Underwhelming romance despite an interesting angle
This drama is about the romance between a top actress and an interpretor as they travel together in the context of filming a travelling and dating variety show. Or is it really ? Soon enough the series take a turn which I found interesting on an intelectual point of view but which failed to really captivate me. I had real trouble to remain invested in the romance as well as the other aspects of the series, and I am quite frustrated at how the ending handled off screen one of the most important storyline point. The pacing felt sluggish to me and the plot overall repetitive.The acting was quite good and if I really like both main leads : Kim Seon Ho and Go Youn Jung, I found their chemistry quite underwhelming...I was never as invested in the romance between their characters as I would have wanted, partially because the characters were written quite unlikable to me, partially because of the lack of chemistry. The secondary romance was much better on both aspects. I also really enjoyed the character played by Fukushi Sota, a great discovery.
I would recommend this to people that are looking for a psychological kind of romance. It is not really a rom-com, not really a psychological thriller or a slice-of-life. It is a bit of a mix and doing so, it missed the mark for me but I still think there are quite a bit to love. I personally really enjoyed the travel vlog aspect , the various countries and languages, the dating show set up, as well as the introduction and the production value. Too bad that romance was a miss for me and that the resolution felt rushed despite the overall sluggish pace of the drama.
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Sometimes stories don’t get a happy ending.
The ending of this series was emotional, and it was honestly close to bringing me to tears. It’s one of those endings that stays with you for a while and makes you think about everything the characters went through.
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This review may contain spoilers
Basically Cai pingshu's legacy
The story is about a legendary female general who killed a villain of her time and traded peace with her life. The time setting is three years after she died but from start to the end everything is about HER. Everyone speaks of her, her life, martial arts leacy. At one point I thought it would be better to just make a drama on Cai pingshu cause it really feels likeall the characters were created just to commemorate pingshuNow why did I rate this a 8? because the role of female general Cai pingshu was played damned well by the actress. dare I say for the first time I felt like this is how a female general should be. Second reason is Mu qingyuan, he just knows how to act. and his visuals are a bonus point. From pathetic, to manipulative. He switches from a loser boy to a cunning master of demon sect so effortlessly that I couldn't bear to stop wathing. He was the main force driving the whole narrative. Another character Song yuzhi , he also grew on me later on
the story had a strong fl which i appreciated but the scriptwriter really butchered the whole narrative. There is no coherence in what is happening, no consistence character growth. Besides the ml , fl's acting couldn't really match. and for the final reveal it was predictable who the man in black really was. From the start to the end there was a lot of character and I could see the potential of the story but alas a good story needs a good scriptwriter and director.
In my opinion, you can give it a try if your fav actor is in it. I watched it because of zhou yi ran. I don't regret it. He freaking delivered but the director failed the potential this drama had
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A perfect Criminal Investigation x Romance drama
It was such a surprise! My first time seeing an historical of the genre and loved it! I really appreciated how it was executed, how it mainly remained a thriller and the leads stayed focused on their goals til the end. I didn't find any episode boring at all, I enjoyed how we embark on the criminal cases with the leads and get to wonder who did what, why and how. I didn't find any flaw or weird point in all the cases. Really enjoyed the thriller parts. The romance was well introduced and very sweet, we don't have any weird break up because of some misunderstanding. Loved the boldness of the female lead and how the male lead respected her right away and got her back from the start. It makes their bond and their romance even more endearing. They didn't try to change the other but wholeheartedly embraced each other's quirkiness. There are so many characters we end up getting attached to. And the end was something, lol, but very satisfying to me. A happy end. ^-^Was this review helpful to you?
A very very slow burn, but once ignited, it is lovely
I once started this because of the fake relationship tag and watched about halfway before dropping it as I was so confused at the extremely slow plot. I decided to come back and give it another shot and was very pleasantly surprised at how lovely the story developed between the two main characters.This is not a slow burn, this is a barely smoldering ember you could leave alone for days and not worry about any change or damage. I would honestly say any actual plot only started around episode 10, and up until then was just a lot of character development and laying of the foundations of their relationship. It was a bit of a slog to be honest, but they came together in such a natural way that all the slog in the beginning made sense. A true strangers to friends to lovers (or I guess, strangers to spouses to friends to lovers). It was beautiful, but I don't think I could rewatch it lol.
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Thank You For Your Hard Work... Indeed
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This show was so romantic but it is not only about romance. It is a slice of life that shows love, marriage, and also what happens after marriage. How children have dreams close to their hearts, how adults are also living life for the first time, and how at the end of the day, we still miss our parents, whether they are near or far.Was this review helpful to you?
