Reviews

Beyond nonsense

Messy!
These days it feels like every time I decide to delve into a K-drama I am just left with regret. This drama was just another one to add to a list of the ever crumbling state of K-drama writing.

What on earth was up with the writing of this drama? It was so poor and the continuation of the plot lines were just non existent. The cases tried to be different and diverse, but each one was so easily handled with no real depth despite the subject matters that it brought up.

1. The case with the genius special needs artist
- Her mother refusing to register as a person with a disability was ridiculous. This should have been a commentary on how South Korea views disability and call awareness to it. Did they do that? Nope. Did they discuss how the girl's father left her and her mother but she still misses him even though we are left to understand that he never bothered to ever contact his daughter again? Nope. Did this make sense? NO!

2. The case with the contract marriage without love
- This one was had so much potential to explore marriage as something that has evolved as a concept and an actual contract that can work outside of the context of romantic love. Instead we are left with a judge on her high horse talking about how marriage can only exist in society if it's based on romantic love. It was so outdated and completely biased.

My issue is not that a drama can't stick to traditional values, my issue is that if you choose to do so then don't be daring enough to bring these topics up. You're bringing nothing but half-baked writing to your audiences and telling us that sure things can change and evolve but here in South Korea we remain in the dark ages happily.
Oh, and no K-drama is complete without violence right? You have the male lead lawyer assaulting anyone he wants, you have the managing partner of the law firm slapping a lawyer, and you have the rookie female lawyer conveniently forgetting that she witnessed school violence and walked away from it. Violence should never be the way forward, except in the case of the news anchor who was physically abused for over 10 years by her husband and then found a wonder drug combo that turned her into the hulk and she beat up her abuser. However, when she's divorcing him and he says "I'm sorry" like it was no big deal what he did and she just gives him a smirk smile? What was that??

The romance or lack of it between the main leads was a non issue for me. Of course they liked each other, I didn't need them to hold hands or kiss to know that. Their actions spoke more than those gestures ever could. The second couple was a nice touch, but again where is the continuity with the writing? Jin Woo clearly liked Min Jeong and I loved that she was 10 years older than him. However, I have questions...
1. After their "mistake" Min Jeong was avoiding Jin Woo, but suddenly by the next episode they are dating? Where was that conversation?
2. The fat suit?? Are we still here K-drama writers???? Must we always be thin to achieve our goals in life? What are you actually telling us in your most irresponsible messaging clunky way?
3. Has Min Jeong not seen her daughter in years? Why would she be ok with not seeing her own kid all this time?
4. Jin Woo's sister obviously would not be on board with him and an older woman and I'm assuming she speaks for the family, so where was this conversation or confrontation between Jin Woo and his large family before his proposal?

Kang Hyo Min's parents and their decision to give away their deaf child????? Okay first of all, what is with the twin/hearing impaired trend of K-dramas? Hyo Ju served zero purpose in this drama. I have questions...
1. How did Hyo Min's mother communicate with her own sister who is hearing impaired if she only learned sign language later so she could one day speak with Hyo Ju? Didn't you grow up with your sister? How did anyone in your family communicate with her if she was deaf?
2. If you gave your child away to your sister, why would you never visit that child? You didn't give her away to a stranger and she wasn't living outside of South Korea. So what is this??
3. The double acting of Jung Chae Yeon was also a waste and utterly ridiculous because Hyo Ju was born deaf so how could she know how words would sound to be able to speak out so clearly? Again, what gives? You could have just had her speak in sign language right? Why are you portraying disabilities like this?

So many aspects of the writing remain in the air, but let's circle the drain with Seok Hoon and his ex-wife and her petty ass new husband (why Lee Sang Yeob, why???) Your ex-wife was not for you, please move on. She did.
Lastly, the writing that was clearly written to either stay in the safe zone with Korean society or to fill the void of the nonsense plot. Seok Hoon's ex wife suddenly claiming she terminated her pregnancy because the ultrasound showed an abnormality? That's some rubbish convenient writing. Her then telling him that she'll only let him keep the dog if he gets a roommate or a wife? Say what now? This of course was to get him to sign up for that AI matchmaking service, but oh hang on do we ever find out why Hyo Min also signed up for it? Nope. So the point of this was to drive home the fact that they are suited for each other or that they are not? Wow the writers couldn't even decide on that.

