Reviews

Finally some black representation - oh, he's a homeless guy

Dropped after episode one.

Quite simply, black people in Japanese dramas are rare. However, here, a black person is used in the role of...a homeless person, who stops Koji from dumping his sandwich in the bin at the last second so that he can have it instead.

I may have missed any other black representation in the show by dropping it early, and I'm happy to be corrected, but this doesn't sit well with me. It's not hard to have made the producer of King Lear black, or the homeless man white, for example. Especially when there are no other black roles in the show.

Otherwise, big fan of Koji Yakusho, and I loved him in Cure and Doppelganger, but this is a show that would make even Ricky Gervais cringe. If you like slop like Extras, you'll likely lap up rubbish like this.

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When it rains, it pours....

Mid series review :
Dr. Liu Zheng Liang played by Xiao Zhan returns to his childhood hometown after losing a patient, getting fired, getting dumped by his girlfriend, giving up his car after an accident, and learning that his mother is missing. Once home, he has to deal with Liu Zheng Guang, his estranged brother's health crisis, the search for his mother, his brother's zany boss, and he gets manipulated into taking a job at a small community hospital.

Positives:
The acting from the ensemble cast is good. I enjoyed the relationship between Dr. Lui and his childhood best friend Chen Jun Nan.

Negatives:
At this point, I'm not completely sold on the love story plot between Dr. Liu and Ai Chen. They frankly seem like an unlikely pair with little in common. Not to mention her first instinct seems to be to hit him whenever she's displeased. Her family also seem sketchy with her klepto mother and slightly reformed mafia boss father. Also the actress who plays Ai Chen, she's been praised for her natural acting, but I don't find it natural it all. I guess it's "natural" when it's compared to your typical over the top idol actresses.

Looking forward to:
How Dr. Liu repairs his estranged relationship with his brother. And what his bestie Dr. Chen Jun Nam decides to do with his career.

I will likely continue watching and may edit my review at a later date.

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Started Strong… But Lost Focus

I enjoyed watching this show, but I can't give it more than 7.5-7.8/10, especially with that ending. It telt like they were trying to fit so many ideas into the show with so few episodes.

In the beginning, I really wanted to see Acho struggle with her new status as a noble after switching places with her look-alike, but she didn't. She fit in so well, too well. It gave off
"perfect character," because she knew how to do everything (embroidery, planning events, etiquette, writing, reading, etc.) As a viewer, it didn't feel believable considering her tragic past... and, yes, I do know the story is fiction.

Next, I think it was genuinely ridiculous how they tried passing off the girls as "cousins" instead of identical twins. I couldn't accept that explanation and found myself reeling in when everything came to light.

Furthermore, I cannot believe the ending. I have just finished watching the show and thought there would be another episode or so for closure. There isn't. That's it. Genuinely so unsatisfying. I'm not asking for a happy ending but I'm so upset they thought that would be enough closure for the audience

This might be niche but I genuinely hater camera work and occasional editing for show. SO many scenes felt distracting or ruined because of this. I don't know why it was so choppy but I've noticed the camera shaking, jump cuts, panned out first kiss scene. Like...it gets to a point. I genuinely felt rage-baited in episode 28 because of this.

BUT I do want to give it up for Tian Xi Wei.
She completely bodied her role (as usual.)
Phenomenal acting. She literally carried the entire show on her back. She has my respect
for that so imma give her, her flowers

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Deciding factors on whether this drama is for you or not.

First thing i must mention is that i have not read the manga/manhwa or webtoon which this drama is adapted from.So my opinion is solely on the 4 dropped episodes and comments from various social media clips.Initially i had no plans of watching the drama because of the historical fantasy tag(personal bias against mix of those two in live adaptations....i prefer reading that because i use my own imagination) Back to the topic,i ended up watching it due to various clips on IG and Youtube.To be honest it has stellar cast who are doing an amazing job for their characters,the cinematography is stunning,the set and wardrobe also top tier...But if you are not into historical fantasy,you will struggle watching it more so the European aspects of monarchy history.Don't get me wrong about historical fantasies because i have watched Gyeongseong Creature and The East Palace and enjoyed them,it just something about it had me struggling so i just ended up skipping to the scenes that seems interesting from shorts or reels.Maybe when i come back to see how the story ends i might be tempted to watch the last episodes,but as of now its in a watch list that if an episode i am not eager to watch it.

