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Makjang Adjacent--lots of fun!
Reborn Rookie is a makjang-adjacent chaebol succession story in body-swap clothing. The powermoves and counter-measures are outsized and satisfying. Lee Jun Young is entertaining as a footballer turned aged corporate chairman in a young man's body. The range and variety of antagonists provide plenty to hate and twists galore with occasional reflection on how parents can shape their childrens' direction, ambitions, and sense of self. Action, Entertainment and just a Touch of MeaningWas this review helpful to you?
Chance!!!
I watched this a couple of months ago, mixed it up with another title and re-opened it on the platform I'm on (shout out to my fave - iQIYI). I didn't rewatch it but the series poster on this page jogged my memory. Honestly, I couldn't remember the story at all. But I had watched the whole series --- and then I remembered why.One word:
*** CHANCE ***
There's a template for Chinese heart throbs - Chance (like Japanese band Snowman member Raul) is that ideal ramped up ten fold.
Honestly cannot remember the series at all but if you want a heart fluttering treat, get yourself a heapin' helpin'
of Chance (aka Collins Ying) !!!
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A new favourite comfort watch
I loved it! It felt like a real k-drama instead of your avarage Netflix production. It uses all the tropes and cliches of the genre but in a fresh way that makes it enjoyble to watch and not stale. Sometimes is meta and sometimes is not, playing with the viewer suspention of disbelief in a somewhat traditional yet smart manner. It made me laugh and flutter a lot. The chemistry between the two leads is top notch and their natural acting adds unreplaceable value. Their interactions and their falling in love felt so real in a way that is pretty rare to see on screen. Also I love to see a relationship stems out between strangers rather than the usual coworkers or childhood friends. Male lead is also a huge green flag 💚 This show has reached comfort watch status and the only reason I'm not giving it a higher score is because some scenes (mainly the ones involving secondary characters) were boring to watch but overall this drama was a crazy enjoyable and satisfying watch. Highly reccomendedWas this review helpful to you?
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This review may contain spoilers
what a blow to the industry.
smart & boom carried this at an eight and a half rating up until the cursed episode nine ! this almost made it to my first ranked list untilllll akin lied to jin again then broke up with him on false and hurtful pretenses to protect him. what sealed the lowering of the rating was when they continued their relationship, in the following episode, without addressing that traumatic break AT ALL. akin made a promise, was not to remove the necklace again but did, and told jin hurtful lies in order to sever ties and we just skip that after jin's confession to the public? naaaaah. you missed me with that.it almost feels like a crime to rate this in the sevens because the acting from boom, toey, and some of the more compelling support characters knocked my socks off. boom is the second actor of his calibre [not counting mile & apo] that i have come across in BL. toey is damn well right next to them too. boom's emotional range blew me away. smart was good but not on boom's level. however, smart deliciously nails the nuances of acting with improv and natural movement. their kissing and stares were nearly perfect. the honey scene was so simple and genius. have yet to have seen food used in intimate scenes and they rode it home. their intimacy [and boom's acting] allowed for this title to circumvent all of the other problems with this work UNTIL the breakup.
the storyline was honestly wack as hell. when one recounts what happened aloud, it makes you wonder what the objective even was in the storytelling. we were robbed of seeing akin finally agreeing to be jin's boyfriend, we were robbed of their wedding, we were robbed of proper communication / reconciliation. akin was constantly making aggravating decisions on his own without consulting others or his partner. we will also be consistently robbed of a season two considering the ending and real life circumstances.
the headline regards what most already know. i am late to smartboom + top form and what a nightmare. these two have already begun to haunt me so much that i was reading about the circumstances regarding the implosion of their partnership in the midst of watching the show. the former is a testament to how much this title held up until the end. it is a HUGE loss to acting that boom is not in more works. apparently, his mental health spiraled downward as of recently too. the situation is just so depressing, disappointment, and harrowing. both leads were so talented and now they apparently cannot publicly mention one another after all that promotion they already did. their chemistry is not something smart people allow to slip from work like this. it is painful, for me, as a person new to them to even consider. capitalism is a blight on humanity, never forget that.
i will not bother talking about the production errors i noticed. i will conclude with saying i wish smart & boom the utmost happiness, reliability, and a circle of people looking out for their best interests. they deserved better than what happened.