K-dramas have been nothing but utter nonsense lately. It will take a lot for me to ever watch another one again.

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I don't understand the negativity

I'm astonished at the amount of negative reviews this series has received - I think it was excellent.

The concept of romance in this series is on a deep, layered and nuanced level that speaks volumes to me as a mature adult who's a hopeless romantic. Romance is not just your love affairs to me - it's about our relationship with life and all the different types of love we give, receive, feel and witness.

I highly enjoyed all the journeys - literal and metaphorical - of this series. Every character gave my heart a stir of some kind, even the poor little, anxiously envious old friend and the complete tool of the PD of the Day trip program.

I felt it was more than just a cute little rom-com and am giving it a very generous rating since I feel it deserves it.

Loved the last scene unexpected cliffhanger and sincerely hope the second season will make it all the way on air <3

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ML rocks! hero's arc is well fleshed out. cute office romance with VC investing backgrop

There's nothing new in concept or execution in this story. Age old, rich entitled guy "ill-treats" girl. girl vows to make him eat his words. Girl achieves her goal. Falls in love with guy in the process after discovering that the boorish act is just an act to hide the nice guy. Turns out guy was always in love with her and was denying it. All this over 32(!!) episodes of one hour each!! Help!

One thing to hate about contemporary c-dramas is that the plot tries to force fit "muh china greatest and bestest" at drop of a hat. Here, in the context of angel/VC investing all this is parroted by various actors.

The actor playing the hero Lu jin ming was a great cast! He plays boor, cad, comedy, ineptness, smartness, hopelessly in love exasperated man, tough guy, good friend, etc etc., all on cue. His acting range is great. This serial is his show in the end, and he carries the show squarely.

The script is really well written in consistently showing the hero in a 3-dimensional way. He was always shown to be a thoroughly professional and meritorious when it comes to professional dealings. His tantrums towards the heroine in the beginning were later shown as an awkward attempt to protect her from the dirty investor politics and a subconscious mimicry of his own father's personality which he starts to overcome by himself after realising how it alienated the FL among others.

All of the ML's interactions with the FL are well written and acted out.
Actually kudos to the screen writers for a consistently portrayed character study in all 24 episodes.

Heroine is dressed and presented as way younger than IRL and they do the reverse for the hero, even though they are only 2 years apart. Make-up & costume department was great on this show. Also director does a good job of framing the heroine very pleasingly. Interestingly, the heroine has played a similar role in Flight to You, also released in same year as this one.

The romance b/w ml and fl itself didn't play out sufficiently. The FL actually spends far too much screen time with the SML/villain in romantic settings than with ML. Very disappointing. The SML scenes took far too long and the resolution also ended up very tedious and unbelievable. My low rating comes from this complaint.

The SFL and ML arc took far too long to resolve. The SML arc was a total washout - wasn't needed at all. Totally bombed for me. Big meh. The second couple OTOH were cute scene stealers. The office supporting crew were overall very likeable. Again, the romance angle itself was a big missed opportunity due to all the story resolution taking far too long.

Like many others, I also loathed how much time the SML arc took up on screen, down to the last episode. Good lord, no one cares. The show could have easily given 15-30 mins extra time for the ML to proclaim his love, and then the FL to go doe-eyed on our towering hero and bring him to his knees.

As my wife pointed out the way the last kiss played out could have been done much earlier (at the expense of SML!) and we could have had more romantic interactions post love declaration b/w ML-FL. After all the FL has been pining for the guy since much earlier in the show and that pent up feelings could have been easily channelled through different scenes (her being the first to lovingly lead and plant the first kiss on the hero was totally in character with this picturisation)

Anyway, it's worth a watch. Feel free to use FF button and also the 1.5x play speed button.

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Worth to Watch Drama

Overall, it was a good show. The entire cast is well-chosen and effectively brings out the charm of each character. Every character has their own background and setting, making them very engaging. It's a bit of a shame, though, that we don't learn much about the Wufeng girl. The plot is decent, with plenty of twists here and there. I didn’t particularly like the pacing in some parts, as it felt a bit dragged out, but the story was interesting enough to keep me hooked. Although some people complain about the open ending, I don’t mind it—after all, a good ending doesn’t always mean a happy one. I also really appreciate the soundtrack of this drama; it’s one of the best I’ve ever heard, and it’s not just the main theme. Great job!

