Reviews

Things no one mentioned...

Saw this on Amazon Prime and apparently they "purchased" or "leased" it from Tencent...because in the final 6 episodes, including one that lasts 106 minutes, 4 of the episodes have utterly shit Machine Ai English translations. Horrible. I was outraged that my wonderful C-Drama was now unintelligble. I suffered through it simply because I had invested so much time already, but there's no excuse for this kind of thing. F you Tencent, and F You Amazon Prime for not checking the product before you bought it and then advertised it for us.
Anyways, this is a good drama. I won't say it's a masterpiece because much of it doesn't land, as the saying goes. For one thing, the last 2 episodes it suddenly goes "Wacky". SPOILER...you didn't need Gong Bao to win the lottery and then comically plunge to his death. over a small bridge. (He for sure would have survived, btw) And Wang Xiang finds a baby abandoned by the tracks (Aka Wnag Bei) I mean come on. Both these devices are heavy handed. And was Wang Xiang raising another boy because he lost his own son, really important to the series? Sure you could argue...oooh, it kept him alive having a new baby to take care of after the death of his wife and son. Yeah, fine, but let's be honest...the way that Wang Bei was incorporated into the series made us ALL think he was a ghost, not real for a few episodes;that Wang Xiang had made him up to take the place of his own son. Okay maybe some never thought this, but I sure as hell did...and it wasn't until a few episodes in that I was like, okay, so he's really his 2nd "son"? Got it. But then we don't even know if he's another baby BORN AFTER Wang Yang's death or whatever. I mean there's enough mystery happening that to have this kid introduced as well was just kinda meh. Especially since Wang Xiang didn't seem to be as doting and involved and clingy with the kid as we expected. I didn't like having to winder for probably 10 of the 12 episodes how this Wang Bei came into his life.
Gong Bao was definitely insufferable. Great actor, everyone loves the actor, but his character is definiely an a-hole. Not someone I'd want to be around. Not a decent guy and just cause he's funny and embarassing doesn't make him - for me - someone to root for. And Wang Xiang was a shit to his wife, a bully really, barking orders and being master to slave. I don't care if the guy's cuddly and cute and a lovable actor...I saw the character not the actor, and the character was a typical shitheel to his wife, and I didn't like seeing that. And of course was a dick to his son as well - and yadda yadda yadda - he suffered for his actions all those years after his son died, we know, but you don't get my sympathy. Be respectful and loving to your wife!! And try to understand your son, not bully him. Consistency is relationships dude. A hug every now and then doesn't make up for all the times you were a jerk.
The series also short changes Shen Mo. They made the old guys the main protagonists but nothing happens without Shen Mo's story. She's the catalyst.. And her story is far more tragic than wang xiang's. Far more. She spends her youth without her deaf brother because her frantic and unsettled aunt sends him away, and then she has to endure being sexually assaulted - raped to put it bluntly - by her Uncle for years. Then a so-called friend drugs her and hands her over to LU who rapes her.
Ya know what...I totally understand why she killed LU. And the friend that drugged her she killed too. An example of why they short changed - or were afraid of having us really ROOT for Shen Mo's actions - is that they didn't flashback to her killing that son of a bitch Uncle. All series long I was waiting to see her get her revenge, to see in his eyes how she got pay back, but they never showed that. I don't know if it's a censor thing or an artistic choice, but sorry...my allegiance the whole drama was to Shen Mo. She was my main storyline and the fact they didn't show her killing that asshole of an uncle, makes me think the creators didn't realize her impact and that our sympathies could very well have been with her. Watching the montage of characters at the end of the series, they hardly key in on Shen Mo and that was wrong. Her story affected me way more than Wang Xiang's.
Another thing that wasn't done well was that it sure as hell seemed like there were 2 or even 3 dismembered bodies. They made it seem like it was a serial killer case...only who were the other ones? Yong Hi, the female friend was the only one dismembered. LU was incinerated in a 1000 degree fire. The Uncle was found in their apartment. So tell me, series creators, who were the other bodies that were dismembered? Why make it seem like there was a serial killer...if there wasn't?
Lastly...Those thugs who kept coming back to beat up the deaf brother and his friend, should really have been beaten up for good. I didn't like that they got away with beating the crap out of those 2. I wanted to see their cowardly "leader" get his once and for all. And by the way...sorry Series director...but in that huge fight scene you stupidly have that gang leave their expensive helmets behind in the video hall. There's no way 6 or 7 thugs will do that. They'd pick up their expensive helmets and take them with them.
So I liked the series, but I had problems with it....as you can tell.

