Serious concept but no emotion

First of all the concept of the movie is pretty serious and giving it a low rating doesn't mean anybody takes it lightly. I don't know about the anime or manga from which it was adapted but I really didn't feel any emotions in this one. I didn't connect with any character. Acting wise it was okay...I guess...no one in particular from the main cast striked me as someone I would remember for long... however all the guardians in the movie were really good. I really don't know what kind of situation or pressure one goes through to even decide that this life is not worth living...but if I connect all that to this movie I didn't see anything that would make him take such a step. Or maybe they didn't show as much back story as it needed to connect to the viewers to understand and feel his pain for taking such measures. ML's family didn't look like a family in the first place. Everyone felt awkward around each other. Nobody really talked or behaved like a family member, no matter how estranged, there should be something to make the viewers believe that they were part of a family. Brother doesn't give a damn to explain anything or give more attention, spend more time or anything to ML even after the incident , yet he says he was there it was ML who didn't look. Except for his friend I don't think anyone felt close to ML and her role wasn't much to invest in either. You can give it a try but it was not my cup of tea. It felt it was missing the soul.

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Overrated show that you will watch only for its leads

First of all...what the heck. Second of all...who in the world is writing this soap opera story. Anything is happening out of nowhere. I stopped making sense of the story after a while and people are not trolling when they said it is highly overrated. This worked only because of the two amazing leads. They are the backbone of this drama. I had this bad feeling from the get go that this story is walking on the edge of becoming a complete mess and guess what it did become one. Highly disappointed with the writers. It could have been so good but who wants that...better test out every single scene that comes to mind and create a story that will blow the minds of the viewers. And it did! In a bad way.
Don't watch this show with your logical brain, better throw it out of window, only then you can forgive the writers and move on. The family's reaction to everything and and second ml and his mother though promising in the beginning, made it into a soap opera after a while. I enjoyed every single interaction of the two main leads. Well, they were just wonderful in every single scene. Acting is promising and the music is beautiful. It's definitely a tear jerker and will leave you devasted many times (but don't worry writer won't cease to amaze you with their flawless ideas). If not for the main lead I would have dropped it half way but still watched it. Sigh. What a trauma!
Watch it if you are too happy with your life and want to check out if your tear glands are properly working or not. (I thought 'Penthouse' was the only drama that could make me this riled up...but unfortunately I was wrong.)

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Having a stressful day? Watch this one.

There aren't many shows like this. I can't believe how much I could relate to all the characters in the dorama. We all go through those times when we do some silly things. Sometimes it is funny and sometimes embarassing but we all relate to those clumsy moments. I remember the anime version of this one and to watch Yuta, Dori , Maito (all my favs) portraying these characters is a chef's kiss.
These are about 25-30min. episodes each and you will be smiling ear to ear while watching them. It is pure stress reliever.
I wish I could watch more dramas like that.

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A beautiful drama ruined by annoying characters

I always had this problem with Cdramas where they don't understand what a normal/ not so well off family looks like. They usually show these " poor" characters with an extravagant lifestyle, beautiful clothes, an expensive apartment and so on. For a change they finally showed a poor household which looks believable. A small apartment with small rooms, stuffed furniture and not so elegant looking interior.
What is good:
This story is something that you can watch with your family. It revolves around family values closely knitted together in many Asian cultures, FL's relationships and her struggle in a competitive work environment. The story is not something that you haven't seen before and I have seen Xu Kai and Yang Zi portraying similar roles before yet this drama is much better than all of them together. It is obviously slow burn and little draggy especially with second ml's storyline and fl's overbearing and nosy mother but you will enjoy the two main leads and their interaction a lot. Grandma's character is the best for me. She had a different aura altogether. You will totally adore her. Storywise it is not the best but not too bad either. Writer do not shy away from showing competitive and greedy human nature in the drama. Acting is really good whether it is the main lead or the side characters. Believe me you will literally hate some characters. They are just that good.
What will make you drop this drama: *WARNING RANT AHEAD*
Among all the dramas that I have watched (and I have watched a lot) never have I ever seen a character as annoying, overbearing, nosy, without much dignity, full of selfish bul*sh*t, and totally without any hint of character development like that of the Mother of FL in this drama. In the beginning I sort of forgave her for everything knowing how parents could be little nosy in some families. Then I thought her character might change, something will develop in her arc but to my utter disappointment there wasn't an ounce of guilt or change in her character. I don't know but looks like writers were obsessed with her to an extent that she was more on screen than ML. There is a limit to bear with such a character but writers do not give a damn instead they will introduce a whole set of relatives to irk you further. Nobody really points out what is wrong with mother. Dad and brother's characters were the weakest. They just see the whole scenario like a passerby and even cajole mother despite her being super wrong. *Sigh*
I tried really very hard for Yangzi and Xu kai but I gave up after a while. FL's brother's arc wasn't really interesting plus I felt way too much second hand embarrassment for FL throughout the episodes. I would not recommend this drama to anyone just because of ONE CHARACTER.