Not gonna lie, I’m really drawn to Gong Yuanzhi here. Even though he’s just a supporting character, his role is fascinating. I noticed from the beginning that he’s someone admired yet feared by everyone, which makes me curious about him since I love genius (I heard it's his debut role?). Of course, I won't forget to mention Gong Yuanzhi, Gong Shanjue, and Shangguan Qian form a menacing trio that can be annoying yet lovely at times, haha. Sometimes I find Gong Ziyu rather childish and naive, but he’s also kind and smart, which is why he proves himself worthy in the end. I loved the final teamwork within the Gong family! Everyone from Front and Back family defeating evil? Yes!

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Starts Simple, Ends Bigger Than You Expect

I had a good time with this one. It kicks off feeling like a pretty straightforward heist movie, but as it goes on the story widens and by the end it feels like a completely different game. That switch in direction made it more fun than I expected.

The pacing is quick. Sometimes almost too quick, but I never felt bored or like it dragged. Even when I could guess where parts of the plot were going, I still wanted to see how it played out. The setups and payoffs kept me interested all the way through.

The cast is easy to enjoy. Kim Woo Bin fits this role perfectly and brings a lot of presence to the screen. Lee Hyun Woo, Go Chang Seok, and the rest of the crew each add something different, and together they make the team dynamic work. The action looks clean, the movie has a polished style, and the music keeps the energy up even if it’s not the kind of soundtrack that sticks in your head.

It’s not trying to be a deep or groundbreaking film, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s entertaining, fast moving, and just fun to sit through. I’d watch it again just for the ride.

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Visually brilliant superhero tale that carries just enough emotional weight

I’m not familiar with the source material, but I still felt the worldbuilding lacked depth and intricacy. It didn’t quite meet the expectations set by its visual scale.

I also didn’t know any of the cast beforehand, and it was only after watching that I learned Mark Chao and Deng Lun are top-tier actors. I can see why. Their performances weren’t over the top, but they delivered just the right amount of emotion to match their characters and the demands of each scene.

The rest of the cast didn’t fall short either. I think everyone gave solid performances.

The strongest aspect of the film is definitely its visuals. The CGI and cinematography are impressive, and the color grading is beautiful.

I especially appreciated how background elements were used to enhance lighting—lamps casting warm orange glows, the moon shifting the palette to cool blues on dark nights. It’s visually stunning.

The music scoring was excellent, too. There was a seamless blend of traditional and contemporary styles, and the music entered scenes with perfect timing that were always elevating and never intrusive.

Technically, the film is impressive. Groundbreaking, even. I wasn’t surprised to learn it was directed by Guo Jing Ming. I’ve seen My Journey to You and Fangs of Fortune, and his signature style definitely spilled into this film.

Based on those two works, I’ve noticed a recurring imbalance between technical brilliance and storytelling.

While the production is consistently impressive, the narrative often suffers, leaving a visually rich but emotionally hollow experience.

Fortunately, in this case, the storytelling—while not groundbreaking—is fairly decent.

Still, it feels like a missed opportunity not to have explored the characters more deeply. A bit more buildup and backstory would’ve helped, as I often felt left to piece things together on my own.

Some plot points also got muddled, and I’m not sure if the missing context is only accessible to those familiar with the source material. That lack of clarity has definitely affected the emotional impact and depth of the film.

But overall… it’s okay. Despite the patchiness, the writer showed control and a clear sense of direction.

My favorite storytelling element was the use of names as a plot device.

The film opens with the quote: “A name is the shortest form of a spell.”

Beyond Qing Ming’s repeated cries of “Boya! Boya!”—each under different stages of their relationship and circumstances—names were used meaningfully to explore other characters, too.

For Killing Stone, his name symbolized acknowledgement and a second chance. For Fangyue, it reflected her longing for commemoration. As for Qing Ming, obtaining the title “The Yin-Yang Master” at the end is a crucial moment, not just for his character arc, but for the film’s overall narrative.

Technically, this film is a masterpiece. The storytelling isn’t flawless, but it’s good enough—action-heavy with just the right emotional pull to keep you hooked.

It reminds me of Marvel or superhero movies—not just because of the visual effects, but because of the feeling it leaves you with: protagonists who are still figuring things out but have saved the world, for now.

