Reviews

Story

Absolutely loved this BL because it was a time in history long gone. The Chinese do bls really well
so lift the ban and let us watch more. There's nothing to be ashamed of seeing two men with strong
feelings for each other done delicately. The two MLs really suited each other and their acting was
first class. I love historical series. The costumes..
The long hair.. The story this one being extra special as it was two friends who looked after each other when they were kids to meet years later..
One an assassin and one a prince. Not a good combination but when feelings come into play
it has to run it's course. Good or bad. Thank you to all who took part in this fab series. All the cast were first class.. Thankyou to the director.. The script writers.. Background staff and everyone not mentioned.. It's definately a 10 in my book.

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水龙吟 I loved Tang Li Ci's Costumes. WoW He is Slaaaying ^_^

I’m only on episode 13, and yes, I’m enjoying the show… but the girl in red (Hong Gu, I think?) is testing every last bit of my patience. Her voice, the way she talks, the over-the-top acting ....I literally cannot. I skip half her scenes just to protect my sanity. Please tell me I’m not the only one.

And Tang Li Ci. The man knows the girl in red is tricking him every single time, yet he still walks right into it like it’s his full-time job.

I got so annoyed I came straight here to check if anyone else felt the same way.
To anyone who replies <3 thank you in advance for validating my suffering. I really hope I’m not alone in this emotional chaos.


Also, I don’t feel ready for romance in this drama yet. The emotional closeness between A Shui and Tang Li Ci didn’t work for me. It doesn’t feel like the right direction for the story, at least at this point.

Loves <3

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The 25 year time jump was not done well

Overall Rating: 7/10  
(First half ~6/10, second half ~8/10)

It has a really fun and unique premise – a top star from the 90s/early 2000s suddenly disappears at her peak and reappears 25 years later with no memory, trying to make a comeback in today’s industry. The setup is fresh, and the show is mostly entertaining, especially once the romance finally kicks in during the latter half. If you’re mainly here for swoony romance, be patient – it is a slow burn in that regard and really only happens in the last episode or so.

The biggest issues are pacing in the beginning and, most noticeably, huge consistency problems across the 25-year time jump. A lot of characters feel like completely different people in present day compared to their younger selves, which hurts the emotional connection. Still, when it hits its stride in the back half, it’s genuinely charming and satisfying. Worth watching once if you like second-chance tropes, celebrity comeback stories, or just want something light with a happy ending – but probably not a rewatch for me.

Spoilers

The single biggest problem I had was how unrecognizable Im Se-ra / Bong Cheong-ja (Uhm Jung-hwa) became after the time jump. Young Seol-ah was ice-cool, confident, snobby (but only when someone truly deserved it), and emotionally rock-solid – basically peak diva energy. Older Bong Chenong-ja? Constantly on the verge of a panic attack, doing these breathy little “HAH!” gasps at everything (I seriously thought she was going to hyperventilate multiple times), and crying over literally anything. It felt like two different characters from the past to the present.

I kept waiting for them to say she had a brain injury from the car accident that altered her personality, because that would have at least explained it. But nope – they never mention it. Instead, we just have to accept that the poised princess of the 90s turned into the most fragile, whiny Ajumma imaginable overnight. The frumpy “bag lady” wardrobe and that wild hair were clearly to be comedic and show she “let herself go,” but come on – someone with decades of red-carpet training doesn’t suddenly dress like she shops exclusively at the dumpster just because she gained weight and lost her memory. She remembered being They Im Se-ra because she went on and on about not being the young beauty she thought she was, so she would have remembered all the glam treatments she did back then. I know they dressed her like that to make her look heavier but they could have accomplished it without making her look homeless.

She wasn’t the only one with personality whiplash:

Kang Du-won (Oh Dae-hwan) went from a bumbling, slightly incompetent but basically harmless dude when he was Im Se-ra's manager to a full-on cartoonishly evil schemer. He was polished with a businessman like demeanor that did not match that early shy slightly nerdy looking manager from before. People can hide their dark side, sure, but this wasn’t subtle two-faced behavior – it was a total core rewrite.  

- On the flip side, the villains who were supposed to stay awful – Ko Hui-yeong (the jealous rival actress), was perfectly consistent. Evil then, evil now.

Go Bong-goo (Song Seung-heon) was thankfully the most consistent of the bunch. You could totally buy that the starry-eyed young fanboy grew into a more reserved, mature version who still melts around her. His character arc felt natural.

I did love Seol-ah’s rise-back-to-fame storyline – starting from nothing, clawing her way up, dealing with all the ugly industry politics. And I loved that literally every single bad person got their comeback in the end (justice was served and it was delicious). The final happy ending wrapped things up nicely.

So yeah, I don’t regret watching it – the good parts are genuinely good and heart-fluttery – but man, those character inconsistencies and Seol-ah’s nonstop breathy whining made me roll my eyes more than once. Nearly quit watching after the early episodes. One watch was plenty for me.

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A Near Miss!