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I've been sleeping on a masterpiece

I must admit this has been on my watchlist for so long because I was struggling to convince myself to do so even though I've seen all the edits, the reviews, and the recommendations. I guess knowing now about the issue of the MC that's a difficult decision to make. However, I decided to give it a try today. Figured maybe the key is to not look beyond the character, forget the actor behind it and just enjoy the series.

And I guess that was the way to do it.

No one really thinks that two boys with different backgrounds would be just as broken inside as with our leads here—one who grew up being battered taking the blows of his deadbeat father, and one who suffers in silence with his parents not being present and always demand the best from him. All it took was a chance encounter and the rest was the whole series. I think this is the first time in a while that I cried at an episode. I don't know why but Episode 7 made me feel the helplessness and all of the thoughts that were racing in Hirukawa's mind. I'm glad he had the courage to step away from all of the pain and chose to continue with his life, with his promise that he will live a good one.

So he did. I love the choice of emotions when they met again. It was so natural how they didn't know what to say or do at that moment. I'm glad they had a second chance at the love they both deserved. And yes, hopefully the law WILL change.

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Experiencing a lifetime

If you are a sucker for a great OST, story line, and love reading between lines this series is for you. I really didnt expect much when I started this series, but every episode had me hooked and looked forward for more.
As a fan of 1.25x speed and fast forward buttons, I haven't had a chance to use them for this series. The only moments that I might have missed were the ones where I was wiping my tears. This series actually gave us viewers a roller coaster of emotions and they can do it on a single episode. I seriously cant put it in a lot of words but this series gave us the POV of Lanxiang as she navigates through life while just wanting to live and survive, and in turn giving everyone around her a chance to life a peaceful life as well.

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Your Summer, My Disappointment

Honestly, it is hard to dislike this story and its characters. It is a gentle narrative that initially suggests one premise. Conversely, it is equally uncomfortable to fully embrace because to takes a disappointing turn. For me, it simply exists. Neither good nor bad – presenting a slice-of-life of a young man who discovers sentiments for the first time that he cannot fully understand nor comprehend. And those feelings are for another male who happens to be his tutor, compounded by the belief that he thinks the tutor is his sister’s ‘boyfriend’ and straight. Quite a dilemma. The disquietness about this series is its lack of clarity. In and of itself, that would not necessarily be a problem or an issue but if you are trying to explore what you are feeling about another person, then do so. The series implied that neither character was able—or ever likely—to confront those feelings. Subsequently, for me, it became nothing more than a cute story that went nowhere. Both exchanged on an intellectual basis some sense of connection, but it never transitioned over into an emotional level – at all. It got to the edge but never became real to either one. There is a greater emotional connection to the dog as a comparison. Yet, the series presents well. The dog is adorable. And the parents, with their middle-age mini-crisis about their own relationship is adorably presented along with their own enlightenment of seeing that their son is gay. Yet with all the fluff that is around, the story forgot to give us a yoke – a connection we could hold onto. Cuteness does not translate into fervency nor even a sense of desire. For that, you need some sort of action to go with the words. There were none here. Thus, this series is simply here. I got nothing out of it.

