, Ji Dan sending Jin Ke off etc.
At the end of the day, epics like this are hard to come by, so I definitely don't regret watching it from day 1. I think if you don't come in with expectation like me, and don't constantly compare drama to history, you would have lot of fun as others did. I had a lot of fun wiking and discussing with others in the comment section. I even made a timeline and everything, since I wanted time to move, which I'll post in the review comment section, as well as some other interesting bits I found that might be helpful. Shoutout to @PeachBlossomGoddess and @WandereR for encouraging me to post a rather negative review, since I wasn't going to write one as it felt bit like raining on people's parade. Little did they know, once I start, I can't stop!
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The acting was superb! Ikuta Toma deserves more than a standing ovation for his acting skill. His expression and gesture were the ones that made this movie special. Also, I love the way they expressed emotions using background music.
Although there were still missing points and, for sure, non-sense matters appeared in this movie, I would say the director, the writer, and all team member did a really great job. Thanks for making this movie!
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