Reviews

Truly Beautiful and Outstanding Drama!

Where to even start with this drama. For me I didn't find not one bit of this boring from loving Luo Yun Xi's acting. This man knows how to keep his fans watching. From his facial expressions, to the way he walks, and where he makes every action scene look like a beautiful dance.

This drama follows the lead character Tang Li Ci on a journey at first you don't know what his tale is. Is he the hero or the villain, cause he comes off as a man that only cares about himself and his survival. Which isn't true at all his biggest obsession is not being able to let his senior brother go after he dies and he is determined to bring him back by any means, but first he has to get the other half of the living bound records from another senior brother that has turn to being a villain and causing chaos. I found this drama to be a very good tale of friendship and about letting go. Tang Li Ci had to learn to let go of his obsession with bringing his senior brother back. He has a hard time losing the people he cares about he really can't handle it. This drama is not a romance but I don't think that took away from this drama. Also have to comment on the actors. Had really good actors which just made it so much better, and will comment on some.

Luo Yun Xi
Shines in this drama. He was so great to watch and his costumes were beautiful. All of his fights scenes I think makes him look like he is performing a beautiful dance he moves so fluidly. Even though this didn't have romance Luo Yun Xi still showed he had chemistry with the girls in this drama. You get to see more of his emotional scenes which I also think he does so good at.

Alen Fang
Watching Alen play a truly crazy villain was not something I was expecting when watching this, but that is exactly what he was and oh my goodness did he blow it out of the water. I would love to see him do it again cause just wow. Alen even made me laugh at times with his crazy antics.

Bai Shu
Loved seeing him play another silly character. I love him they give him these roles he excels at them. My fave character for him will always be Tengshe from Love and Redemption, but I think the character he played here will be the second. He is amazing at these kind of characters.

Sebrina Chen
Also loved seeing her again the first drama I watched her in was Maiden Holmes and loved her in that. They also dolled her up so beautifully. Loved all of her costumes.

Xiao Shun Yao
Another great actor portraying his character so well, and his costumes really suited him.

I could go on and on about the actors they all were so great and deserve the credit for this drama. The scenes were also so beautiful to watch they went all out to make it look so pretty. I will put it here it does have a sad ending, but also a really good one. Though some may not agree with me.

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Love Not the Same Stamp for Everyone!

Well, done! Bravo! Bellissimo!

I think if everyone goes in with the mindset of your "typical" romance that is your first mistake, which I believe we all did. Once you get past the first few episodes in everyone's mind, "WTH am I watching? This makes no sense." Right? Come on, you all know you did because I felt that way after episode 8. I'll admit it.

Something eventually "clicked" after really listening and paying attention to what was trying to be "translated" after that episode to me as the viewer.

The translation of love between them was not your "typical" love or love story. Fate brought them together as strangers. Then to eventually lovers. But all the baggage that they both had to decompartmentalize especially CMH, she had to do on her own. He had taken her far enough.

Chance meeting, fate, call it what you like but they figured out their translation to love.

Love does not have the same stamp for everyone; this drama certainly taught us that.

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In Awe

Some random thoughts... This drama is truly in a league of its own.. I'm a sucker for love through different lifetimes, Love above all... maybe it's the mature but classy romance but the only other Xianxia that's made me feel this way has been Legend of Shen Li. Also, you never see Pearl and ZM kiss, which was interesting, but still felt the love.
I ADORED ML in every form, so i didnt get 2ML syndrome but i seriously wanted him with FY!! I had mixed feelings about him but loved him overall. He made me mad, sad, even embarrassed at times. FY broke my heart.
Thankfully, they didnt overdo all the sadness but when the Jade Sky Palace couple died, i CRIED. And I'm not a crier. I greatly appreciated Miss Gao and her man getting a redemption after their tragic past.
It was extremely satisfying to see all the revelations... secrets are a pet peeve of mine. Many characters learned about their past selves, FY's brother finds out she was his sister, Bao finds her dad, Sangi finds out what REALLY happened the day he lost his arm, Phoenix lady finds out about her love and the endless cycle, etc. Also, I wanted to share a theory on the ending which kind of confused me, screenshot is attached- lmk your thoughts!!
I already want to rewatch. Usually I'm depressed after a binge, but I'm not because I fully feel like I can just watch it again. It's so good from start to finish. I think because i was never bored, i enjoyed EVERY arc and I'm so glad i watched it🌸🌼

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everyone jumps on the gay train bc of money but they never truly commit....

spoilers!!!!

would have been a 10/10 but the queerbaiting was more important.
bc queer love has to be pure. bc queer ppl don't have desire, bc the plot was not providing a time to explore it.
oh wait it did ... and it did for 2 scenes from straight couples.

stop jumping on a train you won't commit to.
stop giving ppl hope with a small scene that was probably a dream.
it's just cruel.

stop treating queer stories different from straight ones !

love stories are love stories and even if the focus wasn't the love part, if thriller shows and crime shows manage to incorporate it with straight dramas it shouldn't be such a hassle.