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Power couple is BACK!!!!

Without any doubt this is going to be one of my favourites of this year. All the wait and anticipation was worth it. It is a treat for you if are a Princess Agent fan and has been waiting for this pair to return to screens and do their magic. The chemistry is obviously breathtaking. Nothing forced. Everything feels natural when they are together in a scene. Am I the only one who thinks that they are giving little sneak peak here and there in the show to surprise Princess Agent fans and satisfy their hunger for season 2. (you all will remember that cliff hanger water scene if you are ardent fan like me in one of the episodes).
Special mention for sound track it is really very good and amplifies the moment's intensity. (Little loud sometimes but you will get used to it) I am super happy that instead of bending the story to their whims and pleasure, they decided to follow the original novel. Another special mention for all the side characters. They are really doing their job. CGI , cinematography, costume, set design everything just looks pretty. I do have some problem with their makeup/ filter but one can ignore it I guess...I mean who cares when actors are doing splendid job. I am loving all the banter of our main lead so far. I love how they make fun of all the cliche scenes. Plus who doesn't love a strong but caring female character who knows how to deal with people around her. ( It is a slowburn romance, so if you are not a fan of such dramas or haven't read the novel or not an avid fan of Princess Agent or the actors, I would suggest you to ignore it because you won't be able to connect to the drama. Plus you might have watched many dramas of this kind and might feel bored.) For the rest however,this is going to be an epic journey with lots of laughter and tears...so brace yourself you are all in for a treat.

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Pretty promising

First impression: BANGERS from the get go.
From costume to set design plus war scenes everything is top notch. It reminded me a lot of 'Nirvana in fire' and Game of thrones maybe because of the cinematography, costume and complex political plot. I did not read the synopsis of this drama before starting it and had no idea I was gonna see Liu Yunning in this one. (He is pretty much in every show that I watch these days. So busy!) Man!! he looked really intimidating here especially his entry scene. ( Did he just put on some wait for this one? Not that I am complaining. He is definitely giving proper warrior vibes). There are many familiar faces in this one. Overall a solid cast. The first episode shows the intriguing politics that was brewing behind all the sinister smiles. The cuts in between are really adding to the suspense factor. This show is not simply a political drama. It has many elements in it. I am sucker for supernatural stuff in this genre. I am loving the way they showed the conflict between the characters yet added humours factor in it to tone down the seriousness. ML(Zichuan) reminds me of Liu Yunnings character from his last drama. I think they could have tone down his character a little bit and some characters could have given extra screen time. Bromance was worth watching atleast. You might get irritated by one of the female characters but I guess that was how it was written in the novel. Overall a very good impression. Waiting for season 2.

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Good chemistry simple plot

This is a show that you should watch when you have nothing to watch in particular. You can just do your other chores while watching it in background. It is slowburn but pleasing especially in the beginning. There are all the normal tropes like family drama, sizzling chemistry, beautiful cast, foreign location, good score...yet it lacks in storyline. You will feel it after sometime. In the beginning you will be in trance the way FL and ML interact and believe me it is pretty real. Every little interaction, those subtle fidgeting moves and talking through eyes will definitely melt your heart but that is all. What lacked for me- I do not really connect with this sport (snooker/billiards ) first of all. For me it is a rich people's game like golf and I just don't feel any sports vibe from it. There is no adrenaline that you usually feel in this genre. Plus side cast is as usual pretty bland. They are there so that they can play the cupid for main lead. I was especially irked with FL's brother the way he was so obsessed with ML especially in the beginning, if they had put a bl tag I would have totally believed his actions in that way. Let me tell you NO BROTHER in this world would behave like that the way he was behaving. He was literally forcing the ship between his sis and ML. Anyway, you can give it a go to see the chemistry, or if you are the fans of main leads or just to enjoy beautiful location of Finland. There is nothing amazing or boring about it. It is a simple romantic drama with a touch of sports genre.

