Reviews

Simply Beautiful

Part of the reason why healing medical dramas will always be one of my lowkey favourite genres is because of the way they handle the topic of the "Life and death cycle".

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We are born into this world. We live our youth fiercely. Study, graduation, career, job — we take each step of life without knowing what the future holds. Along the way, we form connections with people and rely on them during hard times. Some call it family, some call it friends, and for some, it’s a complete stranger.

Eventually, we start growing old. By then, some people meet their soulmate and decide to start a family of their own, while others choose to live alone. To each their own, we say. No matter which path we choose, we keep moving forward, hoping for a better future ahead.

And then, one day, we suddenly realize that we are not young anymore. Our bodies have grown weaker, our energy drains faster and our perspective on life changes. In a way, we begin guiding the future generations. One by one, we see our loved ones leave us — family, friends, relatives, you name it. We slowly grow accustomed to saying goodbye. And that’s when it truly hits us that we are no longer young.

And just like that, a time comes when we begin waiting for our own turn to say goodbye. That’s how it is — for me, for us, for everyone.

After death, some people continue to live on in the hearts of their loved ones, some don’t. But that, too, is part of the cycle of life.

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Medical dramas that portray this side of humanity really move me.

"The 19th Medical Chart" was that kind of drama for me. It felt slow at times, but once you understand the message conveyed in each episode, you can’t help but feel deeply moved by it.

I truly hope there will be a season 2 of this drama. I, for one, would absolutely love to see more stories about humans like this!

A big thank you to the entire team for creating such a meaningful drama — and a very big thank you to my favourites, Matsujun and Koshiba Fuka, for bringing the characters of Dr. Tokushige and Dr. Takino to life!

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Actually pretty decent

As a comment said "it's absurd" it's a short. Storyline is meant to move fast and things are meant to be resolved quickly. And they are. It's a cute step-brother to lovers story. All issues are understandable, dealing with insecurities, jealousy, and bullying/harassment.

It's nothing the world doesnt face daily with an added nicely tied absurdity bow to finish it up.

Yes it's a good series, for being the first of both actors according to the credits (I'm not sure on that honestly, they both looked familiar to me, but according to this page they aren't established) they did really well.

It's a short series, if you're looking fo a long drama with lots of drama, this isnt it, but if you're looking for something for an hour just to make your day a bit better, this can do the trick.

I'll definitely rewatch it.

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Just watch it

If you're a fan of the cdrama bromance genre that does everything short of being censored, and you love the following typical danmei tropes, then this is for you. It's got the innocent younger MC turned into powerful obsessive person after a timeskip, wife-chasing crematorium (or whatever the english translation for that term is) after a misunderstanding, older ML that used to be a mentor, etc.
The acting is pretty good, and overall it definitely gives higher quality than what you might expect from a short drama. This is absolutely my favorite short-form "bromance" cdrama that i've seen, and it's the best out there if you're also looking for this specific relationship dynamic.

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What a corny drama to start my journey.

I watch this on first month discover Chinese Short Drama and felt the plot was brainless at the time and my statement never changes.

FL married ML was for love, but unexpectedly, she was first sent to prison, then had her leg crippled. A fire resulted FL being accused of death. However, a month later, at a high-class banquet, "Anna," who has a similar face to FL, actively approaches ML, and a revenge plan unfolds.

For simple review ; revenge plot isn't satisfying.

The kiss was OK since it's Meng Na and Ma Xiao Yu. However, considering the filming timeline, it feels a bit awkward to watch.

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Dining off of that closing scene ?

Just finished Made in Korea on Disney. For the life of me I cannot comprehend the low ratings, this is brilliant. The closing scene was chefs 💋 I will dine off of that for a while.
The sets are spot on the cinematography is giving all the feels of the 1960’s with out compromising on the quality of modern cinematography.
The locations feed into the era so well and set the scene perfectly for some serious politics and the entanglement with the underworld . The writing is clever, the opening credits and the first two episodes give the feels of a mission impossible movie, but it doesn’t sit in imitation, no it throws you into a political world instead and then into an action movie and then combines it all, with just a smidgen of flirtation.
Hyun Bin is impressive both in stature and presence, I understand totally his decision to change his body for this role, it literally gave the character weight, giving off The Krays vibes as the KCIA come gangster outwitting them all, with a military background which honestly he owned.
There are big names here and imo none disappoint, I wasn’t sure at first about the almost comic performance by Jung Woo Sung, but actually it worked really well, you need Hyun Bin equal and he gave it in his own unique style which arched back to 1960’s cops on TV 📺
I particularly enjoyed Jung Sung Il character, I loved him in The Glory and he is perfectly cast again, he has that respectability with the darkest of edges off to a T and I fully appreciate it.
Woo do Whan, Won, Ji An and Seo Eun Soo made strong impressions and you can see they will come into their own in the second part and for one cannot wait for it.

