Just watch it.

You know a drama is good when it has the comment section discussing the characters temper, personality and relationships as if they’re actually real people.

Where do I begin. This drama is: gorgeous, precious and will probably leave a hole in your heart when it ends. Not because it sad but because you’ll be immersed and involved in their daily lives.

I’ve watched a lot of dramas in the last 13 years and very few were this pleasurable. The characters are written so well, they’re layered, real and lovable. The pacing is delectable, not too action heavy, sometimes purposely mundane but always keeping your attention. The direction, cinematography, set design, clothes are tasteful, this is truly what they call the female gaze. YangYang just proved everyone that women just do it better and has set the bar to a new high.

The romance. THE ROMANCE. Mature, trusting, kind, understanding, realistic. This is the kind of drama where you can see the leads falling for each other just by the way they look at each other. The tension is unbearable at times, it made me scream with envy in my pillow.

This drama is VERY rich in human relationships. Father x son, sisterhood, womanhood, brotherhood, teen x mentor figure, teenage puppy love, motherhood and more. There’s something for everyone.

To me, this is without a doubt THE best historical romance drama I have watched. Not because this is the best most complex impeccable story ever written but because this drama will bring excitement back and get rid of you loneliness. The focal point of this drama is not the intrigue it’s the people and their personal hardships. I can’t wait to forget it so I can watch it again.

So just watch it, give it a go, at least 3 episodes. If you don’t like it, it’s probably just not your cup of tea, because objectively, quality wise this checks all the boxes. Great work.

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SO MUCH FUN

The immersive experience alone should convince you to watch this. I REALLY had so much fun watching this.

The world building of this drama sets it apart from all the other game/transmigration dramas, the writers put their all into creating a world that would let the watchers experience the game with the FL. There's also the fact that every single character is layered and complex although just NPCs, it really let's you reflect on the multiverse and reality. Am I real? Am I also a game character? Had me rethinking my life a few times.

The storyline although at times a bit confusing (a tiny bit really), unraveled nicely, none of that Cdrama choppy nonsense. There's a lot of twist and turns that keep you on your toes.

Of course, for all Cdramas everyone is probably wondering if the FL character is annoying and the answer is......

No! (imo, cause some of y'all hate material gowrls, but I LIKE them ). I actually found her quite refreshing, I was surprised to learn that our FL was a mean girl, wore make up and never missed an opportunity to give her two cents. She speaks her mind so much that I think she's the reason why it felt like I was playing the game with her. She's all of us in a character and I love her for that.

Cons:
1.The ending, its a good ending, of course, but it left me thirsty for more. I would have loved to see a full episode of her life in the real world.
2. ML's acting at times was very stiff and lacked micro expressions. Some people might disagree but the 2nd ML was objectively more attractive on screen. I've seen a few people complain of an incurable second lead syndrome. WATCH IT STILL.

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Sit down let me tell you why this is dog shit

Have you ever been cheated on? That how disappointed you will feel after watching this drama.

Let’s get this straight: I’ve never seen the OG version of this drama, so I’m purely going off the mess I’ve tortured myself with.

What I know is that this drama is seriously SERIOUSLY lacking in the writing department and people have waited a year for what could’ve been the romcom of summer 2022 but turned out to be a booing festival.

The biggest irony of this drama is how the FL is a scriptwriter but the actual script is of the drama is ass. FL and ML chemistry is nonexistent, they wasted 70% of screen time on a crime plot that doesn't matter and no one cares about, the love story with her ex has so much more substance and screen time that it gave all the viewers second male lead syndrome, the father-daughter relationship is barely explored, heck the FL character is also barely explored. From the scriptwriter's profile it seems like this is her first work, and it shows. I’m so sorry but this is truly wasted ressources and potential.

To sum it up this is the drama:
19% romance with sml
70% crime plot
1% baby
5% romance with the ml
2% found my long lost father

This could’ve been great, some people may even like it but the execution is too bad not to be frustrated and disappointed. Come ooon. You just had to write it better ( and cast another FL) , the budget was there

UPDATE:

*Ending Spoiler*

In what world is this series of event not asinine:
-Breaks up with SML because: baby
-Falls out of love with SML
-Falls in love with ML
-Dates ML
-Talk about future as family with ML
-ML proposes, she gets angry
-She breaks up with ML
-Her brain, literally, I kid you not, resets to factory setting and suddenly she doesn’t know who to get back with. Girl weren’t in a committed relationship 2.5 seconds ago??
-Goes back to SML
-The end

huh???? HUHHHH?

