Reviews

Oh look, it's review time!

I don't usually watch dramas like this anymore, but I found myself without an internet connection for a few days and this lingered on my external harddrive. Guess that's how life works, eyh?

I plowed through this in three days. It's a really light watch. There's no rocket science involved in any way, and to be quite honest - the story line is rather predictable. However, it did have some good points.

The story is decent enough. It's nothing extremely original, but it gets away with being charming and light hearted. The title would give you the impression (or at least it did to me) that this is gonna be hardcore ramen cooking from start to finish. I was surprised to see exactly how little focus there was on the actual ramen. I'd like to throw in a comparison to emphasize my point; In Baker King Kim Tak Goo, which is a drama about baking bread, you get to learn a bit about the process of making bread and how one should proceed. As for this one, we learned nothing about the ramen, which is a rather complex skill. I guess I was a little disappointed by that.
I know some of you are gonna go "Yeah but this is a romantic comedy, it's supposed to be about relationships and silly acting". I get that, and Baker King is a completely different genre.

I'm just saying.

Moving on!
I have the impression that romantic comedy is a very "silly" genre in Korea. It's all about overacting in front of the camera in what is supposed to come across as cute and funny (apart from the boy meets girl part of course).
Weeeell this drama, for me, takes it to a whole other level. The camera closeups on Yang Eun Bis face and the awkward hand movements, which were topped off with sound effects, were just extremely hit and miss. They could have gotten away with way less and made it easier on the eyes in the process. However, for it's genre it does hold some comedic value. I just don't feel like it served it's purpose the way it could have.
Other than that, I don't really have any complaints. Some rookie actors made their characters rather bland (*cough* Yoon So Yi *cough* Woo Hyun Woo *cough*) but what can one really expect. The main leads did their job fairly, and all in all it was an enjoyable watch.

The music is rather bland in my opinion. It never really stuck. If someone played a song from the soundtrack for me right now, I wouldn't have been able to tell where it was from. I don't feel like it emphasised the drama the way it should have.

I'm not one to re-watch dramas often. In fact, with a few exceptions, I never do it. However, 6 is a rather high rewatch score for me. This is because the drama, despite my concerns above, is a lighthearted and silly (but not ridiculous) drama.

The good things about this that I would like to underline, is that it's fast paced. The episodes are short for a korean drama (45 minutes), and time really flies by while watching . The episodes are never really dull, and never at any point did it become a hassle or a duty to keep watching. However, it really depends on what mood you're in while watching. Don't expect a life changing drama. If you're after a drama where you can turn your brain off and just lay back and enjoy, this is the drama for you.

And for that reason, I rate this a 8/10.

PS: For those who are interested, you are welcome to join my "We who want to high five Yoon So Yo in the face with a hammer" club. We meet every wednesday at 6pm. I bring cake every two weeks.

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Shinkenger is a really good story. Not only has great fighting scenes but also gets into you easily.

You'll be inside the battle agains Gedoushuu and understand how is it to be a Sentai - like the other 37, but all of them has their secret. Shinkenger mastered the way of surprising us, with a lot of twists and fierce battles. It's important to say we're invited to start a reflection about friendship, courage, team work and what makes a true leader. Since it's like a nation symbol, like ninjas, it makes me think why did they take so much to work the samurai theme... lol Even for modern concepts and thoughts, it's nice to see the samurai culture in action. There's also the care of building deep characters even among the villains. Some of them also have a past which is great to explore, like Juuzou and Dayuu. It's so much more in Gedoushuu than getting out of Sanzu River. They're also thinking creatures, dealing with emotion and concerns.

Samurai Sentai Shinkenger is a masterpiece. The whole concept adapts really well into our reality without losing its magic. Also, the psychologic analysis in all of them really makes a difference. Hope you guys enjoy it.