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Forced chemistry but good story

Gyeonseong creature takes us back to one of the hardest and struggling phase of Korean history and mixed it with an appealing sci-fi plot and created a perfect recipe for mass entertainment. ( Read summary for plot you will get the basic idea) From cinematography to cast everything is well thought and I am sure it was something that people who are sucker for some more 'stranger things' and 'sweet home' would like to watch.
First episode started with a bang especially the opening that already set the tone for the drama and you will find yourself at the edge of your seat from the suspense and the horrifying things that the army was doing to create their biological weapons and the tension between the two countries and then we are introduced to our main leads. FL: Cold, bold and have a mysterious aura. ML- Typical perfect, rich, know it all character but obviously with a difficult past. I love both of them however the more I loved their scenes separately I did not find myself feeling any chemistry between them whenever they were together. Even in the first meeting, that chemistry building looked very forced ( some people might not agree with me). That slow motion scene just took me out of a perfect action moment that was going so well. ( very typical Kdrama scene). I do not know why but ML is one of my favourite actors but here I just couldn't feel anything for his character same goes for FL. Like I really couldn't connect with his or her character throughout. I had nothing to watch so I continued watching it. I don't think this show needed romance arc but it garners more audience with that subject matter so why not... anyways that is just my opinion. The creature created good suspense in the beginning but the moment they showed it...it wasn't really that much frightening tbh. The mother and daughter arc was really good though and I really enjoyed the performance of all the side characters . And they could have explored their characters a lot more but they remained just side characters. There will be a second season and it remains to be seen how it will turn out. Overall it was a good drama no doubt but predictable after some time. Not much for a re-watch but yes definitely a one time watch for sure.

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Who the heck is writing this story

First impression: Very very questionable decisions taken by FL throughout the episodes that makes you wanna question whether the writer was high while writing the story or they think audience is pretty naive to accept it all.
What irked me - being stalked for many years but still you (FL) won't share it with your family.
- No bodyguards even though you can easily afford some help.
- Walking alone on the streets at night despite danger to your life.
- FL doesn't ask police to help her but prefer to go to some secluded place.
- Instead of taking some evidence (like photos) she always leaves the scene and doesn't even confront her husband or friend.
What I liked- It is Jang Na Ra's genre.
- Loved the intensity of the show. Just first episode and everything is like bang boom boom.
- Suspense is really good the moment you think FL has figured out everything then things again go down the drain and everyone is sus again.(despite all those dumb decisions by FL you will be on the edge of your seats.)
- Actors are doing really good. Loving our 'Go back couples reunion.'
- No comments on storyline, too much is happening so it is little confusing to comment on it. Lets see how it will unfold, I have high expectations from Jang Na Ra. Show is watchable so far.
PS: The drama has created a web of twists and turns that it itself got entangled in it badly. Despite having amazing cast the storyline is really very bad. I am contemplating whether I should lose my remaining brain cells trying to understand the plot and continue it or just drop it now or wait till I hear that the plot has progressed well and it was not that bad after all. I doubt the latter though with each passing episode. This show could have been really very great if writers tried to do something different (we are all inundated with same type of plot already) and like sane people instead of justifying questionable decisions of actors, they could have made the story more realistic with some character growth. (sigh)
In conclusion I would suggest people : watch it at your own risk.

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WELL WRITTEN ,WELL DIRECTED, WELL ACTED

I can never miss a drama that has Liu Yunning in it. If diligence of an actor had a face it would be him. (Especially for all the hate that he gets for his looks) I just find him stunning from every angle tbh. He has grown so much as an actor since the first time I saw him in long ballad. Shi shi who is FL in here has also done really very well though she is already a big name in this industry but for me this is her best performance so far. Not just the two main leads but every single actor in this drama has surpassed their previous performances.
Moving on to the story...man this is by far the best written original story of this year. Every single scene makes sense, no nonsense. Everything just holds onto the main plot without putting fillers to make audiance have a humorous break in between which is so common in Cdramas. It is good sometimes but it disconnect viewers from the main plot. But this drama really knows how to keep audiance connected without putting filler episodes. I never skipped any scene. Big applause to the writer who made such layered characters as well.
The most important thing...THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER and not just FL but other characters as well especially the one who plays princess. My god! So good! Her character development, her evolution from weak to strong willed girl is something one should not miss at all. People should really write female characters like that instead of making them some bold girl but damsel in distress the moment ML arrives. These girls are CLEVER and SMOOTH in their actions. No dumb actions at all.
Story, acting, direction, song and production everything is amazing. The cinematography kind of reminds me of old shows especially in fight scenes but I don't know it is kind of nostalgic for me. Apart from some fight sequences which are sometimes little slow and with too many cuts, rest was really good. It is not perfect but that is what makes it real. Especially the dialogues. They pinpoint all those things that we viewers always think like " wait a minute why didn't they notice it?"
Like girl pretending to be a boy. They pointed out the Adam's apple part. There are so many scenes that really questions everything that we sometimes forgive them for.
To conclude it all I would highly recommend this show. You won't regret it for sure.