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Gets better if you can handle the first half of the drama

The first part of the drama is super hard to watch. I can’t understand why the characters that appear in the beginning are just so bad at acting, her uni friends especially. The script n directing was bad too super early 2000s style, but eventually got better like they completely changed the director. Luckily if you managed to make through that the casting got better. Can’t miss song weilong awkwardness though, i hope he will improve, he can’t be like this till the end of his career. Jinmai also seems the type to reflect her counterparts acting, if she’s paired with someone bad, her acting also becomes awkward. The good thing is, among hundreds of dramas ive watched, this one has the best last episode, showing how the mains improve and stay together till they are old, absolutely something that i wished more dramas would show

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Need another season!

I never got around to writing reviews for Seasons 1 and 2, but I loved both and honestly a solid 10/10. So going into Taxi Driver Season 3, I had very high expectations, especially since the earlier seasons went above and beyond for me.

One of the show’s strongest qualities is how it weaves humor and lighter scenes into stories that deal with very real and serious injustices. I appreciate that the narrative consistently prioritizes the victims’ experiences, emphasizing empathy and making it clear that responsibility lies with those who commit the crimes and not those who suffer from them. However, this season had a few moments where the impact of certain scenes felt weakened by poorly timed humor or a noticeable absence of stakes, which occasionally pulled me out of the immersion.

The cast was fantastic as always. Their chemistry is one of the show’s biggest strengths, and I genuinely love the way the Rainbow family feels like a real found family.

Now… let’s talk about Do-gi and Go-eun. Once again, my hopes for them becoming an actual couple were completely crushed. While I enjoy their fake relationship moments, I really feel like the show should’ve just let them end up together by now. Their bond feels deep, emotional, and very clearly mutual. Do-gi running to Go-eun the moment she’s in danger, and Go-eun always being the first to rush to Do-gi when his life is on the line. This literally says everything. Go-eun’s “what if” at the end was incredibly cute, and honestly, it just made me wish even more that the writers would give not just them, but the entire Rainbow family, a little happiness.

My favorite case this season was easily the Samheung Island Case. It had me completely on edge. I genuinely thought the Rainbow team might fail. What made it so compelling was how the villains mirrored the team itself: a smart, calculating mastermind, someone skilled with computers (though obviously not on Go-eun’s level), a watchful insider in the police, and someone doing the dirty, physical work. It was intense and well-structured. While that was my favorite case, my favorite villain was Cha Byeong-jin from the Noblesse Motors case. Yoon Shi-yoon absolutely nailed the role like the unsettling expressions, the villainous mannerisms, and yes, the fact that he’s handsome didn’t hurt either.

That said, the ending felt a bit underwhelming to me. I was expecting a bigger emotional payoff. Even though we got fireworks, it still felt unresolved and confusing. I’m still not entirely sure how Do-gi survived, and if there is a Season 4, I really hope they take the time to explore that properly.

Overall, Taxi Driver Season 3 was still an enjoyable watch, with strong performances and standout moments but I can’t help feeling like it could’ve ended on a stronger, more satisfying note.

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Watch only if you like political dramas

This is a highly political drama. If you’re watching it mainly for the chemistry between the actors, this is not the drama for you—even though the leads do have some chemistry. More than having subplots, the drama is a collection of many small plots. There was no lag in between. All 36 episodes were very intriguing, but if you don’t like politics or power struggles, it will feel boring and suffocating.

The cinematography is amazing. Both the ML and FL are extremely scheming, but the FL is dangerously scheming—so much so that she’s a red flag. By the end, I was like, he deserves better. I would have broken up if someone manipulated me this much. I’m all for women in male-dominated fields, but still… she could have left the ML alone.

Must-watch if the above points tick your boxes.

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A show that sticks with you.

Utterly obsessed with this weird, beautiful, arty, queer, subversive show.