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this is a shameless tourism brochure simpfest tumblr BS. misled by high review scores

Holy crap, what did I go through. This one is a classic case of fooled by review scores due to unfair bias of viewer fantasy romance fanfic clouding their judgements.

First 16 or so episodes is just a shameless finland tourism paid propaganda. They don't even try to make it subtle. the actors/acting/lines are filler for this nonsense.

This brain dead cr*p is supposed to be a hero's journey to redemption. Bratty teenager who threw a tantrum, refused to apologise and ran away for decade. We are supposed to sympathise with this POS. As another reviewer mentioned, his "love language" is trying to stuff the heroine with food or forcing himself for physical intimacy and kisses. heroine pouts nicely on cue and turns up the "cute girl" act to high. The entire cast is used very poorly. No one is even trying to act, Each episode of this braindead nonsense is 45 min long.

By episode 20 both me and my wife unanimously felt like we have lost enough time of our lives to this torture and abandoned it. No regrets. Shame on people falling for some blatant simpfest and giving this cr*p high ratings.

Watch anything else over this nonsense.

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Thinly veiled "TOURIST BROCHURE" Watch it for villain character's OTT ham acting.

LOL what is this even! This is a barely disguised tourist brochure for Hezhe/Fuuyaan, China

tldr; skip - watch only for the villain's antics in the first 10-12 eps in 1.5x speed. skip both titles to gain time.

This show was popping up in recommendations everywhere. Ended up watching it in .5-2x speed. The excuse of a plot is that our ML is a photographer on a mission to capture all the albino variants of wildlife across China to hold a celebratory exhibition. He's missing the last one, albino brown brear reportedly sighted by FL, known online as "hezhe's treasure". They get off on the wrong foot. ML mistakes "villain" character's harassment of the FL as some viral "proposal" moment and shares it on social media. Hijinks ensue. ML and FL pair up over several adventures. ML dutifully "supports" our "awesome" FL on all her achievements. Villain changes heart and helps our hero get the girl in the end.
PS: There is no plot.

Luckily, each 15 min episode is less than 7 mins of content. Long start &end title scenes make for the remainder. The "albino bear" plot comes and goes as it pleases while the hero spends all his time solving heroine's home town problems. The first half is mostly fending off the advances of the "villain" - the richest man in the province who is set on marrying our heroine against her will. Plucky girl isn't going down without a fight. Fair hero plays his part in rescuing the damsel.

The real MVP of this drama is the villain character Mao Kuan Ren who lights up the scene with his OTT antics, self-aware villainy and is the most amusing character on screen throughout. This 24 ep tedium is made bearable mostly through him. The actor went above and beyond what he was paid for our entertainment's sake. My acting rating is high only for him.

There is a funny side plot where our hero dresses up as a woman to help heroine's brother avenge the villain's russian femme fatale planted in their team to cause havoc. He strongly resembled Aamir Khan's cross dress appearance in Baazi. They played the whole thing straight for laughs.

The plot device serves to showcase the monuments and scenery of the province/area and is a thinly veiled tourism brochure.

No one in the cast stand out. Heroine (Hezhe's treasure) plays cute, pout, tough, etc as demanded in script. Once the villain is "defanged" this meandering mess becomes a chore to watch.

Meh!

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Popular but forgetful

This series feels like it recycled all the different series that had come before: such as the basic story from Mr. Queen, actors and characters from The Moon Embracing The Sun, The Crowned Clown, etc... The whole thing feels like a constant water down deja vu. Not to mention the repetition of certain food ingesting orgasms and funny faces. Overall, it lacks originality.

I could see it being done as a spoof of the genre and all the series that had come before, int he vain of the Scary Movies making fun of the horror genre. But no, Bon Appetit takes itself too seriously with a weak story plot and even weaker main actors. I agree that it is light and popular right now, but I doubt that this series will remain like a great show in the years, even months to come.

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A cultural masterpiece and cinematography but failed in entertainment value

Let’s start by congratulating Idol Factory Production on the huge improvement in this series. It’s clear they now have the budget to bring in a strong production crew, with cinematography at its finest.