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YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS FOR SURE

The drama is pretty simple and family centric and writing too much about it will spoil the fun so I will write some bullet points for this one.
- WELL ACTED: In comedy if actors are not good enough to express the right emotions then all the jokes fall flat pretty easily. All the actors had done a splendid job in the drama. Casting is superb.
-QUIRKY MUSIC: You would not expect such different choice of songs in historical dramas. Songs are really funny especially their lyrics. Suits the tone of comedy genre of the drama for sure.
-HISTORICAL COMEDY: I haven't seen this type of comedy drama in a while. It is very different from all the other shows. Think about all the funny moments actors would go through while shooting for a historical drama. Yup! that is what you will see here.
-FAMILY BOND: Very realistic portrayal of a family despite a comedy show. Everyday struggle, festivities, argument among siblings, mom's scolding, romance, emotional scenes...it has everything.
-ROMANCE: I really liked how they introduced all the male leads. All of them are different but so good with their respected partners that you would enjoy all of their interactions.
-NO BORING MOMENTS: Well it is COMEDY so obviously you won't feel bored even for a second. Even the elders will make you laugh so much. Sibling fights and their mom's constant nagging is really funny throughout the drama. All the misfortunes that male leads go through is really hilarious (I know it sounds wrong but you will get it after watching).
There are some slow scenes but they won't bother you that much.
If you are still hesitating to start this one then I would suggest you to just watch the first episode. You won't be able to stop after that :)

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My journey to you in S...L...O...W M...O...T...I...O...N

The drama looked pretty intriguing from the story. It started off with a bang which looked pretty promising then it began to drag in the middle, then accelerated all the way towards the end and finally stopped dead in the end. (That's the gist of the drama).
All the things that I loved about the drama in the beginning began to irk me towards the end. One such example is the aesthetics. It was really gorgeous to look at the mesmerizing natural scenes now and then but they did it way too much that I began to skip them. Another example is slow motion, that is the biggest problem in this drama. It was good at first in some scenes but they were walking in slow-mo, running in slow-mo, drinking in slow-mo, fighting in slow-mo, talking in slow-mo and explaining things in slow-mo...tbh I had to watch all that in 2x many times. (I have never seen a bad guy explaining his plans for more than half an hour and that too so damn slowly that I even lost interest in the middle of his conversation. The closeup scenes for instance began to look funny because they did it way too much especially during the fight scenes which, by the way, showed really good choreography, began to look fake. It looked they were posing with a sword for some photoshoot.
The main leads for me were the least interesting couple (I just did not feel anything for them. They were good in separate scenes but whenever they were together it felt .... boring.) Even the side characters were far interesting than them. The sister was hilarious (there was overacting but still in all the chaos she was the one who made me laugh). I loved yound elders and felt more connected to their stories than the leads. Plot wise it was really interesting but due to some reasons it looked the writers were justifying ML's every action right no matter how stupid it was. The interaction of two brothers and sister-in-law was something I enjoyed a lot. I felt more connected to young elders like Xue and Hua despite less screen time than anyone in the drama even the assassin mentor Hanyesi made me cry. It had great visuals, beautiful actors, well acted suspenseful story and good songs but it lacked chemistry ( FL had more chemistry with her mentor despite few scenes, two brothers had more chemistry than second leads) and sense at times. Plus the ending which wasn't even an open ending tbh. I wonder if there will be a season 2? (So many loose ends).
All I can say in the end is that it was a good one time watch.

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HILARIOUS DRAMA

If you are a hardcore anime fan like me, YOU ARE GONNA LOVE THIS. If you are into comedy genre like me, YOU ARE GONNA LOVE THIS. If you are NOT into the mood of watching something serious with lots and lots of politics then YOU ARE GONNA LOVE THIS (just like me).

Well that sums it all. I heard this show is adapted from a Chinese anime which is pretty great on its own and I was happy that I haven't watched that one before because this way the drama feels much more hilarious , moreover, not knowing what is gonna happen next is good enough to maintain the suspense. I really went in without any expectations ( mainly for Neo) after hearing a great deal about it and from the first episode it was nonstop comedy (silly at times, not that I am complaining). Comedy is not the only thing that will glue you to your screens but it is the fight scenes so well choreographed and acted that makes it much more entertaining. It reminded me of Dragon Ball, Naruto , My hero academia and many such anime that dives into the sea of emotion, family love, friendship, journey of characters from the weakest to the strongest and of course TOURNAMENTS ( I live for all that).
But what dumbfounded me was the way each character makes it so believable even though it was comedy the emotional scenes almost made me cry bitterly. You just have to keep watching and don't stop on "the particular episode" which turned down its ratings( you'll know when you watch what I am talking about). Overall it is a really good show that I would recommend to all :) You won't be able to wait for the next episode for sure.