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(Spoilers further down)
I finished this in a few days (3 or 4) and I really regret staying up to watch it and spending so much time. The premise of the drama itself is interesting. HOWEVER, the characters are not well written AT ALL. They make irrational decisions with no reasoning and none of them are held accountable. It makes no sense how people can do such senseless things and have no repercussions. I enjoyed the romance part but I almost couldn't watch parts because of how frustrated I was with certain characters and how their actions made ZERO sense.
SPOILERS BELOW
My first problem with this drama is that they present Hye-yeong and Sun-oh as best friends how truly care about each other. Then, when Hye-yeong makes it CLEAR that he likes Jojo, Sun-oh decides that he for some reason has to be with her. Why? Because she stared at him a few times and didn't have love alarm? Who knows. It makes no sense that someone would do that to their "best friend" who clearly has a major crush on someone. Even when they talk about it and agree they will tell her together, Sun-oh still goes and asks Jojo out himself. And Hye-yeong does nothing! Wtf? Does he not like her?
Next problem: Jojo's family. Her cousin is the WORST. And Jojo just allows her to do it. The thing that she holds over her head (that Jojo survived? and not her parents?) would not really hold any weight over Jojo in real life. She clearly did nothing wrong and was a very young kid so why is anything her fault? It's not, but they needed something in the story to make things hard for her.
Next problem: Hye-yeong was rejected by Jojo SO MANY TIMES. Why can't he just take no for an answer. Yeah, she kinda likes him, but in real life, people don't reject others that many times if they like them. He is being a creep.
BIGGEST PROBLEM: there was no reason at all for her to break up with Sun-oh. Yes she was going through a lot of stuff emotionally, but ? ? why? ? there is no real reason and I hate it.

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He is Psychometric was not a drama that was on my radar, but I saw an OST video and decided that I needed to watch it. It was a rather impulsive watch and I have absolutely no regrets. I did a true binge-watch of it and ate it up in 3 evenings.

The tragic beginning to the story and then the slowly unraveled tragic history/background really grabbed me. The drama had me wanting to know what happened next as well as wanting to uncover their pasts with all the details as quickly as possible.

The drama was relatively predictable for me, but it was so fast paced and heartbreaking that I didn't care.

Both MCs were likable, though they felt very young (not in a bad way). They were so full of energy, drive, and motivation. I liked the layout of the story in how they were introduced with the initial tragedy that starts the whole story, then we meet them as seniors in high school, and then the story finally takes off at full speed with them as adults. This built the story and the plot very smoothly because through this, we also met the relevant side characters who played roles in the later plot, whom were also likable and enjoyable too.

I was very sad for Kang Seung Mo's character the most. I became very attached for his character, through I predicted his role from the very beginning. His story was so horrific and there's a romantic part of me that feels like his ending wasn't fair (even though, logically and realistically it was more than fair, especially if this story had occurred in real-life). I desperately wanted him to have a happy ending and live a normal, successful life. This is a personal problem I have though, not something objectively wrong with the drama. His relationship with Lee Ahn was particularly precious, especially when you learn of his past. I also think that he did romantically love Eun Ji Soo and was just pushing her away the whole time in his own way to protect her.

Aside from my tragic love for Kang Seung Mo, I really adored Lee Ahn. I loved him because he wasn't your usual MC. He was kinda dumb and I don't say that to be mean. He just literally doesn't have good sense or book smarts, BUT he was kind and good natured despite his past. It was refreshing to have a MMC who wasn't overly perfect in every way. He was obviously flawed - he was impulsive, reckless, and not smart, but he learned, took criticism well, and always took things in stride. He played to his strengths, wasn't afraid to show weakness/vulnerability, and didn't develop an inferiority complex. What I'm trying to say is that he was particularly lovable.

I would have liked for this drama to be a bit better balanced in tones. It was pretty well balanced with humor and tragic pasts/scary cases throughout, but it got a bit heavy and sad for me toward the end (~last 4 episodes). Honestly, I think this is more an issue with me though, not necessarily objectively with the drama - it only makes sense that the drama got sadder and darker as their tragic pasts were completely revealed toward the end, but I feel like the writers being the experts could have maintained the balance a bit better somehow...

While watching He is Psychometric, it reminded me a lot of some other dramas:
While You Were Sleeping (the beginning of the drama in tone and pacing and fantastical abilities)
You're All Surrounded (throughout the drama somewhat in plot and tone)
Pinocchio (the ending of the drama in plot and tone)
What set He is Psychometric apart from these dramas was the unique fantastical abilities of psychometry and the MC, Lee Ahn.