Here are things that stick with me:

-Koh's cold, clinical bedroom vs. Jira's warm, floral bedroom (and the fact that we still haven't seen Pheem's bedroom- we have no idea what his inner world is like)
-Establishing that Jira refuses to compromise his ideals and ethics for money over and over and then watching him absolutely fold for Koh to the extent Koh believes Jira will do anything for money
-Koh really seems to think he's in charge, but whenever Jira makes a demand Koh follows.
-The way that Pheem and Jira seemed to be more into each other when they figure out they both know Koh - they are both getting off on the fact that they are denying Koh their time and on feeling closer to Koh by being with each other.
-Jira's very accurate self-assessment that red flags turn him on
-Koh alone in his apartment posing himself like Jira's painting
-Jira isn't just gay - his art, his slang, his mannerism, his fashion all illustrate him as culturally queer.
-Pheem presents himself as soft and caring but has a calculating, manipulative underbelly. Koh presents himself as cold and calculating but has a caring, vulnerable underbelly. Jira acts innocent and vulnerable but has these boys wrapped around his little finger - I think he knows exactly what he's doing.
-Koh gave Jira an iris bouquet while Pheem was still arranging roses for Jira. Koh is always 3 steps ahead.
-The iris + narcissus bouquets = Jira the artist and Koh the lonely narcissist.
-Koh wears his crazy on his sleeve. He stalks Jira's social media, lets him know upfront and uses it to play transparent mind games. Pheem stalks Jira's social media in secret and uses it to create a persona he thinks Jira will like. Pheem cleans his apartment for Jira but Koh lets Jira see the mess.

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Typhoon Family Hurts in All the Right Places

Typhoon Family blindsided me.

I went in thinking this would be a lighter, slightly nostalgic “IMF-era but make it comedic” kind of watch. You know the type, scrappy underdogs, a few financial mishaps, lots of shouting over contracts, maybe some inspirational background music swelling at the right moments. I even half-jokingly thought it might be a toned-down Wolf of Wall Street, except with fewer drugs and more fabric.

What I got instead was a drama that looks cheerful on the surface but quietly dismantles you piece by piece, like a house that seems intact until you realize the foundation has been cracking the entire time.

At the heart of it all is Kang Tae-poong, portrayed with emotional precision by Lee Jun-ho, a character who smiles like someone trying very hard not to sink. His father’s sudden death throws him into the deep end of the trading world during the IMF crisis, and from that point on, the drama becomes less about business mechanics and more about endurance. Not the flashy kind. The quiet, grinding kind. The kind where you don’t collapse because there are too many people depending on you to allow that luxury.

What struck me early wasn’t just the financial stakes, but the emotional ones. Tae-pong doesn’t mourn loudly. He doesn’t get a dramatic breakdown or a cinematic cry in the rain. Instead, grief lodges itself somewhere behind his eyes while he takes on the role of head of the family, provider, decision-maker, emotional firewall. When a friend asks him why he hasn’t cried yet, his answer: “I don’t know if I’m sad or angry”, feels painfully real. Anyone who’s ever had to stay functional while breaking internally will recognize that emotional limbo immediately.

The drama excels when it focuses on this kind of emotional subtext, the things characters don’t say, but live with.

The workplace dynamics are another area where Typhoon Family quietly shines. Watching Tae-pong’s employees show up in the middle of a rainstorm to protect rolls of Italian fabric felt foreign and oddly moving at the same time. In a world where work-life boundaries are (rightfully) guarded, this level of devotion can feel uncomfortable to witness. But the drama doesn’t romanticize it blindly. The line “This is our livelihood too” grounds the moment in shared survival rather than blind loyalty. It’s not corporate propaganda; it’s collective desperation during a national crisis.

And that’s the key word here: grounded.

When the drama sticks to realism, failed deals, unpaid deposits, warehouses that leak, partners who collapse under IMF pressure, it’s devastating in the best way. Tae-pong keeps doing the right things, and life keeps knocking him sideways anyway. There’s a particular cruelty in watching someone be earnest, hardworking, and careful… and still lose. That’s where Typhoon Family hurts the most, because it refuses to reward virtue immediately.

But this isn’t a drama about wall-to-wall tragedy. What makes Typhoon Family genuinely compelling is how every emotional beat is anchored in lived-in human rhythms. Tae-poong’s mother, Jung Jeong-mi, played with weathered warmth by Kim Ji-young, becomes his emotional anchor in a world that constantly demands him be strong. Her unconditional support, even when she struggles to accept how their lives have changed, offers the first real emotional release for Tae-poong, and eventually for us.

The moment where Tae-pong finally admits to his mother, “I’m having a hard time,” after losing money on a deal that fell apart? That’s five episodes of silent pressure finally releasing. It’s not melodramatic. It’s not loud. It’s just devastating. And yes, I wept.