Save yourself the trouble and skip this one.
It really didn't live up to the hype/expectations.It lacked any real substance.
"It was totally underwhelming."
"It was a snooze-fest." (Very boring)
For a boring plot: "It was terribly dull and had no depth."
For poor writing: "The dialogue was cringy and clichéd.
Honestly, there was nothing to write home about, and it was actually quite disappointing.
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A good time loop story, but person
For someone not used to time loop stories, this would probably be a really fun and interesting plot to follow. But I've read some top notch time loop fanfics so this was good but I cant rate it 9/10. The mystery was good, and I liked how in each loop they learned more about the mystery but also more about each other. I liked how the main characters were written and I feel the actors did a good job portraying their inner turmoils. This is definitely a healthy main's relationship as there is no unnecessary cheap drama between the two leads. They come to rely on one another first through a need for survival and then because they only have each other to understand. Obviously they should fall in love with all that forced proximity, and so obviously they do, but the story doesn't really focus on gooey moments between them. It's more like "you and me against the world" and they are both on the same page about it.I personally find it a bit boring to rewatch anything with a mystery plot, and since this is a time loop I feel that I've seen enough repeats in the actual show to not want to rewatch it again.
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Artsy, dark vibes, oozing toxicity and bad decisions...And frustrating!
This Thai BL features a trio of characters that meet in a bar and are trapped into ultra toxic relationships (professional and romantic) inspite of themselves. The series can feel highly frustrating because of the waste of potential, however, there are also quite a lot I appreciated. Do I regret spending time on it ? No, certainly not because it made me think a lot. Unfortunately the attempt at social commentary regarding Art and AI fell apart with the conclusion, which was truly disappointing.Cast is one of the strong point of this series but also one of the downside. Indeed Gun, Off and Dew are doing a very good job at acting out those broken human beings. The tension scenes with the intimate moments or the painful moments were also very well acted. However, the way couple pairing are working in Thailand clearly removed part of the interest / turmoil of the series as the ending seemed predictable because of the CP but was not convincing because of the plot itself.
I would recommend this drama to people looking for an artsy BL featuring a fare share of angst and pain. It is for sure not without flaws because of its odd and too slow pacing, unconvincing ending and frustrating because of the waste of potential. But it is also a very different kind of story, truly thoughts provoking, with a captivating muse-artist relationship. Even if it unfortunately does not hold its promises, the actors and the very good production value with some truly impactful and memorable scenes, make it worth the watch.
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Initially interesting characters flounder and flip flop by the middle and never stop
This started out so well that it was a ten for me up until the leads both reached Bliss Palace. First it became questionable whether Zhao is allowed to make any decisions on her own. Then it became questionable whether any of her decisions make any sense. Instead of letting the leads spent some time apart and let them get in some good pining so that they may come together stronger, the male lead forces their paths to cross at every turn in either icky or straight up nonsensical ways.For a sect drama even if it is not full-fledged wuxia, the fight choreographies are pretty one note and incredibly short until the last episodes. Zhao seemed to be a cool fighter at first, then she just does the same move over and over. The only impressive fight she gets is against one of her uncles.
Whenever the leads make up again they are on the outs once more just as fast. Sadly, Generation to Generation is a downward spiral. The Man in Black is an interesting enough mystery to keep me speeding through the leads' seemingly endlessly repeating woes. By the 26th episode I simply wanted to know if that damn villain is the guy I thought he would be or the lame guy I thought he would be. It was the lame guy.
All the male characters belong in the garbage except Zhao's incredible little brother. The female supporting characters are no more than plot devices except for the master's wife. Barely any character develops. There is just foreshadowing that goes nowhere each time.
Everyone's goals feel all over the place except the male leads, but only because he is allowed to secretly go after his goals during most of the drama. Sadly, that is more handled to justify him interacting with the FL than anything else and is completely disregarded by the end. Their love story turns into a farce of obligation. Where that obligation comes from? Nobody knows.
5/10 for what could have been and the magiepie bridge song, which is a better love story than these two.
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A cute romantic comedy
This was such an easy watch, although I am not a fan of short dramas, I think the pacing was great.It is kinda divided, first half full on AI dates, second half full on IRL romance.
And even with the short number of episodes, the characters felt fleshed out. I could see clearly why Mi-Rae acted that way and Kyeong-Nam too.
I loved the webtoons subplot, as someone who reads them regularly, it was a fun bit.
The leads had chemistry, their scenes together had me smiling like an idiot because they were truly cute together.