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A little disappointed

Now don’t get me wrong. Up until episode 4?5? I was genuinely enjoying this show. I needed that bit of light hearted comedy in my week but I must say it completely lost me.

As a person I already know Thai style comedy is a bit hit and miss for me! Usually this comes from cultural references I simply don’t know, but I am also not a huge comedy person.

The fact I was having the time of my life as the start is more than enough for me but I just felt the show dragged on in a way. I love the cast and was really looking forward to seeing Max and Nat in another series but I must’ve gotten my expectations a liiiittle too high.

Especially after DMD releasing a show like khemjira that did seriously well for what I would consider obvious reasons, I think they need to start taking all their releases seriously REGARDLESS of who’s acting in it.

For a light hearted watch it is good and will get a chuckle out of you for sure but it would not be a go to for me to recommend.

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Just as good as the first

Made in Korea Season 2 is in many ways just as good as the first season, albeit in different ways. The second season is definitely more rooted and focused on a set story which evolved and was connected from the first, whereas the start of the first season felt almost episode-based at points, which is nothing bad at all by the way, just pointing it out. Made in Korea Season 2 felt like a the right step, the best direction - like it was the best story, the best people, the best timing. The story was very interesting although not complex, it was unpredictable but not too unpredictable, the rivalries felt real, the friendship still felt golden although I think the friendship shone more in the first season, the acting again was for the most part, superb.

I also really enjoyed the OST and general directing, cinematography, editing styles and lighting effects - although the sound effects now thinking about it where a little awkward at times. The rewatch value here is lower than the other categories however on average I usually rate rewatch value lower than the average user, and this rewatch value score is still high in my books.

Whilst there were some things I did dislike about Made in Korea Season 2, actually, they are all just very minor things that now thinking about it, would be a bore to explain. They are all just 'what-if's' and honestly that's probably a sign that I was really into the story but wanted something a little different than what I got, which we can all do as an excited viewer.

I recommend everyone to watch Made in Korea Season 2.

If you have not watched Season 1 yet, you should watch that first, and this second. Jumping straight into this by only watching Season 2 is something I would not recommend.

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not too sure

I am admittedly not rating this drama tooo high out of consideration for other dramas I have watched. While it lost me for a bit mid way through I am very glad I picked it up again at a later date and kept going! it’s a very entertaining light hearted drama!

I most likely wouldn’t watch again but for the time I spent watching it I would say it’s worth it. Especially for the scene where she absolutely BODIES the director.

I was actually praying she would put all that hard effort she spent on Judo to use and thank god she did even if it was only at the end. As a female lead she genuinely wasn’t that bad! maybe a little pathetic but she wasn’t insufferable and her character really wasn’t the worst.

There were many points where characters were doing and saying things that I just could not relate to at all but when watching a kdrama you have to loose a little bit of logic anyway😂plus it added to the humour making me laugh!

Adnittedly I started watching the show because of Park Seoham he sure did deliver. BUT. the man who played Yoon Haru??? officially a fan he ate that role RIGHT up. his character added the perfect amount of comedic relief and he did such a good job when it came to the body swap illusion. Jang Sehyuk I hope to see you in more dramas.

The plot line including murder mistery was truly was did it for me though because it is one of my favourite genres. the tension of a character living or working around a dangerous character while slowly uncovering their true personality always gets me HOOKED. I hope more kdramas with the same murder mystery concept emerge because I really did enjoy trying to work it out with the characters!

Anyways!! overall a good light hearted drama that I’d recommend if you need something silly!