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there's a fine line between love that is not perfect and a narcissist love

I honestly don't know how I feel about this drama
• I don't hate on the people who loved this drama or the actors actually the acting and the cast was super good but I didn't like it as a plot, and it gave me such an uncomfortable feeling about them and about love in general. The relationship is toxic on ANOTHER level. He's not just harsh or "not perfect"— he's controlling, constantly puts her down, calls her stupid, calls her cheap with no solid ground, and at some points I genuinely wanted to slap him through the screen And I honestly don't even think he actually likes her??
There was this scene where she gave an
AMAZING speech and, for a moment, he looked genuinely proud of her... and then suddenly his eyes changed complete opposite like he's angry that other people complements her. Like???
WHAT are we doing?? The relationship was actually good in the beginning, but the further we got, the more toxic it became, and it started giving me such an unsettling feeling. I genuinely don't understand people who loved them as a couple. BUT HERE'S THE PROBLEM... Part of me was still want to like it somehow
I had almost the same feeling I had while watching Nevertheless(k-drama) - except this time I was angrier and even more confused. Somehow, I was still wanted him to be good. It feels like he's not only playing with her, he's playing with US too like we want to belive that he's a good partner I genuinely think he’s a good person but not a partner.
And his personality shift??? I genuinely don't understand where that came from. Especially around episode 19 — there was this whole shift,
and then the very next episode he was basically back to his toxic self again?? Sir, PICK A PERSONALITY🤨
Also, the communication in this
drama is basically nonexistent. Half of their problems could've been solved by ONE normal conversation. So yeah... I disliked the relationship, I was angry at them, uncomfortable with them, confused by them... and somehow STILL couldn't completely stop watching because i wanted them to be good togther. I desperately miss my green-flag C-drama boys after this overdose of toxicity because WHAT WAS THAT😭
and for people who say love is not perfect I agree it's not. but there's a fine line between love that is not perfect and a narcissist who acts like a not perfect person in love.
this drama is not realistic love it's toxic love

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Dragging too long

The story is light hearted,simple and predictable, which is not necessarily a bad thing if presented well. With such a stellar cast,all good looking and excellent actors yet, it's just dragged out too long. 20episodes would have been plenty enough

Cdrama producers think that if they made it long and "arty"it becomes a good product but there's hardly any script worth dragging for so long
I spent the whole time fast forwarding the drama and still couldn't get through it. The attempts at being funny isn't funny at all because it's too long!!!!!

Quality is better than quantity!!!!

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one of the masterpiece drama this year! ✨

Drama ini ditulis dengan begitu rapi,kokoh dan begitu indah. Tiap dialog dan juga tiap karakter yang ada di drama ini seakan hidup dan kita sebagai penonton merasa seperti terbawa bersama tiap kisah yang disuguhkan oleh tiap karakter yang ada di drama ini.
Alurnya begitu mengalir sehingga, kita bisa meresapi tiap momen yang diberikan drama ini dengan berbagai macam perasaan yang begitu penuh. Drama ini juga dengan sempurnanya membawakan tiap konflik sosial yang berhubungan dengan wanita dari berbagai sisi stigma,norma, dan hukum yang ada.
Penulis menggambarkan tiap konflik itu dengan tulisan yang membuat kita sebagai penonton dan juga sebagai wanita itu sendiri merasa terikat dan memahami kisah tiap wanita yang ada di drama ini dengan cara menggambarkannya dengan tiap kata,sikap dan gestur yang apik.
Persoalan diluar women empowerment pun juga ditulis dengan seimbang dan tidak begitu berlebihan. Semuannya begitu pas dan mengena dihati.
Againts The Current is really one of the masterpiece drama in 2026 ✨

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Why did we have to see less of the speed and more of the love drama?

I admit, I finished this for him. He is cute, cute, cute and when they are in Thailand, his looks of bad boy where almost hypnotic. The kisses are some of the best in C dramas ever, and their chemistry is truly off the charts.