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Are you kidding me? Give this drama a better rating c'mon!

I absolutely had to write a review because the rating is unfair. This is an amazing drama, great writing, direction and cast. This deals with social issues like feminism, class, inequality but also love, marriage and personal growth.

What most people will love about this drama is the character development. The MCs are written beautifully, they're complex unconventional characters that have layers. ML is adorable, sweet and caring and not afraid to change his mind when he's unsure. He makes mistakes and is insecure at times, but he always has a goal and strong values. FL has a tough exterior to protect herself in a world where women are still property. Some watchers will give up on her too early instead of understanding her hardships. But when she loves she loves hard and will be a ride or die. The rest of the cast is just as detailed. This is the kind of drama that leaves you feeling really close with characters because they felt real.

This is also without a doubt a romcom, but not a dumb one. Its funny but still has some intrigue and the problems get resolved quickly. What I appreciated the most about the writing is how every new character and event intertwines and leads somewhere. There's no nonsense or holes.

Overall, I feel like the only people who will dislike this are the ones who will give up on it too early or were expecting something else. Because for what it is (cute romcom with unconventional characters) this is great.

Giving this a 10 because this is well above average and is up there in quality when it comes to cdramas.

(Also the set design is rich and has variety (big budget))

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Fun time

I'm giving it a 8.5, not because the writing or direction was exceptional. Its actually far from that, the writing has a lot of weaknesses and the post-production is very rushed.

The reason I am rating this drama so high is because the setting and plot is very unique and extremely exciting. This drama is a fully immersive experience in a futuristic world. It had me thinking about the implications of augmented reality on society and people, what if we're really all just in a game, how this could be our future in the near future and more. Overall, I really love how immersed I was into their world.

Romance is extra cute, adorable and mushy. Nothing more to say, watch it to find out.

Its a matter of time before the people who love isekai, transmigration and AR find this drama. Its really a hidden gem, if you like letting your mind drift into another world, this drama is for you,

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Change jobs until you find yourself?

I dont know if this is all that inspirational..

I started getting annoyed at the delivery of this "inspirational message" on episode 6, when Umi belittled Kazao for not wanting his name to be on his commercial work. Kazao opened up about how his job at Animal Beauty is a means to pursue what he really loves. This girl then took it upon herself to make it seem like its a selfish thing to do. Not surprising coming from a workaholic who can’t fathom not sacrificing your life to your job. She then goes on to shame his morals further because she admires his commercial shots. Girl who care if you like it, its not about you, he’s telling you it could ruin on his reputation and his dream. In the end she never apologized for what she said, instead Kazao was the one who reached back to her first.

I absolutely hate how the writers did not address this conflict further and call out her distorted relationship with work yet again. I thought this drama would go deeper into that considering it is literally the premise of the story. She started off hating the person she had become after losing herself in her previous job, to overcome that challenge she starts to “change”, to "do things differently" or to “work harder”. How is that self love? That’s not self love. That's blending in. She molded herself to fit right into the new cool workplace . She never acknowledges the root problem of her self hate issues, which is: she’s a workaholic who finds purpose and identity in her job and not within. This drama is not about chasing your dreams, (although for Kazao it was), it was about finding yourself again after getting lost.

And i'm not sure they did that great of a job at it.

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Where do I begin...

The FL had no character development and the ML never tried to understand her insecurities so basically their relationship was baseless. If the writer had working brain cells she would have at least used their past to create a plot. I was expecting the ML to admit that he was the insecure one and has a hard time trusting her feelings because in the past she ignored him and moved on. But no instead everything is just in the air. Does he like her? meh sorta who knows. Did he like her in the past? meh sorta who knows. Also the book he wrote is ridiculous and doesn't mean anything to the audience. We can't read it, its not helping us understand him any better.