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Stalkers and obsessed individuals

The main male character is an anchorman who has a rare "condition" called hyperthymesia which allows him to remember every single detail of his life, never forgetting a thing. The downside, however, is that this includes painful memories as well. The main woman character, on the other hand, is an actress who, following a severe depression triggered by the loss of her best friend, developed a form of amnesia as a survival mechanism—one that erased those painful memories.
The two cross paths during a TV interview, where he finds himself frozen in place by something she says.
As fate would have it, they share a connection: his late girlfriend was also her best friend.
She develops feelings for him, but once he learns about her amnesia—specifically regarding his deceased girlfriend—he tries to keep his distance, for her own sake.
The soundtrack is lovely, as is the cinematography; certain visual elements stand out—for instance, the red apples placed next to a pair of red ballet flats, or the scene featuring the two of them by the Han River with their bicycles nearby...
It's come to light, one man killed his own girlfriend, and now others are targeting the actress (a friend of the deceased) because they resent the man for being by her side.
As he mourns the loss of his mother, she begins to have visions of her own past.
She is kidnapped by a stalker, but he manages to rescue her. They decide to be together, despite strong objections from both her doctor and his father.
The latter writes a book about the television presenter’s health, making him a target; as a result, he resigns from his position as a host to return to his former role as a reporter.
But there is no respite; a reporter breaks the news that he is involved with this actress who was a friend of his girlfriend, the one who had been murdered eight years earlier.
As often happens in real life, these scandals cost the actress all her professional partnerships. She leaves for America to work on films, staying there for two years and cutting all ties with him.
Upon her return to Korea, they cross paths again. Both admit that they missed each other—though it remains unclear whether she will stay in Korea or head back to America—and they decide to get back together, chalking it all up to fate.
No way. If I were in his shoes, I certainly wouldn't have accepted it. When the scandal hit, he was left all alone. His friend—selfishly—went abroad for volunteer work, and she left him to go to America for two years, where she found great success. Meanwhile, he was left on his own, demoted, and without even the comfort of his mother, who had passed away. Poor guy. I wouldn't have forgiven them.
In short, he’s expected to just be there whenever they need him, while the others do whatever they please—leaving him and coming back as they see fit... What is this? You say, "I’ll always be by your side," but then you cut me off at the first sign of trouble? At the very least, you could have asked me to move to America with you! Don't come back later, batting your big, innocent eyes, hoping to pick up where you left off! I’m actually angry at her behavior; I thought she was kind and sweet, but she failed to stand by him or defend their relationship—choosing instead to run away and wait for the public outcry to die down.
I really don't like this ending.
As for the male lead, his acting lacks expression and communicative depth—not just in this series, but in others as well—so the chemistry between the couple didn't exactly blow me away.

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came just for the first 6 epis

i really enjoyed the first 6 epis and i got to know the spoiler so i skipped to the 19 th epi to end it. well those 6 epis were damn good i would give it a 9 for those epi and total of 7.8 for the whole.
i liked their chemistry throughout these epis so i do recc watching first 6 epis
(rest of the review is just for killing space dont mind)
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Slaps, Unhinged Chaos and Romance

Unhinged chaos is the best way I can describe this drama. It’s makjang on steroids (hello satisfying slaps). 

A female centric drama who’s lead is a hyper-independent woman with a girlboss energy to the max - but still needs men from time to time to do her dirty (brilliant) work. Tian Xiwei was marvellous in this dual role, I applaud. 

In truth, I started this drama for Yan An but stayed for him AND everything else. His role was mostly to support the female lead’s journey, which I expected and I’m happy with. I loved that although he was mostly a romantic interest, he didn’t feel like a total simp. He was stern with the female lead when he needed to be, and sweet when he needed to be. 

The plot was nothing new, except the doppelgänger stuff that was quite fresh. But the formula had all the stuff I love in one, so it worked for me. I loved to hate the villains, and as a fan of Dai Gaozheng, I was very satisfied with his role.