But, other than that, it's not very redeemable. It felt like they were not even telling the story of the same people at the beginning and end.

At the beginning, she was learning about cars, driving, getting involved in the dangerous world he belonged to, but then , he gets into his accident. Up until then she was becoming interesting. It's like they didn't know what she should become so she becomes an insult to female astrophysicists everywhere, if she liked the moon so much, they should have dressed her as the moon and not give her a job, that has not even a description. They didn't built a character that's believable in a space observatory environment. Other than being very beautiful and yeah, she's likeable, there aren't any other traits. She always acts like a child in front of the male lead, she uses very strange lies to test him, I don't understand any self respecting adult, being portrayed that way.

They didn't build any connections for her to anyone, other than the ML. Like she goes to Thailand, to meet her estranged dad, but we don't see any real meaningful interactions with her father or the family he has now. Which by the way, is very lovely, (wife and daughter, the dad also didn't get any moment to shine). The friends she makes there, either, other than San Lai, also have no real reason to exist. And the woman that was so much into ML, she is one of the interesting characters, actually, they did develop some rapport with her, until it broke, but that was ok.

We have a super wasted Mike D'Angelo... I'm not even gonna get started on that, not a clue why that character existed.

ML, yes, he's gorgeous (the scar under his eye... wow!), talented and sacrifices like a good drama hero, in the most cruel way, for the sake of viewers angst, I guess.

Sang Lai, can't say anything bad about him. Great guy, wished we had learned more about him.

I feel like people will say, why did you watch it then?, well, I can't drop things. And it did look promising before the accident. It makes you want to visit the city they were at. People mentioned cinematography, always a fan of good cinematography and that it has. But then it became something else.. They had 29 episodes, they could have used most of them to create a good, solid story about the "Speed" part of the title. And give us a summery about the "love" part.

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Monotonous

The story has a lot of messages,eg it is ok to date younger guys,ok to date divorcée,ok to have premarital sex,ok for men to Cook,ok for men to understand menstrual problems, how to handle former relationships etc etc All very good messages
HOWEVER it's as slow and as boring as hell

Seo in guk has such charisma and attractive,fun, naughty attitude in his other role which they have totally missed out on

The FL is as unsexy as a piece of stone,what men would fall for her? At least have a fun hairstyle Some red lipstick , eye shadow. And some colour in the cheeks. She's just plain,, pale, unexciting,unsexy and boring.She's so plain that she actually looks good with glasses!!! At least there's added features and "fun"looks in that. The second female lead is so much more fun and sexy looking!!!
Whoever styled this FL should be sacked

I had to abandon it halfway. It's too boring to carry on

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Give it a try yourself

Don't go by me. I didn't love it. I thought the scenarios were implausible (you have a special gate, and that just happens to be the one all the problem people come through). It quickly became repetitive.

The FL seemed creepy to me. Being on the spectrum, she was able to see/focus on things that others couldn't, but she kept moving quietly around and sneaking up on people. It was weird.

And can we talk about the dubbing of the actors speaking other languages? That was very off-putting. Why didn't they just use subtitles?

There were numerous people that were WAY overacting (not the mains, thankfully).

I was glad that it wasn't a lot of episodes, and glad when I finished it.

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Didn’t Expect to Enjoy This

Finally finished Glory and honestly… I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this.

Going in, I was a little worried I’d get bored because there’s quite a lot of family drama, which normally isn’t really my thing. But somehow, the story was actually pretty enjoyable and kept me interested. The family drama didn’t feel as painful to watch as I expected, and I ended up getting quite invested in what was happening.

I also really liked the dynamic between the leads. It was actually refreshing to see the FL being the more capable/experienced one and basically taking care of the ML for once. HAHAHA. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a drama where the ML gets mommed by the FL this much, and honestly… I liked it for this case hehe.
And yes, both leads are VERY easy on the eyes.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this much more than I expected. Not my usual type of drama, but somehow it worked for me. Definitely a pleasant surprise!

