Reviews

If you stick around for the story, it's not that bad

I see a lot of the negative reaction was a result of the initial episodes. I wondered if 1st impression would taint the rest of the show, in case the story would come through. Several episodes in, it became apparent this new drama is having a hard time letting the past go. There are a lot of flashbacks to old key scenes from Princess Agents, re-enacted by the new cast which made me wonder how much was invested in continuing a new story.

The first few eps follow all the of major characters from Princess Agents as they try to reposition themselves but no truly new developments arise. Even a wedding day sabatoge is repeated once more.

Anyway, it seems the story writing isn't the only thing not well invested in as poor special effects & cinematography were glaring in the first few episodes. In fact, the lake ice in the 1st episode looked as fake as it did in 2017, as if continuing the story from that point was taken so seriously that 9 subsequent yrs of CGI development could be ignored. Yan Xun's costuming & hairstyling is quite a step down from his appearance in PA; there's not much regal about him at all.

After Ep 6 there's a change in the production: the cinematography suddenly looked crisper & sharper. I started to feel that this was becoming its own show, completely separate from the original it tried to crawl out of. But a familiar storyline began emerging, with Chu Qiao now hitching to Li Ce's cause in the same vein as when she supported Yan Xun. I began to wonder if Chu Qiao ever does become her own person instead of always supporting the ambitions of men who would never elevate her above themselves. Her character got annoying as she became a football tossed between Yan Xun & ZGY. However, I'm glad I stuck it out because it did become it's own show which actually got quite interesting toward the end, but not without the huge price of an astronomical body count.

I don't have an issue with new casting because of the time lapsed (the former leads are almost 40 after all) & I actually like Li YunRui. As for Huangyang Tian Tian's young age, she does look strikingly similar to the insanely baby-faced Zhao LiYing of 2017, & I believe there was an implied age gap in the original story. But her range was very limited & she couldn't portray the 6 yrs of what should have been tremendous growth in the character.

And why are there so many close up shots of the actors looking directly at the camera while delivering their lines? The long stares with slo-mo flowing hair. This technique is so overplayed as to be almost comical. In fact, there are very few camera angles through most of the entire show, with only a handful of artful scenes. The acting & dialogue in general was stiff & choppy, which is not the fault of the actors. In fact, I got used to it as the story came through & it just became an individual characteristic of this show. The music also sounded like 10 yr old generic tracks, a reminder of the feel of the original show.

I would've expected a lot more from the director of The Double (2025). It's better off standing on its own as a drama rather than trying to carry on a legacy. The character development could've been deeper, otherwise the drama on the whole was a bit superficial. Watch it just to see what happens to everyone as the story eventually did get interesting & exciting. The finale, however, was lacklustre.

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A rare find in the time slip jungle: A drama you won’t fast‑forward, where consistency shines

I’m just realizing that a good drama doesn’t need to hinge on one heavily scrutinized trait—technical or otherwise. Honestly, I’m not sure if this review will make perfect sense, but here’s what I mean: this drama isn’t flawless, yet I’ve been struggling to find one that’s simply good (average at best) without hitting that discouraging midway slump where I want to drop it. And now, I’ve finally found a series that I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish, without the urge to fast forward through scenes. That’s rare these days.

What I love most is its simplicity. No frills, no smoke curtains to disguise a weak plot. It’s straightforward, respects its audience, and keeps the pacing tight.

The writing isn’t perfect, but it’s consistent. No filler arcs, no unnecessary love lines. Even the flashbacks and sharp scene transitions, while imperfect, don’t ruin the experience.

The characters are written honestly. They’re perceived exactly as they are, without forcing the audience to see them a certain way. The leads are mature, communicate well, and stay in sync without overexplaining every unresolved issue. They’re smart and scheming, but never cross into that frustrating “borderline evil” trope.

And that plot twist, wow!!! I didn’t see it coming, and the best part is it wasn’t overhyped. It landed naturally, blew me away, and still made perfect sense!

As for the time slip trope, in most Cdramas, it is treated as a mere crutch, like a device to make it seem like there’s more depth when it’s really just an accessory. But here, it finally has purpose, woven into the story in a way that elevates the narrative.

In the end, I’m just really happy. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride without skipping scenes, which is reason enough for me to give it a high rating.

Also… Zhang Wan Yi, please go back to Hengdian!!!!!!

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The story lost me. The leads refused to.

Love Beyond the Grave and I had a complicated relationship from the start. I absolutely love the xianxia genre and its spirit worlds. But this one wraps itself in a Halloween vibe that never quite lets up, and that is a different thing entirely, not my natural habitat. I kept watching anyway, mostly out of stubbornness, partly because Dilraba and Arthur Chen were doing things on screen that made dropping it feel like a personal loss.