Cardboard characters, no development, no real plot, just angst and immature interactions. They all need therapy. That tsundere landlord needs to be checked for narcissism, sociopathic tendencies and mommy issues, ML has communication issues, probably depression and dysfunctional relationship with love, FL needs a confidence coach and self love. That blond girl although brain dead and slow, she's a cutie and can do no wrong so I'll spare her.
The actress who played the FL carried this drama, despite her character being a doormat and a masochist, she portrayed her perfectly.

Conclusion: BOooo, *throws eggs*

I don't completely regret watching it though, messy people are funny.

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whoever says its corny your mom is a

This season is so much deeper than the last. The plot is just a decoy; behind it is a deep reflection on life, strength, perseverance, our existence and free will. I had to stop a few times to reflect on life and my existence as a player. I feel so bad for anti intellectual surface level watchers who can't see past the story and dialogues. Some will even say the dialogues are superficial, but I think they're only superficial if you want them to be. This is the kind of drama that I would encourage watchers to consume with introspection.

Why are you here? What is real? What keeps you alive? curiosity? spite? hope? do you even neec a reason? Why are you still playing? Where do you get your strength? What does it mean to be real, to be a human? is your existence fair? Why do you hate life/yourself? What's the value of a life? How valuable is yours? This dramas raises alot of questions that will never get old, and for once instead of making you depressed afterwards it revives your will to exist, to fight and persevere.

Also the hidden symbolism is beautifully done, I just noticed how the people who stayed behind in borderland where people who aimed for control and domination meanwhile the ones that went back were willing to face the uncertainty of their life. So no matter how many times some characters where deathly injured they still wouldn’t die, because their will to live was too strong. And when the face cards leaders died they all said that they were glad to be finally free. I believe that when they accepted their citizenship to borderland they all had plans of grandeur and domination but deep down after a while they realized they weren’t as free as they thought.

There was no badly written character because every character embodied a thought provoking existential question. This is really about letting go of control and fear to face the hardest game of all, that is life.

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Stinks

I didn't have a hard time following the story because I read the manga a long long time ago so I had an idea where it was going, this doesn't change from the fact that this: sucked ass.

I don't remember if I even liked the manga to begin with, but oh my...this..this stinks.

People are really writing essays on this when really, this drama doesn't even require two working brain cells to understand the message. Because in actuality there's nothing powerful or inspirational about it. On the contrary, the narrative is soooo vapid, toxic and frankly very immature. This has as much depth as a an angsty wattpad book written by a 14 yr old. Also, all characters are deeply unpleasant. And don't get me started on the cinematography, nothing impressive just cringy superficial shots with no intention behind them.

If this is art to you, I beg you to widen your horizon.

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Addictive Drama

When this drama started airing, people where saying that it Xu Kai first flop drama. Little did they know this would be a very addictive watch. This drama is set in the early 1900s, and deals with kung fu sects and their outdated rules.

Throughout the drama the themes of greed, indoctrination, power structures and the question of what it means to be a “dog” are brought up. The romance is settle but adorable and precious. And all characters are equally interesting.

Expect to have to use some brain power for the first episodes to understand the context and story. From there the events of the story unraveled nicely with many twists and turns.

Disclaimer not to judge the ending too harshly as it was the subject to censorship. Its a nice ending but cut short. Nonetheless this is a good watch.

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Incredible performance from the ML

I'm actually going to critique the comments and not the drama for once. Because I really feel like drama watchers have a hard time with mundane scripts. The mundane let's you appreciate the historical setting and nuanced human hardships. Not all historical dramas need an epic adventure and intrigue from the get go.

The first half didn't bother me at all for being "boring". I quite liked the way we were shown different historical settings than other historical dramas. I was able to appreciate and learn about interesting historical details. There's also a lot of realism in the way women are portrayed in this drama, we can see actual misogyny and hardships.

Second half is explosive and raw. This was my first time watching Joseph act and I am truly impressed. What a character! So much depth and emotions. I could write a whole essay on his character especially the last episodes. (if you watched it you know what scene I'm talking about)

On a last note scripts can be mistaken as boring when in fact they're intentionally mundane to showcase the historical setting, the human experience and nuanced themes. There were some weak moments in the plot and the development but the performance of the ML, the historical experience and the love story are enough to make this a very sold Cdrama.

On a side note, the school concept is interesting, it felt like I was watching boys over flowers historical edition.

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