I am very disappointed, bc this show had everything... almost.

anyway I won't watch another KGL again. good job !

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I truly love this drama

I just finished my second rewatch of Lighter and Princess. What makes this drama so special is the small details; like seeing the leads interacting in their own world in the background while other characters are talking. It makes everything feel so real. The old friendships and those university days where they all dreamed together were the best parts of the show. Usually, the villains lose in the end, but I honestly thought Gao would stay evil until the very last second. Xu Li Na also returned as a completely different woman in the final episodes.

One of the most powerful scenes for me was when Xu Li Na told Li Xun: 'We all changed because of you, but you always stayed the same.' It perfectly sums up his character. Honestly, Li Xun’s arrogance and his 'I’m the best' attitude were annoying at times, but he was right. He definitely provoked Gao, and while Gao was ambitious, Li Xun pushed him even further.

On the other hand, Zhu Yun’s family constantly dragging her home was quite frustrating. However, the unexpected friendship between her father and the CEO in the office was hilarious—men really do become friends so fast!

Despite all the drama, I loved that the leads still had a heart and didn't want their old friends to get hurt. Also, the cozy vibe of their second office alone makes this worth watching—it even made me interested in coding.

My advice: listen to the OST before you start. There’s something magical about hearing a song you already love during a great scene. I truly love this drama.

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THE ULTIMATE THERAPEUTIC MASTERPIECE

seriously though, you guys don't know how much i love this drama! it’s such a vibe because there’s zero unnecessary drama- just straight-up communication and everyone being actually open-minded for once. i’m so hyperfixated right now, it’s honestly just so therapeutic to watch without having to overthink every little thing.

and can we talk about the cinematography? it’s so pretty and calming, i’m obsessed with everything about it. also, youjung deserves an award ASAP because she literally ate that double role!

the chemistry between her and seonho is just... everything. they’re such a lovely couple. this show really saved me from my slump, i swear. and okay, hiro-san is definitely handsome, and honestly? he and muhee look good together too (hear me out: we need them in another korean-japanese drama together please!), but they’re just not endgame here. maybe in another life!

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A case study in failed character endearment

This is not a great show. To be honest, I struggled to finish it, even taking a break for a year or two in the middle. But there's nothing glaringly wrong with it on the surface. The premise is fun, the acting is decent, the production value standard for its release date. So what went wrong?

Writing. It always comes down to writing. Sure the dialogue is slow and dry and obvious, but I think there are deeper structural problems which make this a failure in my eyes. The biggest among these is a failure to endear the main characters to the audience. On the surface, it seems an heiress working part-time would speak to humility and empathy, but really she has her own selfish reasons. Ji-yi is nice (and probably the best character) but she has little agency and is mostly nice in the polite sense. The guys? They're both kind of jerks. Jung-gi is a manipulative gold digger who I never forgave and while Chung-su has a heart of gold he never really puts his money where his mouth is.

So why do we care? Why are we slogging through this drawn out mediocre plot with zero interesting developments or unexpected twists? Personally, I was hoping our mc would turn out to be very competent and defeat her foes using her wits and her wiles. Not so. She is bad at her job, and the only good business idea in the whole series is Ji-yi's idea! What! And we never see Ji-yi get rewarded for that either! The mc takes all the credit and now I care even less about her.

But the romance! What about the romance? Meh. Whatever. Started out cute, but once they got together the chemistry just wasn't there. Chung-su was tsundere without the dere. I think he made three expressions of affection the entire show. Meanwhile jung-gi is a demon sent from hell to pray on the innocent. Enough said.

So we spend most of the show fretting over what will happen in these romances which aren't convincing to these characters who we don't like. And nothing interesting ever happens! Needless to say, not a fan. I don't recommend.

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Were we watching a different show?

