Reviews

Le pongo un 9, como el año que viene no haya segunda temporada voy a volver y le voy a poner un 1.

Le pongo un 9, como el año que viene no haya segunda temporada voy a volver y le voy a poner un 1.
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Very Conflicted

I don't know how to feel about this series, On one hand, I enjoyed it, but on the other, I can't stand it.

I liked the beginning few episodes a lot, I thought it was very cute, sweet and wholesome. I loved the style choices; Yo always wore beaded jewelry was my favorite. Yo and Pun are super cute, separately. I don't know if it's the series, but this is the first time in a long time I haven't liked the main leads together. Ultimately, I would like to see them in another drama before I count them out. I like the Pork Blood group and would love to see them in another drama.

I kind of compared the show's wholesomeness to "Light On Me" and " My School President," and it doesn't compare. These shows don't have any spice to them, but the content in them was much more complex and better, in my opinion.

The beginning started with Yo being obsessed with Aliens, but after the show went on and we were introduced to Pun, we slowly forgot the whole alien premise. I know it's a vampire series, but I wish they kept the alien aspect there. Maybe they made Shin an alien since he was often goofy and in "outer space". ." so, I could've had a little more vampire drama, if that's what we were going with here, like maybe make Pun have a little more substance to him, all he did was walk around confessing his love to Yo and eating Pork blood, he didn't do much. I liked that they put a meaning to Opal's actual birthmark but I didn't get it, I wish they would've put in earlier episodes so we could've gotten a little more from it.

As for the BL aspect, it was fine. There was no spice, and there was one small kiss. They had Pun follow Yo around, telling him that he was in love with him, and Yo didn't accept or reciprocate any feelings until the last episode. We also didn't have any side couples. I think we kind of needed them to make the series move. They could've had a GL storyline with Janga and that girl whom she drank from; they had something going on.

I didn't understand the ending after Yo confessed his love to Pun; it was all confusing and honestly unnecessary. They could've just ended it with a hug.

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Not bad, but not good yet. Hoping that it's gonna improve in the coming episodes.

Ep 1: The leads first meeting was anything but romantic. Kinda reminds me of the lead from the drama "Love with flaws" & "Mad for each other". The FL calls the ML poopy pants, because their first encounter was when they were stuck in a lift and the ML had flatulence. It was embarrassing to watch, so skipped most of that elevator scene. I admit that parts of it were funny, but this is not a good start for the drama. So far, it seems more like a childish prank show rather than a well put together drama. And what the hell is wrong with everyone, his co-worker was the one who had an affair, so why are all of them hell bent on him taking the blame? Make it make sense!

Oh thank god for the last 15 minutes of the show, otherwise this drama would have been put on hold forever. Even still, it could have been so much better. But like I said, it did have a quite a few funny scenes. So, hopefully, there will be more of that in the next episode. I'll keep watching for that.

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The beginning of this drama was great. It was very engaging and together with the characters we discovered what had happened. I was curious what Ji Won had to do to change her life and how she would achieve it. However, around episode 10/11 it became predictable. I didn't have as much fun watching this drama as I did at the beginning. That's why I stopped watching it several times and then came back to it. But don't get me wrong, this drama is really good. With top actors, great OST and plot. After episode 11, there was simply an element missing that would completely absorb me.


I don't think Yura's appearance was a bad idea. It added to the plot and ultimately made sense.

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Clichés after clichés

To summarise this drama, Park Ji-eun just took a semi-interesting characterisation and ran with it. The romance was okay, but the plot points were outrageous.

Hae-in is a likeable female lead. Rich, gorgeous, capable, straight talking, with a dash of childhood drama. The sulky and haughty heiress is actually a very popular characterisation that is tried and tested. It's no surprise that viewers love her. With the contrasting male lead Hyun-woo (just money-wise though because a male lead cannot be imperfect), we have the perfect setup for a typical Korean romcom with the gender roles sorta reversed. "Sorta" is important here, because eventually the story went from finding love after marriage to saving the damsel in distress repeatedly.