I would definitely recommend this drama, especially if you like one of the above dramas - it would definitely be worth the invested time. The OST is also enjoyable!

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This is the spinoff of Boss Koi and it has a better plot than the main series.

Honestly, I do like the storyline of this spinoff because it mainly focuses on Nakazawa, Kazumi Wada, and Izumi Haruka. At least, in this drama, Nakazawa is no longer the 2nd lead because in this spinoff, he is the main lead. The 2nd lead in this drama is Kazumi Wada despite how brief it is for her to be the 2nd lead. The story of the said spinoff was well created despite the shorterepisodes and shorter runtime provided and it is expected that Nami and Junnosuke won't be featured in this drama because they are not mainly the focus of the story.

The music used is still the same as used in the main series so it is good but I did like how the confession part has its turned around the tables elements like for example, in one of the episodes of the spinoff, Izumi was supposed to confess to Nakazawa but Nakazawa happened to do it anyway and this is an example of a drama that shows that not all things will go according to plan but it may possibly lead to better results.

What I like the most in this drama is that it has its mixture of funny and romantic moments that were well done and/or executed. Despite the said mixture, there will come a time when you might feel sad in some parts of the spinoff but not everyone will feel that kind of element anyway so sometimes, the sad parts in this spinoff is too plain or uninteresting at all because the sad acting lacks connection to the viewers because of how generic and/or too common the sad elements of the spinoff when it comes to love. Well, maybe because I have seen some romantic dramas with the same sad elements in my country so I can say that those things are no longer new and/or fresh to me.

In overall, this spinoff drama is still worth watching despite the flaws that can be seen as you progress through this drama.

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started slow but builds up till the finale

I did start this show with no expectations whatsoever, but I thought the premise is interesting. While the ML is a quite an one-dimensional character, there is more to him than the eye sees. The whole cast did a very good job. You get drama, you get comedy, you get thriller and you get a bit of suspense in this package. And every story arc gets stronger with each episode. At least after half the episodes you should know there is something fishy up the top, I will not spoil it here, but that was what I expected and they did not disappoint.

Overall an entertaining show, and in contrast to most shows it starts slow and gets better with every epsiode, so give it time.

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36 episodes isn't enough. No amount of episode would be enough. 9.0 rating is well-deserved.

If you are looking for a drama that has intense romance, good friendship, and rich in plot then TPOB won’t disappoint you. Watching a few clips of this drama in tiktok convinced me that this drama would be worthy of my time. I initially don’t get excited over dramas that have enemies to lovers trope due to the fact that often times the female gets too annoying or sometimes both couple are to focused on keeping scores against each other that they are becoming way to toxic for my taste.

However, this drama executed the perfect way to show an enemies-to-lovers trope by planting enough and valid reason why they must hate each other and they also gave them enough time to fully build the trust they have on one another. They enemied really well and they fix their fights really well by compromising, giving assurance, and what other married couples do.

I also remember that there are viewers who are not into the concept of someone giving up revenge for the sake of love. But rest assured that this drama would make you think that often times hate and grudges would actually keep everyone stagnant and instead of thinking that they are being blinded by love know that it takes great courage and maturity to be able to consider the bigger picture rather than drag everyone down with your revenge.

Going into details as to why I loved this drama:

1. The romance was top tier, they have great chemistry, and the second romances in this drama are also worth watching. This drama showed how you can turn an enemies-to-lovers trope into the most healthiest couple. From having doubts and being wary of each other to pledging loyalty and protecting one another. No drama could show the very same build up of romance as TPOB. Outside their bedchamber both are very eloquent and reliable. Inside the the bedchamber they are very adorable, their quarrels make me giggle because these are the only time where they show other admirable side of them.