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So, I started watching mostly out of curiosity to see how they’d pull it off and because I’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope. But wow! Where were the shy boys who used to blush at everything? They genuinely blew me away. There’s such a strong, authentic chemistry between them. I usually don’t talk much about NC scenes, but these felt so convincing and full of sincerity. Both actors gave really honest performances, letting their characters’ emotions shine through, even if the more emotionally heavy scenes could still use a bit more polish. But for a first series, they’re off to a great start. I’m definitely looking forward to their future projects!
As for the story, it has a cool premise with some thriller elements, but the pacing ends up being a bit all over the place, adding a bunch of subplots that feel pretty rushed. Even with that, it’s still worth checking out.
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This review may contain spoilers
I want to be the second male lead!
Ok. I know it's supposed to take a while for things to develop between the male and female leads in these dramas, but I want to be the second male lead! First of all, the male lead is a real prick. Second, while the female lead is pretty. the second female lead is a complete smoke show. Oh, and if you're the second male lead, you don't have to be basically androgynous until the end of the drama. You can have sex on the first date! Yes please. BTW, I get that most Kdrama and Cdrama reviews are written by women, so this may be a different perspective.Was this review helpful to you?
so this is growing up
I love how this drama captures youth in all its messiness. The confusion, frustration, anger and the fear of not knowing what you're doing with your life. It all feels so raw. I found myself connecting with every single character in some way and I think that's what made this drama so personal to me.The acting is phenomenal! You can genuinely feel what these characters are going through and the cinematography adds to that rawness, making everything feel even more initmate and real. It all just feels so human.
Watching qiqi grow into the woman she becomes is so heartwarming. There's something so comforting about watching her stumble and eventually find her way. It reassures you that you'll figure things our too eventually. Not everything needs to be figured out all at once.
This drama means a lot to me personally, but it was emotionally heavy enough that I actually had to take a break while watching it. It's the kind of story that makes you feel everything a little too deeply.
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Cliché done right!
Didn't think I'd end up liking it as much as I did. It definitely took some time to grow on me, but by the end I was having so much fun watching it. It's silly, funny and cliché in that typical chaebol romance way but honestly that's the part of the charm. I laughed out loud so many times.The characters were all so good and the acting made eveything even more enjoyable. I especially loved how their relationship gradually developed. You could actually feel them growing closer, and that made their dynamic so much more satisfying to watch. It's easy to binge and just a fun watch overall.
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Mystery solving and Love Story with some Wuxia
Surprisingly, the story is okay. I like it. I watched first The Road to Splendor and I might say both actor/actress improved a lot. Moreover, I'm not confused with the story line since I've read the novel. The story is quite similar wtih The Coroner's Diary since about mystery solving and wuxia. I also love the OST. Opening song performed by Liu Yuning ❤️For me, 8.5/10 👍
Worth watching? For me, yes just give it a try if you are into mystery with romance. The story is about Yan Xing, a concubine’s daughter from the Yan family, was trained from a young age by the Ministry of Justice’s chief inspector, acquiring exceptional investigative skills and the ability to find answers hidden within evidence. Yan Xing passes the examination to become a female official in the Ministry of Justice, determined to uncover the true culprits and uphold justice. However, when her third sister flees from an imperial marriage bestowed by the Empress Dowager, Yan Xing is forced to marry in her sister's place to protect her family, tying the knot with Shen Du, the head of the imperial guard. Mysterious cases begin to occur frequently in the capital, and Yan Xing and Shen Du join forces to solve several major cases. As they work together, their relationship gradually deepens. Together with their companions, they uncover a shocking conspiracy and protect the peace and justice of Xiang'an City. Expect some plot twist I might say.
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go watch ??
i started this with no expectations but it was good. for a short drama the acting was perfect. the storyline was decent and the chemistry was also perfect. I enjoyed it. not draggy that's one main good thing. the care and teasing between them cherry on top. the main actors I have seen them somewhere different from vertical dramas to long dramas and they're really good. love them.go watch. you will enjoy. you will laugh and cry a bit. it's well balanced and good
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I'm disappointed...?
I was really hyped to watch this mainly because of Ryusei Yokohama. He's one of my favorite Japanese actors, so I had pretty high expectations.But, unfortunately, I ended up disappointed.