So I stayed. Not because the story earned it, but because they did.

For roughly twenty-nine episodes I was a hostage. A comfortable one, granted, because the costumes alone justify the watch and the OST is the kind of haunting that follows you into your week. But emotionally? The doom was suffocating, the angst relentless, and I spent most of it wondering how I got there.

Then episode thirty happened. He Si Mu finally lets him in, and suddenly twenty-nine episodes of patience made sense. The romance, when it arrives, is beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measure. It does not fix the ending, which is exactly as doomed as it promised to be from the start. But it made me feel something I had been waiting for since episode one.

The costume team, by the way, did not come to play Whoever designed those outfits was on a mission and clearly had no intention of being stopped. Neither did the leads. Everything else? That is between me and my complicated feelings.

7/10. The story was not for me. I finished it anyway.

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stuck in self proof

Before commenting on my review, I should note that I watched Kill Boksoon first, so I was already familiar with the world this show created. Since Mantis is a sequel/spin-off, it wasn’t difficult for me to get into the story. Kill Boksoon mainly focused on the life of assassins — their training, missions, and how they deal with the aftermath of killing. It’s the type of story that requires audiences to be emotionally prepared for dark and intense themes. Because Kill Boksoon focused heavily on action and fight scenes, I was curious about what direction Mantis would take.

After finishing it, I think it makes sense that the show focused more on the emotional side of being a killer rather than only the action. The story explores the characters’ emotional struggles and insecurities, which I know some audiences may find difficult to connect with. Personally, though, I really liked this aspect because it allowed me to understand the complexity of the characters’ inner feelings instead of only seeing their surface-level motivations and performances.

One of the most interesting parts of the story is how Dok Go projects his own emotional insecurity onto Jae Yi. This becomes the main reason Jae Yi traps herself in the mindset that she will never be as good as Mantis. What makes this even more tragic is that this belief is not originally Dok Go’s own idea — it comes from MK. Dok Go admires MK so much that he accepts his opinion without questioning it. Because he sees similarities between himself and Jae Yi, he ends up passing that insecurity onto her as well.

Even though Jae Yi clearly defeated Mantis during their match, the seniors still believed she would lose if they used real blades. They underestimated her ability and made assumptions without giving her a fair chance. Dok Go later repeats the same behavior. Even when Jae Yi requests a real blade fight, he refuses because he has already convinced himself of the outcome. The sad part is that Jae Yi would rather accept an honest defeat than live with people assuming she would lose. This becomes the reason she constantly feels the need to prove herself until she finally kills Dok Go.

Mantis also suffers emotionally. He feels guilty for being chosen while Jae Yi was rejected, even though she won. He never truly understands why the seniors made that decision. Because of this guilt, he spends his life trying to protect and support her, often holding himself back because he is afraid of hurting her feelings. Ironically, this is not what Jae Yi actually wants. If Mantis had defeated her fairly, she probably would have accepted the result and worked harder to improve openly instead of becoming trapped in a cycle of proving herself.

In the end, both Mantis and Jae Yi are victims of the emotional pressure created by the older generation. Jae Yi desperately wants to prove she deserved to be chosen, while Mantis keeps trying to support her in ways that unintentionally make her pain worse. This emotional complexity is what made the show so appealing to me.

That said, I still wish the series had given Jae Yi and Mantis more memorable fight scenes because their emotional conflict was strong enough to deserve even bigger action moments.

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Yawn! And I had high hopes for this too!!

This was extremely boring!! This BL felt all over the place and it seemed to skip out on a good plot. I adore Zee and NuNew, but this BL; just wasn't it. Slow and steady doesn't always win the race and that's so obvious judging with how this turned out. Slow burn romance, abuse, a masochist, a narcissist Prince. I mean, what was the point of creating this series. Just to make serious BL fans angry 😡? Well, it worked! I'm so disappointed with this TV series.

I was pretty invested in the second couple as their story seemed more dramatic. The acting was subpar, but the chemistry on the second pair seemed genuine

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Beautifully Crafted with Depth and Imagery

This was a very interesting series that held my attention from beginning to end. At first, the story seemed as though it might become an ordinary girl meets boy...or better said....girl meets demon, girl falls in love with demon...love story. But as the story unfolds, the twists and turns, the subplots and side stories, create a world of fantastic imagination embellished with beautiful imagery.

I will make this review short and to the point. It was beautifully scripted. The juxtaposition of the present with the Joseon period of Korea gave the series an unexpected...and masterfully crafted...depth.

There will always be people who cruelly criticize....berate....brilliant series. Perhaps such vitriol gives them a sense of unbridled power over the actors. Perhaps it gives them a sense of ultimate control not only over the production but of the world of viewers themselves. For whatever illogical reasons these people choose to dismantle works of cinematic art, just ignore them. If the trailer beckons you, follow it...follow the series to its end. You will not regret my advice.