From a viewer’s perspective—and not being a Thai native, since the series highlights Thai cultural heritage—I found it lacking in entertainment value. Across its 16 episodes, it failed to capture the thrill, fun, and romance one might expect. To me, it felt more like the love story of two noble women who began as friends and ended with a fairy-tale happily ever after. There wasn’t much to look forward to in each episode beyond the dialogue and food, and if it weren’t for Loknam’s character, I wouldn’t have even found a reason to smile while watching this lengthy series. I also felt it was too much to have two other noble women in love with Becky’s character. It didn’t feel realistic, as there were already too many men and women drawn to her, making the character seem overrated. And then there’s Freen’s character, which felt like a huge shift for viewers who previously saw her as the dominant lead in Gap the Series. This time, the portrayal came across as cringy, since her character was made overly ignorant, and from start to finish, there wasn’t much to her role beyond being naive. They could have shown her character evolve as she grew up, which would have added more depth. As far as the actors are concerned, Freen and Becky delivered as expected. These two women have such natural chemistry that their performances felt genuinely believable. Even when the storyline or character development fell short, their acting managed to hold the viewer’s attention and make the emotions on screen feel real. I also want to commend Loknam for being an excellent supporting role. She consistently brings comedic fun to every character she plays under Idol Factory, adding much-needed lightness and charm to the series.

Overall, the series isn’t a bad watch—I managed to get through it even after it had already ended several months ago. However, once I finished it, I found it memorable but not something I’d rewatch the way I did with Gap and other GL series.

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this is a MASTERPIECE !!

“Thank you for staying alive. Your loved ones must have felt so relieved… live another day.”
This line from *Lovely Runner* sums up why the series touched so many people — it gave hope, joy, and unforgettable moments to viewers around the world.

For me, this was one of the best dramas I’ve watched in my two years as a K-drama fan. Why? Because watching it was one of the most entertaining experiences of my life. There’s something special about following a drama while it’s airing — knowing that thousands of others are just as curious and excited as you are each week.

What made *Lovely Runner* even more special was that it didn’t even have a massive budget. No one expected it to blow up the way it did, yet it became incredibly popular and loved. That’s exactly what makes it a masterpiece for me.

And then there’s the acting… Kim Hye-yoon and Byeon Woo-seok were a perfect match. Their on-screen chemistry was off the charts, and their performances made it feel like they were truly living their characters’ lives. They worked so hard on this drama, and the fact that their effort was rewarded with fame and love makes me so happy.

If you’re an emotional viewer like me, get ready to cry, laugh, and even get frustrated at times. The very first 15 minutes already had me in tears — the way Sun-jae gave Sol hope for life again was so moving. His words touched me deeply.

But I have to say this: *Lovely Runner* isn’t for viewers who get bored easily or only want lighthearted romance and comedy. For me, romantic comedies like this are an escape from real-life problems — but for some people, it might feel like a waste of time.

Still, if you just want to spend 16 episodes being happy and forgetting about your worries, this drama is perfect for you.

**Final Thoughts:**
For me, this drama is a true masterpiece. Because a 10/10 doesn’t always mean a drama that leaves you breathless or sweating from tension. Sometimes, it means a drama that makes the butterflies in your heart come alive. And that’s everything.

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Top 3 historical cdrama

I loved it. The acting was great and so was their chemistry. I loved the ost as well. The little snippet of their wedding left a smile on my face during the whole thing. I wish they got into a relationship sooner, but he was so insecure and there was a lack of communication from both of them. I understand why she was hesitant in the beginning, she knew another version of him, so of course she was scared. They had very cute moments in the last I believe 10 episodes, very small and short ones but got me giggling. I wish You Fangi didn’t die and wished we saw more of her and her husband’s married life. In the end him basically bullying his son was so funny, he’s so insecure over Zhang Ze (was only funny to see on the show, if it happened in reality that would’ve been disappointing).

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Preview looked greater but all was just hype

I was really excited due to all the reaction it got. The trailers also seem great.

Pro: the fl was so pretty as a man. There were fun moments as she was being like mulan. I enjoyed the moments of her at that time. I liked how the ml found out her gender fast. Ml eye contact was good. Choreography was nice I can say that.

Con: her acting as a dude in the first half was so bad, she was so girly and flirty. I’ve seen good Korean dramas where they pretend to be male and I’m myself convinced. This was not convincing. the voice or acting was not good for pretending to be a male. The love scenes came later and wasn’t that intense. I wanted more love and more compelling love. Ml was not very expressive nor that romantic. The Sl story was just everywhere. Story just was messy. Villain was just okay but sided with someone incompetent. There was no real twist. There were some parts I just had to skip.

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