Then there’s Oh Mi-seon, brought to life by Kim Min-ha, whose presence in Typhoon Family is quietly magnetic. As the diligent bookkeeper who keeps the company afloat more often than Tae-poong does, she’s hardworking, earnest, and deeply human. The show uses her rooted realism to ground its more sweeping emotional arcs.

Now… we need to talk about the romance. Because this is where Typhoon Family stumbles, not catastrophically, but noticeably.

The main romance never worked for me. Not because it was offensive or toxic, but because it felt unnecessary and oddly misplaced. Tae-pong and Min-ho function beautifully as platonic partners, emotionally, narratively, and tonally. Their shared resilience, mutual respect, and alignment in goals were already compelling. Adding romance didn’t deepen that bond; it diluted it.

Worse, the attempts to make their relationship “cute” often veered into cringeworthy territory. Episode 14’s beach scenes, in particular, had me fast-forwarding, not out of impatience, but because they actively pulled me out of a drama I otherwise cared deeply about. That’s rare for me. I don’t fast-forward lightly.

What makes this flaw more frustrating is that the drama knows how to write romance. The secondary romance between Wang Nam-mo and Oh Mi-ho is proof of that. It’s layered, earned, and deeply human. Nam-mo’s growth from a carefree rich kid into a responsible adult, especially after his mother’s financial collapse, is one of the most satisfying arcs in the show. Their relationship unfolds naturally, without hijacking the narrative or undermining character integrity. Which is why the main romance feels like a miscalculation rather than a lack of skill.

Ironically, this flaw also highlights one of Typhoon Family’s greatest strengths: it almost achieved something rare, a story where the male and female leads could have remained best friends, united by shared purpose rather than romantic obligation. That choice would have been refreshing, even radical, in a genre that often defaults to romance as narrative glue. The fact that the drama comes so close to that kind of perfection makes the stumble more noticeable… and more painful.

Still, despite this misstep, I stayed. I stayed because the world felt lived-in. Because the characters felt resilient without being invincible. Because the pain was earned and never weaponized for shock value. Because even when I knew things would eventually be okay, this isn’t torture porn, the journey still hurt in ways that mattered.

Typhoon Family is not a perfect drama. But it’s an honest one. It’s about people who keep going when the math doesn’t work, when the contracts fall through, when grief doesn’t give them time to process itself. It’s about families, biological and chosen, holding together with threadbare hope and stubborn warmth. And sometimes, that’s enough.

This drama didn’t just entertain me. It sat with me. Quietly. Relentlessly. Like a storm you don’t notice until you’re soaked through.

And honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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This is the show you will remember to even after longterm binge-watching

No one has evaluated this drama yet but after watching of this short drama I need to share some thoughts.
Plot description is not included on the profile of the show, see here:
On web-known Series Title: No Way Out
Overview: Nora Ashford trades her dignity for survival when ruthless tycoon Gideon Blake offers a deal: her body in exchange for his protection. Three years of midnight passion and daylight cruelty forge something dangerous—his obsession, her awakening, and the way real love grows in the cracks of broken promises. Now Gideon watches in fury as his broken canary flies toward freedom. The real game begins when the prey learns to bite back.

Light SPOILER from here:
The drama is exeptional in its own category. The ML and FL acting is excellent: emotions, love, jealousy, pain are almost tanguable. The story is simple and well-followable but the emotional rollarcoster keeps the viewer glued to the screen.
The story is defenetally is about an epic love with great characters shaping form in the screen.
About FL actress: I think she is on of my favorite character I've ever seen. So long journey she needs to take before earning back her freedom and getting back her destiny in her own hands through many emotional pains with becoming from a weak, young, humiliated person to the strong, independent, confident and free Lady Ashford again who doesn't need anybody to rely on in her life. It's a painfull transformation and she must decide between the man her deeply in love and her own right to live freely with geeting back her dignity.
Her Performance: excellent, vibrant emotions, realistic feelings and a great performance how a weak canary becomes a powerful phonex.
About ML actor: ML is a very strong and charismatic character in the drama but this dishonorable relationship burdained with consuming the FL's dignity is really painful to be watched. The lack of equality, his hesitation of confessing his deep love, the compromism to keep the vulnearable beloved woman in an unfair and dishonest relationship because it makes his position more dominant...it's tough.
His Performance: it's the first show I've ever seen from Wang Yi Ran but it's something belive me. Amazing performance in shaping of the character, mesmerizing passion and desperate blindness.

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