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I'll take one of everything

As a woman who also appreciates boyish charm and looks from the 25-35 range, the first thing about this series that gained my appreciation was the age gap. It's one of the tropes I loved about My Dear Lady and Dating in the Kitchen. And there is something about historic CDramas and KDramas that draw me in every time. Pretty sure it's the romanticized costumes and anti-tech that gets me. I did find this series a little stretched for what it was. I think this would have been just as good done over 10 episodes rather than 12, but it wasn't so much that I felt super annoyed. If you are someone who enjoys watching cooking competitions, I really think you will like the way she describes each of the dishes she cooks when she presents them. I will say, I thought we were building up to a secondary couple with the chef's assistant and the assassin, but it never actually took off. Still I found plenty of action to keep the story moving, and I really loved the way they wrapped it all up. I don't know that I will watch this one again, but I am happy to have watched it at least once.

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Don't Waste your time!

I was really excited about this one going in, especially because the prequel was so successful and set the bar pretty high. But honestly, I couldn’t even get past episode one. It ended up being such a letdown. The actors seem talented and likable, but their performances were surprisingly difficult to connect with, which made it hard to get invested. On top of that, the plot just feels all over the place. It’s hard to follow, and nothing really pulls me in or makes me care about what’s happening. I also couldn’t connect with any of the characters, which made it even harder to stay engaged. I kept trying to focus, but my attention kept drifting because the story just didn’t grab me at all. I really wanted to like it, but it just didn’t work for me. This is the lowest rating I’ve ever given in my 10 years of watching dramas.

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With friends like that, who needs enemies ?

Friends who betray each other for money, what a basic plot… and yet devilishly well executed, with every episode managing to surprise. With friends like that, who needs enemies ?

A dark comedy whose nastiness makes it particularly gripping. The main couple find themselves at the center of it all, despite themselves, and get through it only by making serious compromises. In the end, they are merely pawns of the rich, and they know it, so they act accordingly. You might think you’ll find a little empathy in the heiress, but that’s quickly taken away from you. What happens to her is horrific, but her reaction is just as unacceptable, and she never takes her friends’ financial problems seriously ; to her, three million is nothing, but to them it makes all the difference. The epilogue offers a bitter conclusion, a somewhat unsatisfying resolution, but at least all the pretences have been laid bare.

In the midst of it all, poor Da Rae, the unfortunate girl, suffers greatly. She is the one who has truly been betrayed in this story. And she is used as an excuse to justify the worst possible acts, even though she asks for nothing.

Shim Eun Kyung/Yo Na comes across as rather creepy and cold-hearted at first. You never quite know where you stand with her. A really, really good character, played brilliantly to make her believable.

And finally, well done to Ha Jung Woo/Ki Su Jong for that free latte. At last ! However, those four scenes where he imagines or dreams up things that aren’t actually happening : I declare them illegal and refuse to put up with them.

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A Story That Barely Moves

Impossible to Imagine is the story of a woman who has contentedly painted herself into a corner in her life. She's running a business that has been handed down from generation to generation within her family and is on the verge of becoming obsolete due to the cultural and demographic changes in Kyoto. At the recommendation of a friend, she hires a business consultant to try and salvage the family business. He is half Japanese and half Australian and immediately offends her with his openness and willingness to examine what might be going wrong with her business. FL is a rigid traditionalist from the very first scene and to think of doing anything differently than she's always done it is offensive to her. But her desperation drives her to invite him back and continue to work with him. He offers some very workable solutions and she begins to cater to a more foreign born customer base. He serves as translator and emotional support when it's all too much for her, but he also creates the occasional problem by handling conflict in ways the locals find unacceptable. Despite this, they work well together and form an attachment that works for a while.
Eventually, his need to look to the future and to make changes and explore begins to feel like a constant threat to her need for everything to remain the same. The movie finishes with her and her father continuing to run the business with the added changes, but she breaks things off with the ML. Her complaint when they were together was that he wanted change to happen too fast. My complaint after watching the movie is that the character development was infinitesimal and story arc was pea sized. Maybe that was the director's point, to explore the cultural resistance to change that some areas in Japan are internally battling with, but man oh man, I wish there had been a more fruitful exploration. Imagine if the characters had learned that fear is the root of rigidity and that creativity can be employed to both preserve the loveliness of unique cultural expression and develop plans for adaptation to changing cultural tides. Imagine if she had taken the hand that offered to help her out of the corner she was painted into. Ugh. She denied the call to adventure and chose the safe and predictable option.
All that to say, the actors did well. They seemed like regular people that might actually exist. The technical side of the film was fairly amateur, but it didn't intrude into the story.

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