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This drama left me with something much more profound than any other dramas I’ve watched this year

I have very mixed feelings about this drama. I genuinely can’t describe how much I love it while also wishing they had done certain parts differently.

For one, I understand that this is Lan Xiang’s story, but did we really need all those little events right up until her death? I feel like they tried to squeeze in so many side incidents that were interesting but not entirely necessary, and it ended up cramping the story. So many things happened, and everything was introduced and resolved so quickly.

Then we have the time skips. After watching this, I realise I can accept at most 2 time skips - at the start (from childhood to adulthood) and then maybe one at the end. This drama had too MANY time skips, the pacing felt very off.

But my biggest regret is that, because the story was so cramped with all these other events and time skips, they completely overlooked the development of the main couple’s relationship. They showed us how much ML loves FL and how initially he was wrong and she hated his way of getting her to marry him. Then stayed very cold towards him right until she found out ML was the one who set up her family grave. To appreciate that but still not tell him her true identity was so wrong. But she still insisted that their paths are different then suddenly he quits his job and they sleep together?? Like what??

You spend so much time building up this emotional distance between them, only to completely gloss over the little moments where she gradually starts falling for him before they eventually consummate their marriage five years later. That was such a terrible storytelling decision. The producer/writer could have given us so much more of their emotional development, but instead, one of the most important parts of their relationship happens almost entirely off-screen.

And then there’s the ML discovering her identity on his own. The way he eventually reaches that conclusion felt a bit too stretched to me. Honestly, the drama had already shown us that he is definitely not THAT clever, so it was difficult for me to buy into how he suddenly pieced everything together.

That said, I absolutely loved LX and her relationships with her parents and her group of maids. Those relationships were beautifully done. You could really feel the love, warmth, and familiarity between them.

Which is why it was so sad to see that, even towards the end, her relationship with the ML felt simply respectful but still emotionally distant. It almost felt like this was a deliberate choice by the production team. As if they were telling us that Lan Xiang accepted him and accepted the life they had together, but she was never truly head over heels in love with him and that honestly broke my heart a little. The ML loved her so deeply right until the very end. He wanted her in every lifetime, while Lan Xiang never seemed to reach that same level of overwhelming love for him. It reminded me a little of Ming Lan and Gu Ting Ye (in The Story of Minglan), especially the way GTY was frustrated by how Ming Lan was always so respectful and accepting of everything he said and did. He didn’t just want her obedience or acceptance, he wanted her to genuinely love him, to be irrational and jealous over him, to care enough to lose her composure. We never really got that growth in Lan Xiang’s love for the ML.

And as someone who has always wanted that kind of overflowing, all-consuming love in life/relationship, that made me sad. Because, unfortunately, it also felt realistic. The ML chose her forcefully in the beginning, and even after everything they went through, he never quite received the kind of love from her that he had given her.

So why is this still a 9/10 for me?

Because this is the first drama in a long time that actually made me sit down and think about my own life after finishing it. The last third of the drama moved so quickly, with one thing happening after another, and strangely, that made me think about how life itself works. Things happen. Some complications get resolved, others don’t and time keeps moving regardless. And then suddenly, you’re old and dying, looking back at your life and hoping you can honestly say that you've lived as well as you could, spent your time wisely, and don’t have too many regrets or “what ifs.” It made me ask myself if I'm I actually living that kind of life? Because if I’m being honest, I don’t think I am. I’m in my late 20s now, and when I look back at my 20s, what I remember most is feeling depressed for large parts of it. Every year seems to have been a cycle of fluctuating emotions and periods of feeling low. I binge one drama after another, go to work mainly for the money even though I don’t enjoy it, and somehow the years just keep passing. Watching this drama made me realise how frighteningly easy it is to let life simply happen to you.