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Watched it for Liu Yuning

Never really watched the actress before or maybe I just can't remember. I was not familiar with other actors as well so it was all because of Liu Yuning that I started this show with little to no expectation especially with this kind of storyline (read the summary if you don't know). I am still in confusion how I ended up watching the whole show even though I was skipping many parts which was outright boring and even after skipping I could still understand the story.
There are three couples and most of the time I skipped the parts of the one who was the head of reporters (forgot her name). I just didn't understand her character. Maybe because she was just not sticking to anything. Giving resignation then coming back like nothing happened, insisting to fire her friend from job then asking for not doing it because as usual she was wrong :/ She behaved like an angry bull who just hits anyone without any reason. She never tries to understand other's perspective and SHE WAS A LEADER ( sigh...)
The FL was a good actress but but but...she was too perfect as described by ML in a scene. In reality her character was the perfect image of THE perfect citizen, wife, mother, daughter and add as many perfect role you want to put before her name. Which was just so not real. I can't believe there was not a teeny tiny bit of imperfection in her that could make me see her as a real person. Anyways ML was the one that made me love her scenes. He was quirky and fun guy that I enjoyed the most. It was a breather for me to see him in a different kind of role.
The most annoying character was the third FL. and the funny part was that she was the most real character in the whole show. She had all the negatives and conniving scenes. You might hate her but you won't be able to because THAT IS WHO WE ARE. Yes...she represented many women struggling out there in the professional sphere who strives to do anything to earn her living without connections and try to achieve her dreams at all cost and guess what she was the one who actually did not get a perfect ending like other two FLs. (Eye rolls)

I don't know how well they represented media's role in China. They tried very hard to portray a media which is very honest and doing its job to represent truth without any bias. ( which I highly doubt). Rest of the cast is just there for show you won't even remember them. I liked mom's role to bring out more emotions from FL. The ending looked rushed and I just couldn't digest the way FL ended up with ML while she was about to forgive her husband seconds ago. ( It was not a spoiler you can just guess the storyline right away). Overall it was one time watch and I watched it for Liu Yuning who overshadowed everyone. I was not even that much interested in their cases related to their job. Oh! I forgot to mention the kid of FL. He was the best part of the show apart from Liu Yuning. Acting wise it was really good, music was ok and that is all.

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Can't wait for season 2

I am someone who has little faith in Xianxia genre. Most of the time they ruin the whole story with unnecessary fillers if it's an adaptation. Plus they change the major part of the story that ends up into a cliched, stupid and predictable storyline. Another thing is annoying stupid female that we usually find in such dramas. And the most important part- Rushed ending!!!!

What I loved:
- WHAT A CAST. No over the top acting. ( Special mention for kids). Yangzi killed it with her acting skills here. The actor who play Cang Xuan, man he might not be my favourite character but his acting and the subtle emotions that he portrayed throughout the show is undoubtedly the best. What an amazing actor. Another special mention is for the grandpa. What an outstanding character. Every actor from a maid to all the rulers and side characters behaved like the real person not just some extras.
-Female lead is not annoying ( was not a fan of Yangzi as I have always seen her in bubbly, hyper and stupid girl sort of role.) I didn't know she will become one of my favourites.
- Finally all of them have their own voices. (No dubbing).
-Loved the songs especially the one sung by the actress herself. Background music just adds more beauty to the fantasy world of this drama.
-Only few episodes and you won't be able to stop yourself from watching. The story is really good and connects you right away with the characters.
- Three male leads are there and believe me you will find it hard to choose a favourite. All of them acted so well that you just can't ignore their presence.
- Set design, costumes and overall production is really good. CGI is...okay in some scenes but they utilised the money at the right place and those scenes looked mesmerizing. It again proves that an amazing director can bring so much out from the actors and made sure people could connect to the characters.
I was planning to read the novel (if I could find it somewhere) but it is good I went into it without prior knowledge about the novel. I can't believe we all have to wait for a long time for season 2. But this season satisfyed my thrust for an amazing well paced, edited and acted Xianxia drama. It deserves all the praise. :)

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