The best part of the drama for me was the romance!!! I just LOVED the chemistry between the leads, I LOVED all their little moments together. It was my driving force to watch and why I got so addicted.

My only real issue is the last 5 minutes of the final episode where choices were made…

Overall, this drama is all about the vibes, so turn off your brain. If you want mega chaos with unhinged characters, and a mix of family/palace politics + romance as a sub-plot, I recommend it.

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MDL rating of 7.8?!? Horseshinola! Try 9.8!

I had just seen the superb BORN TO BE ALIVE, then completed the flawless LOVE STORY IN THE 1970's, and presumed REMNANTS OF GOLD would just be 'okay'. WRONG!!! REMNANTS will be raking in a ton of nominations when Chinese Award Season strikes.

I'd say it's best to go into this story as blind as possible, but I'll say the entire plot is about various desperate groups seeking out a ginormous amount of gold -- WHILE -- one group is trying to prevent them from finding it. REMNANTS is a fascinating character study featuring all sorts of fascinating people -- that break up their calm thoughtful chats with some creative fight scenes. If you prefer characters over karate, this has the exact mix you're looking for.

I'm a person that follows actors to find C-Dramas. Earlier this year I had finished THE WONDERFUL WORLD, a show that featured two young actresses who were ballerinas in that series. Both were terrific actresses and I wanted to see what else they had done. One, Wang Yu Yan -- appears early in this series and was as lovely as ever. But then I discovered --

-- this series stars Xin Zhi Lei (RUYI'S ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE, BLOSSOMS SHANGHAI) and Gao Wei Guang (who was terrific in ABOUT LOVE) which made this series MUCH SEE TV. And they didn't disappoint.

I've seen Xin Zhi Lei in various productions and it turns out if she tries to place nice and ordinary -- it doesn't work. Her strength is not only her obvious physical beauty but being clever and controlling -- and she SHINES here. And what's nice is this isn't exactly how we're used to seeing her, and so it's not the same old thing all over again. Gao Wei Guang didn't have as a big a role as I had hoped, but he plays possum for a while -- with his signature sense of humor -- until he reveals his true self.

New to me were actors Yin Fang and Chen Kun, who had more screen time than Gao Wei Guang but were both quite good. And what a surprise to find Lian Yi Ming playing the brutal desert bandit chieftain, who I last saw playing a lovelorn Dad in THE WONDERFUL WORLD -- two profoundly different roles. I didn't even recognize him for 7 episodes!

It's important to now mention THE WONDERFUL WORLD in more depth. That series could have been a classic were it not for the poor script. Everything else about the production was amazing, thanks to the director Xu Bing. I looked up Xu Bing and learned he wrote THE YOUTH MEMORIES, which was an amazing piece of complex characters pairs over many years. Where most writers would have fumbled so many relationships, Xu Bing masterfully managed a big world of 'youths' and their 'memories'. This research led me to the accident discovery that --

-- Xu Bing wrote and directed REMNANTS OF GOLD, which explains why it's so well done. This is a writer director to watch, and I'm now aware of missed a lot of his earlier work. NEW WORLD looks rather interesting and stars Yin Fang from this show.

I have three very minor story knocks, but otherwise loved it --

1. Episode One -- with it's zombie apparitions and sentient tumbleweeds -- makes the show look stupid. It isn't.
2. It takes two episodes to begin to grasp the many clans and such in this tale. (This is the narrative mistake of introducing almost everything at once instead of easing us into a situation.)
3. In the second half of the show, you're not exactly sure if there's a lead 'couple' in this series. Two men express interest in our female lead and I wasn't quite sure she was interested in either. It didn't ultimately matter but was a bit odd for C-Dramaland.

That said -- this is only 13 episodes and I smell a crowd pleaser with this series!

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Interesting plot

Ancient Bracelet is a mini-series C-drama about a goddess who is forbidden to fall in love. According to the heavenly rules, if she ever allows herself to fall in love, she will have to face punishment from the heavens. This makes her journey even more interesting, especially when love and destiny begin to stand in conflict with each other.