I wanna shout out Gong Min Jung, I've only seen her before on Marry My Husband, in a very dramatic and sad role and seeing her here as the excentric Yun Song was a joy.
I would watch Eunho sunbae´s plot in a drama if it was made into one lmao.
I normally hate when they drop all episodes at once, as I enjoy the conversation here weekly, but I think this was a great drama to binge watch.
It was very cozy and heartwarming.
I wouldn't rewatch because I never rewatch anything, but if I absolutely must, I would not mind watching this again.
Please don't mind the "Jisoo can't act for her life" hate train and give this an opportunity if you are interested in the plot, you would not regret it.
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This review may contain spoilers
This drama is one you need to let your imagination run wild with.
The premise is interesting and an alternate version of the omegaverse. They broaden the idea of “pheromone” to a virus that allows for more nuance to the relationships and the desire to be with one another, beyond their “innate” desire to be with the opposite type of the virus.The story is okay. As stated, the premise of the plot was interesting, but the progression of the story felt like background to the chemistry of the two main couples. At times, the story felt as if the writers knew that the chemistry would carry enough of the show to allow them to leave logic and development to the side at times. There were times where the writing was well done, especially when they allowed for a deeper understanding of the different motivations and characterizations of the main cast, besides the FL— we’ll get to that later. The ML was the character with the best writing. The show goes into detail about what makes him who he is and how he comes to terms with his trauma in relation to his love for the FL. Also, the man can kiss!!! The chemistry of the main couple was almost entirely carried by the ML.
What made my ranking go from an 8.5 to a 7.5 is the FL after her—spoiler alert— brother’s death.
When her brother died, I was very willing to understand how this would be conflicting for her and how it would affect her relationship with the ML. However, the writers did not do a good job of letting her articulate what she was feeling, even just to the audience. When you are expecting her to feel conflicted because her husband doesn't feel sad about her brother’s death, instead, they have her essentially blame the ML for her brother’s death. When you think they have to separate to allow her to come to terms with everything, she is the one who pushes to be closer to him — physically and emotionally. Unfortunately, because the writer spends no time developing the actual character of the FL, her reactions don’t make sense to the audience. Why is he reacting this way? Why is she quick to get angry and push people away, but also incredibly quick to forgive? Why does she seem so naive, yet she is written as smart, observant, and quick on the uptake? We don’t know. The FL is there to help the ML’s character shine through and be better understood by the audience, but is not written as a complete character herself.
So basically, don't take the drama too seriously. Enjoy the romance and the MANY kiss scenes and let the chemistry keep you entertained.
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I honestly don’t know why I waited so long to watch this. It turned out to be much better than I expected.
The story kept me interested and the tension made it easy to keep watching. Sometimes you go into a series with low expectations and end up being pleasantly surprised — and this was definitely one of those times.
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🌸✨🌈 Hiii~ Welcome to my kawaii corner~ ♡(≧▽≦)ﾉ✨🌸
You can find more of my reviews on Instagram~ 🌟💖
Check my homepage for my account~ (｡♥‿♥｡) 🌷
Some reviews are under 500 words, so I can’t post them here~ (≧ω≦)ﾉ💫
Thank you sooo much~ ☆:.｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡.:☆ 💕🌸
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This review may contain spoilers
A comedic drama with heartfelt moments and a supporting cast deserving its own story
For me, the side-characters Mr. Bai and the scholars were the breakout stars of this drama. I could watch a few extra episodes only with the scholars. It's been quite some time since I last cared about side characters in a drama or truly any TV-Show to this extend. The romance was alright but certainly simply a more interesting lead dynamic at the start. The leads are lovable, but I didn't really care about it compared to the scheming and the drama surrounding the nation. Therefore, during most of the last episodes I skipped some scenes.The Qiang state being behind most schemes was an interesting addition given its presence in both the Xia and Yan state harem. I would have liked to see Qian explored more. Even if the leads would have just found out the Qiang state is the scapegoat of the original story and then had hit like an invisible barrier when trying to communicate with Qiang because the state itself was never written into the original story. Basically, I think it would have been interesting to see more "out-of-bounds experiences" given the talk about 2D and higher level characters. Why shouldn't "2D places" exist too?
Despite skipping through some scenes, this is a drama that made me cry and laugh in equal measure. I actually teared up a few times and that usually only happens once when it's a good drama. As stated before, they truly had a great supporting cast, only FL's maids - both Mei and Hua Hua - were a bit too canon fodder flavored. Speaking of "canons", Mr. Bai's specifically designed arrows were great. The seizing of the capital was a fun action sequence.
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