So despite all my complaints about the pacing, the time skips, and the lack of development in the main couple’s relationship, this drama left me with something much more profound than most of the dramas I’ve watched this year, even the ones with far better-written love stories. It made me rethink the way I’m living my own life. So despite everything, it’s still a 9 for me.


Special mention: Limeng's Zhao Xing Tang was absolutely AMAZING. I hate her but also pity her. How she made me understand the why behind her actions. Amazing acting. I'm so proud of Limeng lolol for making a side character so powerful. I'd been rooting for her without realising right until the end! I honestly hope she gets a main role soon, she deserves it.

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Shadow Punisher is one of the most anticipated dramas of the year, but it failed to live up to expectations.

Plot:
The pacing is far too slow, averaging about 5 episodes to solve a single case. This makes the pacing drag even further due to the heavy amount of filler, which makes case-solving feel tedious. There are quite a few comedic elements that help break the tension, but they only appear in the early episodes. After episode 10, the comedy completely disappears—or if it's there, it's nowhere near as funny as in the beginning. A mystery drama should deliver surprises seasoned with thriller elements, especially since the beginning of the story features cases blended with thriller and horror vibes. After that, the cases become less interesting, and side characters arguably shouldn't have been given backstories, especially when the main character's backstory feels shorter than the side characters's.
Furthermore, the character writing for Meng Rui is frustrating. He is supposed to be a detective, yet he acts reckless, restless, and impulsive—attempting to kill two suspects and shouting at a witness whose mental health is fragile and sensitive after witnessing her caregiver's death. Such unprofessionalism makes viewers wonder how he ever became an investigator, and it really distracts fans who enjoy serious investigative stories.

Acting:
The overall acting of the cast is average, with only Luo Yunxi and He Hongshan standing out as good.

- Luo Yunxi always delivers flawless acting with rich micro-expressions. However, in this drama, it feels like something is holding him back, making his performance look less than maximized. Even so, Luo Yunxi still manages to bring his character to life and makes the drama look better.

- Fang Yilun’s acting is very flat and expressionless; he constantly wears an angry expression, yet it remains completely deadpan. Even though his voice actor is good, it still couldn't save his acting quality.

- Shen Yujie’s acting is a bit lacking, but still watchable.

- He Hongshan gives a good performance, capable of creating intense tension with her co-stars, especially in scenes with Luo Yunxi.

-The actor playing Luo Tianming is also lacking, while the veteran actors do a good job.

BGM / Music:
The background music is sometimes misplaced. In my opinion, during sad scenes, it is better to use ambient BGM rather than an OST, because the OST tracks pop up suddenly and stop abruptly without a proper resolution.

Overall:
Mediocre story; mediocre acting except for Luo Yunxi and He Hongshan. The BGM/OST is somewhat misplaced and fails to properly support the mood and atmosphere.

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If you're in the mood for a fast-paced prison thriller with plenty of tension and action, Black Island Prison may hit the spot.

Plot : Set in a lawless border zone, Black Island Prison centers on two men trapped inside a brutal offshore prison: Lian Ming, an undercover cop trying to dismantle a dark missing-persons and crime network from the inside, and Wen Bang, an ex-special forces veteran driven into the prison to save an innocent family.
Forced to survive against ruthless inmate factions and corrupt prison authorities, these two rivals must put aside their distrust and form an alliance to break open the truth and make it out alive.

What Works Well
** Chemistry between the dynamic duo.
** Short and fast pace drama.
** Constant threat of exposure keeps the tension dialed up almost every episode.

Downsides
** It relies heavily on standard undercover and prison drama clichés—if you are a seasoned viewer of crime thrillers, you will likely predict several major plot twists well in advance.
** The drama has overly dark tone, no comic relief or sub-plot.
** Side Characters are thinly developed.
** Certain action sequences, prison security lapses, and survival feats border on cinematic exaggeration rather than realistic prison conditions.

If you have time and nothing else to watch, give it a try.

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