2. Manman was by far the most unique female character I have ever encountered. Unlike other dramas where they make the FL strong by making them excel in military, martial arts, scheming, or making them smart. Manman ability to overcome challenges is mainly shown by letting her magnanimity and sincerity shine through in times of situations that challenges their personal interest and greediness. I also liked how she strategized on what she is most familiar of which is water and river. I was actually amazed that the first thing his grandfather said to her in the first few episode would actually be the biggest hint for them to be able to win some battles. In addition to that, I like the fact that they used nature in beating the enemies. Because although Manman was always told that her softness, beauty, and femineity would solve everything, she instead took advantage of the flow of water, manipulating nature which alone is much smarter and more powerful than a thousands of soldiers. The way they reference water was actually something I didn’t foresee and enjoyed the most. You’ll most likely to see a lot of water, rivers, and canal being talked about by the characters.

3. Zhonling isn’t the red flag character that everyone looks for a ML and he isn’t exactly a green flag either. But rather his character is feared by many people given that he is good in fighting battles alongside his generals and also strictly upholds justice. He also became lord at such a young age hence everyone respects and follows him. His childhood isn’t normal like other kids and this justifies why he became brute, fearsome, and lack of that warmth you often see at someone’s complexion. His character is actually the most realistic and closest to being a human character one could encounter. He gets mad when his patience is tested, demands justice when someone is wronged, when provoked he retaliates and when his lines are crossed he would destroy. At the same time he is very considerate of the majority, bends his principle when needed to be, and is filial no doubt. He can forgive the mistakes his family commit against him and also protects and defends them when the situation requires defending. He may be oblivious to love and how to please his wife but he surely shows it well when he is not trying to appear one. He fails when he tries to be sweet but succeed well when he is unaware that his gestures is romantic. Example is defending her wife’s honor by investigating thoroughly and preserving her dignity by making sure no one slanders her.

4. The conflict is interesting, I like the fact that there was no unnecessary spies hidden in their mansion and I also like the fact that together they are able to grow more than what they aspire to be. Their personal goals are aligned hence they were able to agree on a lot things when making important decision. As for Manman’s cousin her love for Bi Zhi isn’t less than what Manman and Zhonling have. Her love is justifiable, one could choose to be selfish and protect what she can may it be one or a community, what counts is the intention and not the result.

5. The way this is filmed i good, if you closely they try to make it pleasing in the eye as much as possible and it delivers. One thing I want to mention is that on the scene where there are battles there actually no flaws in it. Often times other drama has a battle scene where other soldiers are fighting but very scripted as if every move is numbered and they would fight like they are practicing which takes away the thrill. The number of troops also, there are dramas wherein when they are positioned to go for war some have a poor cgi skills and it shows that other soldiers are cgi, in TPOB you wont see a flaw in their battle scenes.

36 episodes isn’t enough in my own opinion. Even if it is 40 or 50, it still wouldn’t be enough. The hype and the attention this drama received is well deserved no boring episodes unnecessary character or mini conflicts. Everything is like a puzzle that fits well when put together.

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I'm on a Jo In Sung kick right now so even though Shoot for the Stars is very outdated, I thought the premise sounded fun and it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try…

Story: Predictable but it had a lot of heart. It never got draggy and the pacing was well done. Since the OTP had a straightforward romance with no misunderstandings, it made for a really enjoyable watch. The ending was =)

Acting/Cast: Well of course I knew Jo In Sung going in and how well he could act, but I was kind of unsure about the lead actress. I found her portrayal of Sora spot on but her character is kind of loud and annoying in the beginning. When you get used to her, you will come to accept her for who she is. I was also completely surprised by the amazing chemistry between the leads. It was soo good and worth watching just for their romance. I really liked the side characters that were apart of their posse. I didn’t however, like the second female and male leads. Their characters were so not redeemable and it made ALL of their scenes a waste of screentime in my opinion.

Music: What you would expect from an oldie.

Rewatch: Definitely would watch again in the near future cause the pacing was good and I loved the leads together.

Overall you should watch this is you’re a fan of JIS or if you like heartwarming dramas with lots of romance.

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Epic but flawed, I wish the forbidden romance would have been even angstier

This historical drama, full of mystery, grabbed my attention from start with its very dark story involving both fantasy elements and intricate family relationships. There is a couple of bonds that are quite taboo that provided in the first half the angst I enjoy so much. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed by the pacing and some writing choices regarding the forbidden romance. Despite this, I truly enjoyed the ending, it might feel a bit rushed in terms of plot but it left me a really impactful and memorable impression.