To start, the Fox Spirit Matchmaker series has been somewhat disappointing, and “Sword and Beloved is no different. Was this because of bad acting, directing, or poor writing? I think writing and directing should share the blame. The acting, I thought, was not too bad, with some overacting and some underacting. Initially, I thought I was watching an anime, so I was confused. Once I realized it was still a drama. This reminded me of one of those vertical short dramas you can watch on YouTube. Once I settled on that thought, I didn’t mind it so much. I felt the CGI was just okay, but the FL stayed a spider too long. Uncle Fie was the only character who had or made any sense.

This was like someone took clips from other dramas and tried to piece them together. However, for the sake of plagiarism, they never completed any of the back story. It would have made more sense to take the four Ancient Primordial Powers, then divide them among four righteous people to conquer evil and darkness. It doesn’t make sense for one person to be responsible for the fate of evil.

The cast worked hard and did their jobs it just did not come together well in the end. Neither ML nor FL did not connect; there was no chemistry. A love story that in the end was not love at all but duty. The other couples were good and a bright spot. The one characters that stood out to me were Uncle Fei and Rumu. Guo Jun Chen (Rumu) did a really nice job. Sometimes, I think, the main stars are roped into giving lesser stars the spotlight, because honestly, Guo Jun Chen had more of a leading role than Cheng Yi. Cheng Yi seemed somewhat demure.

On a positive note, the sword fighting is particularly good and entertaining.

Also, the soundtrack was good.

In conclusion, it was okay, just okay. If you want a more specific review, check out (bailang). His reviews are always on point and make my day.

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Superheroes full of action-packed

Finally had time to finish watching this—I’ve been wanting to see it for a while. I know this drama’s been out for some time, and I’m late to it. This isn’t your typical K-drama; it’s one of those unique and really good ones that you don’t get often in kdrama. The cast is amazing and the acting is excellent. It’s a superhero with supernatural power story , but at its heart, it’s about family love and how far parents will go to protect their loved ones from harm. There’s plenty of action and fight scenes. Just a warning: there are some graphic and bloody violent scenes. The final battle was so intense, it had me on the edge of my seat. Yes, I definitely recommend giving this drama a try!

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7 episodes of lobsters boiling in a pot

Imagine a pot of lobsters where all of them are crawling to drag each other down and never let anyone escape. That is this drama.

This show had such an interesting plot, but it fell short on telling the details. I think having it only be 7 episodes doesn’t allow enough time to learn the compexities of the characters. I wasn’t a huge fan of how the timeline in the show was muddled, it was hard to keep up with where in the timeline of events you were.

The amount of degradation and violence was over the top. But I guess it sold the story of the rich evil family.

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thinking about an ideal self

Overall: intriguing to think of how we treat others changes how they treat us and vice versa as well how this changes our view of the world. Based on "If no Sekai de Koi ga Hajimaru" by Umino Sachi which I didn't read and I reviewed the series based on its own merits. 6 episodes about 25 minutes each. Aired on GagaOOLala https://www.gagaoolala.com/en/videos/6042/love-begins-in-the-world-of-if-2025-e01 (everywhere except Japan and Korea) and Viki https://www.viki.com/tv/41300c-love-begins-in-the-world-of-if

What I Liked
- thinking about how changes to oneself affect others,
- production value (use of color to denote the mood and location)
- a character had realizations and communications was sought after

Room For Improvement
- I was just about to note good consent but then a character said stop and the other character said they couldn't wait any longer and went ahead anyway
- a dead fish lip press
- didn't actually show the chocolate sharing
- that very end part was odd, were they hinting at a sequel
- needed more relationship development

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I absolutely loved this series. But if you're expecting a typical cute teen romance about growing up, you might be surprised. The story dives deep into grief and redemption, following Qing Yu and her family after the death of her older sister, Bei Yu. It explores how young people and adults see pain, truth, and trauma in very different ways.
And this is a show you need to watch with an open mind, especially if you're not familiar with the cultural context, it helps you understand the choices Qing Yu’s parents made.

I really admire how Qing Yu’s character was written. She’s strong, resilient, and faces the toughest situations head-on. Her relationship with her mother, Fang Hao, is complicated, but as she uncovers what really happened to Bei Yu, she begins to understand the pain, the burden, and the responsibilities her parents carried. You can see her slowly shifting from a child’s perspective to a more mature, adult view as she processes everything.

There’s also a subtle romantic thread between Qing Yu and Ming Sheng. From the moment they met, he’s been her rock, offering unconditional love and support when no one else could.

Major kudos to the entire cast. This is a truly unique series with rich, well-developed characters. Definitely worth watching.

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vibes and feels: 100%, plot not so much

the japanese remake of the famous korean series. i haven't watched the Korean one but i know most of the plot and expected many of the things that happened in this series.
I could not get what they were trying to communicate at some serious moments. It could be the language barrier or the formal style that they speak but i felt disconnected from what they were trying to convey.
ren, out male lead was too much of a mysterious broody guy for most of the show. we couldn't get anything out from him. we do get his vulnerable side and the reasoning for why he is so closed off but that just felt like the focus shifted from ren-mui to ren-chiaki
our female lead mui was too timid and kinda got pushed around easily. I hate the falling at first sight love so her doing exactly that after being heartbroken was off putting.
the side couples has better development and endings. saki and megu are cuties
the aesthetics and vibes were a 100% perfect. the photos in the middle, the art, the music playing behind were all so good

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