This show was a HUGE miss for me. I had to sit and think about this for a few days before I wrote this. I didn't go into this expecting it to rock my world or anything, but I thought this was unfinished and incredibly predictable. There were several story lines that were not necessary or unfinished. The storyline with the team leader that was hired that goes after Phuwin was just a waste of an episode. It was used as a plot device to get us to think that Thee was in the mafia, when in fact he was so far from the mafia it wasn't funny. Perth's character was completely useless and did absolutely nothing to move the plot forward. I loved that in episode 9 Phuwin tells Thee not to propose, but then in episode 10 he does and then flash forward to them immediately getting married. Plus, Pond adopting the kids was something I called from the first couple of episodes. William and Est had no real point in the show. Someone needs to tell the mom that the roaring 20's are long over. The dad gave off this macho man persona. Supposedly, people in the family were gunned down constantly, but yet, we saw no danger what so ever. So much so that after the 2nd episode Thee who's whole world revolves around him being safe and not being gunned down was just like I am going to stop carrying a gun because Phuwin says it's safe. I'm sorry what?! I just thought that overall the whole show was just a big unfinished flop for me.

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unnecessary

You know what make Hidden Love so good, there not unnecessary stuff… if this show was like hidden love and just about loving each other and growing stronger together I think this show has potential… but with all this unnecessary detective spy stuff is what lost me… I like the characters and racing… I love the cute lovey dovey scenes… why not just keep it that way… I don’t get it why break them up… honestly if you wanna break them up fine it happens in every drama… come up with a better reason… why a dumb cliche ohhh I want to keep you safe… how about something more meaning like what happen in Sniper Butterfly… that’s honestly a underrated show… if you saw that show you would know what I’m talking about… so how about just keep it as racing and just racing as the plot and not racing to get into some detective spy trying to solve a crime… I’m not here for that.

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the little drama that could but wouldn’t

i loved the storyline. that is what pulled me
in. after episode 1$2 I almost dropped it because it wasn’t what i expected. but the fl was so good that i stayed. ml lead was ok for me but to me they had 0 romance chemistry. big sister chemistry? yep. but that was about it. the entire line of him suddenly out of the blue falling in love with her when just minutes before he cried for his first love, wasn’t adding up. it was so forced and rehearsed. i just couldn’t take him serious!
there was no magic moment or anything like it. just here we go we are in love now. you could tell with the fl when it changed but not him. his explanation was “I don’t know when it changed”. this entire story felt forced after a while. the sfl is a great actress and so beautiful but seriously… in this drama they just let her have one meltdown after another because she wasn’t famous?! playing one against the other with her crying and needyness. her facial expression barely ever changed. i wanted to see so much more of her and they completely missed that opportunity!
sml was great and I was on his side until that moment! until he raised his hand. i was done after that. idc what happened but You do not hit someone. idc if male or female. you just don’t, period!
that long drawn out “wait for me” ….seriously?! this wasn’t an illness or threat or anything like that. you lied. you got caught. you are facing consequences! the end. same with sfl and her running in the street. you caused the problems. take responsibility!
that marriage proposal was so rushed lol. i expected more romance.
i was a bit disappointed to be honest.
it could have been so much more.

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A Very Mixed Bag

Kim Seonho's performance in particular was subpar, often one-note and flat, though he had a few nice moments with the FL. The acting of the leads makes up a huge part of my enjoyment of romance dramas so I was never as invested as I would have liked.

The writing likewise managed to create some nice moments but mostly it didn't really capitalize on the "interpreter in the middle of dates" reality tv setting. The scenery was very picturesque and clearly a lot of money was thrown in the production but what for?

I was initially skeptical about the inclusion of Do Rami but it turned out alright, even if the writing flip-flopped in quality when it came to that plotline too.

Watchable but also forgettable.

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Hope in the light of human beings

Ultraman Tiga is so good that it’s hard to put into words what it represents to me. I believe it’s not just nostalgia that gives me such a warm feeling right from the opening theme. Back in the early 2000s, I used to run home to watch it with my older brother. In my region, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the entire series on free-to-air TV.
The scenes, the music, the shouts Tiga lets out during his attacks… everything feels exactly the way I remember it. The difference is that now I can appreciate the story much more. I have to say there are very few episodes that aren’t interesting or don’t manage to keep you engaged. Perhaps that’s due to the strong cast of characters, which makes you more invested in what’s happening.
It’s a shame how much Tsuburaya struggled with Nagano Hiroshi’s talent agency. He’s an excellent Ultraman and could have made more cameos in later Ultra series. Overall, this show gets almost everything right, especially in its episodic storytelling, even if it can feel rushed at times.
It’s an old series, but one that clearly was made with a lot of care. Watch it.

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