I was mostly satisfied with the cast with maybe one exception : Jo Bo Ah. Her chemistry with Lee Jae Wook was really lacking to me. I believed much more in Lee Jae Wook's acting than Jo Bo Ah, that's why I am singling her out. Outside of her character's relationship, the heroine role in itself was pretty annoying. It was alright at first but as the show progressed she felt more and more bland, rather useless. I'm not sure if the main issue is with the script or the actress, but it clearly was the weakest point of the drama.

The production value was the strongest point of the series. The OST was simply amazing and the making was solid as well. Overall the combination of visuals, beautifully filmed fighting scenes, epic music and shocking violence was a great mix. However, the editing felt as some point a bit choppy with some shift between episode that could have been better.

I would truly recommend this series to people looking for an historical drama focusing more on angsty relationship with an hefty amount of horrific mystery rather than deep political content. I loved the dark side of this story and its intense finale despite the writing flaws.

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This drama was so fun to watch! Such a breath of fresh air in the current landscape of k-dramas.

Honestly, I loved everything about this drama. It was such a fun ride, and I anticipated the next episode every week. I was hooked! This was the perfect comedy drama to wrap up my week with! It had just the right amount of romance, friendships, enemies, and funny moments to balance out the story and make each episode enjoyable. I also loved how they did their own twists on typical romance (rom-com) tropes.

My only gripe is that the last episode feels slightly rushed. I feel like we could've gotten a more cohesive ending with 16 episodes instead of 12. However, I still enjoyed every episode throughout the drama and could always count on it to give me a good laugh!

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BL Fans and Lovers, this is basically a Clickbait BL Drama that is a straight drama.

I really loved the music, the cinematography, and you can tell they had the budget to make this series good. Though I love how it showed every characters' side stories in their own lives, this very thing was the reason why the series became confusing and lacking of structure.

And also, you may expect this to the BLs, however my expections were not met. The straight couple in this drama had more romantic scenes and seemed like the focus of this drama rather than the Seungwon and Heesu.

To the "conservative" and LAME writters and director, why make Heesu the "Main character", and make his name the title of this series when you'd just end up putting the focus on te straight couple instead? ITS ANNOYING. The slow burn was too much. The characters only got to show their initmacy by the end of the drama, while in the middle of all that, Chan young and Ji Yu were already showing how lovey dovey they were.

Are Seungwon and Heesu the main couple, or is it instead Chan Young and Ji Yu? (The straight couple) Like be so for real. It seems like Seungwon and Heesuu (The alleged MAIN GAY COUPLE) were overshadowed by the straight couple instead.

Because the way I see it, with how the Straight couple had more screentime, more affectionate scenes compared to the "MAIN COUPLE", they just Queer baited people.

Nonetheless, DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND DO NOT WATCH THIS SERIES. (Unless you have time to waste)

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A refreshing version of Boys Over Flowers

I started watching k-dramas/c-dramas because of Boys Over Flowers (the Korean version). So, this story has a very special place in my heart. When I heard about the Thai version, I was excited, yet I was fearful of how the story would be portrayed, since it's quite a problematic love story in theory.

Nevertheless, I decided to try and watch it. This version became my favorite. I loved the way they followed the basic storyline but also made it their own. This version turned the series into a coming-of-age story, with complex characters and an interesting and coherent narrative. The friendship between the F4 members was really well portrayed. I could see how they supported each other and how much they cared about their friendship. This series also has a lot of character development, which, in my opinion, wasn’t really there in the Korean version (specially regarding the romance/male lead’s attitude). Thyme was a really likeable character. He truly started to behave differently, treating people better and took responsibility for his actions.

The romance was much healthier and believable. How they fell in love and how Thyme actually acknowledged the fact Gorya wasn’t dating him in the beginning and that he wanted her to like him, but he wasn’t going to force her into a relationship was really refreshing. I could understand why he loved her and why she loved him.

Highly recommend watching this version, whether you have watched the previous ones or if you are new here.

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