Although it’s a short C-drama, I have to say that it’s surprisingly decent and enjoyable to watch. The storyline is quite engaging, with a touch of romance, fantasy, and heavenly drama that keeps things interesting. The actors are beautiful, and their costumes are absolutely stunning. Every outfit adds a special charm to the characters and makes the whole drama visually appealing.

One thing I particularly appreciate is the cinematography. The camera work is beautiful, the scenes are well captured, and the overall visual presentation gives the drama a lovely atmosphere. Even though it may not be a big-budget production, the effort put into the visuals is definitely noticeable.

Overall, Ancient Bracelet is a nice little fantasy romance drama to add to your watchlist. It may be short, but it still manages to offer beautiful visuals, attractive actors, gorgeous costumes, and an interesting storyline. If you enjoy short costume C-dramas with a touch of mythology and forbidden love, this one is worth giving a try! ❤️

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Solid Movie

Positives:

1. XZ's acting has improved. He didn't look like he was acting during the scenes where he was running for his life.
2. He was also believable as your average family man. One thing I have noticed about XZ is that he has no problem downplaying his attractiveness for a role if it fits.
3. The movie was a realistic portrayal of the brutality and cruelty of war

Negatives
1. The characters were constantly screaming. Not sure if it's a cultural thing but it was hard to get use to.
2. Several other posters mentioned gallow humor. I didn't find that the gallow humor worked, but maybe it was lost in translation for me

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Decent Story, but Outdated and Lacking Creativity. Some Scenes Drag On.

*Positive Points
- The cast has pleasant appearances, especially Mayama, whose look gives off a gentle and comfortable feeling. The makeup is generally good, although it looks slightly heavy in some scenes.
- The older brother and sister characters are quite enjoyable and add some brightness to the story.
- The series does a decent job of portraying Mayama's insecurity and the emotional impact of being bullied in the past. His background helps viewers understand his personality and sympathize with his struggles.
- Episode 7 has some enjoyable moments. The dog costume is particularly cute, and the way the situation is resolved is quick and reasonable.
- The best friends of the main couple get a small but noticeable moment near the end.
- One memorable line in the series is about pointing out someone's flaws because you appreciate them, not because you want them to change. It is a simple but meaningful message.

*Negative Points
- The storyline is quite familiar and lacks originality. Although the plot is not bad, similar stories have been told many times before.
- The series lacks a strong highlight or a distinctive element that makes it stand out. It does not need major drama or tragedy, but it needs something memorable to leave a stronger impression.
- The pacing is rather slow in several parts, especially episodes 5 and 6. Some relatively simple issues are dragged out for too long, making the story feel repetitive and less engaging.
- Mayama's reactions in episodes 5 and 6 are not entirely convincing. His past experiences explain his insecurity, but his misunderstanding of Asamiya's feelings feels unnecessarily complicated, especially when Asamiya's affection is already quite obvious.
- The dialogue sometimes feels awkward and unnatural. Some conversations make simple situations seem more complicated than they need to be.
- Asamiya's acting feels somewhat exaggerated and unnatural in the early episodes. His expressions occasionally look stiff, although his performance improves slightly as the series progresses.
- The acting overall is acceptable, but no actor truly stands out. Both the main and supporting couples deliver fairly similar performances without leaving a particularly strong impression.
- The comedic moments are not very effective, and the supporting couple is not developed well enough to make their storyline interesting. Their presence sometimes makes the pacing feel even slower.
Overall Impression
Overall, this is an average BL series with a decent and easy-to-follow story, but it feels outdated and lacks originality. The familiar storyline, slow pacing, and lack of standout performances make it difficult for the series to leave a lasting impression.

The cast is generally fine, and the series has a few cute moments and meaningful messages. However, the characters and performances feel rather ordinary, without anyone truly standing out. Some situations are also unnecessarily complicated, making the story feel slower than it should be.

It is not a bad series, but it is also not particularly impressive or memorable.

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