At first, I found the story pretty cringe. It was the typical mysterious, pushy guy and a female lead who's constantly trying to figure him out while practically throwing herself at him. Still, I decided to give it a chance to see where things between Ren and Miu would go.
What actually surprised me was that the show wasn't just about their romance. It also explored the love stories of other characters, and honestly? I found those WAY more interesting than the main couple's relationship.
Hikari and So, for example, had a much more interesting romance. I really wish we'd gotten to see more of them. Their relationship felt healthy and genuine, and I genuinely enjoyed watching them together.
As for Ren and Miu... their relationship started off pretty meh, got better for a while, and then ended terribly.
And poor Ruki. Of course, Miu wasn't obligated to like him back or reciprocate his feelings, but she definitely took advantage of his kindness. She even acknowledges that it's easy to benefit from someone's kindness when you're going through a difficult time, and that's exactly what she did. I think it was really unfair of her to give Ruki false hope.
I also didn't like what they did with Chiaki, Ren's longtime friend. She was initially introduced as the typical romantic rival, only for us to later discover that she was dealing with a serious issue, which eventually drove Ren and Miu apart. It almost felt like the writers were trying to turn her into some kind of villain.
And I especially disliked how she made Ren feel guilty for not reciprocating her feelings. Just because she'd been in love with him for 15 years doesn't mean he owed her anything. He wasn't obligated to return feelings he never shared in the first place.
And speaking of Miu, I found it pretty ironic that she had gone through such a painful breakup, one that clearly left her emotionally scarred, yet she still let her guard down around Ren and ended up putting herself through another painful situation. You'd think she'd be more cautious after everything she'd already experienced.
Anyway, despite all my complaints about the story, I have to give credit where it's due. The production was genuinely great. The locations were gorgeous, the color grading was beautiful, the soundtrack was really nice, and the actors did an amazing job too.
It's just a shame that the main romance didn't live up to the rest of the show.
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This review may contain spoilers
7/10
Am I the only one who found it awkward at first...and the chemistry could've been portrayed better ...idk I kept feeling like something was missing. The affection was there...but almost not enough. The kisses always felt half assed and they didn't even let us enjoy the teetan couple 😭😭The point where they finally realized they had feelings for eachother was unclear.
Also one major thing that I hope am not the only one that noticed, charm played by film ...his expression was so creepy at times. Even when it's not a creepy scene I couldn't figure out if he was doing that on purpose or not. Like even when he was smiling it was so creepy 😭😭 I wish I could attach the pics cuz I took too many screenshots.
To be honest usually I'd be excited to watch the next episode, but this drama felt like a mild one for me, with the suspense about the story. Which wasn't that surprising at the end.
Loved it regardless!
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Career 10/10; Romance 4/10
The story was a lot more interesting when it focused on her career. I loved seeing how hardworking, smart, ambitious, and ruthless she could be when necessary. However, once the romance creeps in, the pace slows down, and it gets kinda boring. Yoh..! I was so bored during those last three episodes. Also, imagine my surprise at the third-act breakup in the very last episode—definitely didn't expect that.While the romance wasn't the most exciting part of the drama, and I don't think the leads had much chemistry, it was nice to see a mature love story. Theirs was a relationship built on mutual respect. For an age-gap drama where he's about 10 years older, I really appreciated that. In fact, I think this is the first age-gap story I’ve actually liked. Usually, they have a weird, infantilizing, or predatory vibe that completely puts me off. That's why I typically prefer noona dramas—at least the ones I've seen don't have that issue.
The other two romances were... interesting. I loved seeing Lin find companionship after her divorce, but I'm skeptical about her marrying him. He cares about her, but the way he runs his mouth makes me doubt they'll last very long.
As for Bu Tianna’s "1% love story," I didn't think it would or even deserved to get a happy ending, but I'm kinda glad it did. Okay, maybe 80% glad. It ends with him utterly in love with her despite everything she brings to the table, but he’s already admitted to being a scheming person. What happens 20 years down the line? Will his love endure and keep his scheming ways at bay?
Final Thoughts
All in all, if you want to watch a story about an ambitious woman who uses hard work to realize her goals—and happens to find love along the way—this is a good pick. It’s a one-time watch, but a good one nonetheless.
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