Like I mentioned, the romance was fine. I don't think there was sizzling chemistry, but there was definitely some temperature. The part where they were falling in love all over again is pretty much the best part of the drama, though the lovey dovey bits had me cringe a little. I do agree with most that the acting is good, though personally I thought it was also accentuated by the horrendous script.

The reason why I'm writing this review is because I am amused at how bad the writing was. I'm not even upset, I'm genuinely confused how the drama lost steam so quickly.

Hae-in's family were a failure of a chaebol family, billions in net worth but they have the combined intelligence of a high-school student. At the beginning it was funny, but towards the end it became ridiculous. It also undermined Hae-in's characterisation a little, because she should have put up a respectable fight if she was as capable as the writer wanted her to be.

I don't understand the second male lead as well. He has an inexplicable obsession with Hae-in which is creepy. I get that he's only supposed to be the catalyst for the relationship, but it needs to be interesting at the very least. Instead, he feels like a writer's cop out to introduce convenient obstacles in the story, and it's incredibly frustrating to watch.

Don't be fooled by my rating; this is a negative review. This belongs to the I-don't-know-why-I-stuck-with-it camp. I think the drama is engaging for the first eight episodes or so, and some might find it sufficiently palatable if they are just looking for a light drama to watch. But do lower your expectations.

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All smiles, no substance...

Lucky My Love definitely deserve A for the effort and some consideration because it is one of the rare GLs out there. If we were to compare it to similar length web dramas, it keeps up with them. But, objectively speaking this is a badly written, acted and overall produced drama.

It is an office romance. Napdao is so unsuccessful in love that she goes to tarot reader to get some insight into her future. At the same time a new team manager joins the office. Their boss and the new team manager start competing for Napdao's attention. Whom shell she choose?

This short web drama does not raise any issue (family and society acceptance needed?). They are both independent women and we do not know much about them or their background. The biggest problem here are the love triangle and misunderstanding, though due to the short duration, those problems were quickly solved. And of course there is the obligatory mildly screeching trans comic relief character. The drama is shallow, quick and forgettable.

The production is a low budget one but that is not important especially where these rare dramas are concerned. They should have concentrated more on writing and acting because they are both lacking. None of the actors could deliver the lines correctly (and the subs on youtube are really bad so it is not about the substance but the intonation). The actress playing Napdao has an infectious smile, she is very cute and when she smiles she lights up the room. Literally!

The producers of Lucky My Love need encouragement to continue to make better dramas: this one was a cute little romance but with no substance. Hopefully we'll see better things in the future.

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Surprisingly dark, surprisingly approachable.

For a drama that tackles a whole list of triggering topics, it had quite a way to put a smile on my face.

While the first half is quirky in the presentation, the second half loses a bit of that charm, diving deeper into the realistic approach. One has to be extremely careful when presenting a story built on misfortune and struggles to not make the audience feel completely hopeless and drained from all energy, while also making it tactful - what jokes are appropriate and which ones could cross the line and make fun of the issues. Definitely Not Today does quite a good job keeping the balance. Keep in mind though: a lot of triggering elements like assault, attempted suicide are shown in rather straightforward manner.

To be honest, I kept thinking how unhinged the drama truly is. The way it presented Mi Chong’s constant suicide attempts with his peculiar, emotionally detached narration surprised me, but in a positive way. The same story presented in a hyper realistic manner would break me into pieces and I would fall into eternal drama slump buried under mild depressive thoughts. Going wacky and unconventional was the good approach - the message is the same, the heart is the same, but you don’t end up in a gloomy mood when you watch it.

What we get is a heartwarming and at times funny journey of two people with a lot of emotional baggage who learn how to appreciate living, how to trust others and show care for people around them. Who learn how to receive and give help. People who learn how to live.

Performance wise, I fell in love with Leon Leong. His depiction of Mi Chong was so heartbreaking, even in his more lethargic state, you could sense the pain and struggle behind the odd narration. Vivienne Tien did an amazing job presenting both the strong and confrontational, but also vulnerable and scared side of Zhi Liao. Complicated characters presented in a skillful manner.

Undeniably the directing and editing help the story a lot. The silly drawings during some scenes, wacky editing, quick cuts between shots - all added to that bizarre, but weirdly relatable feeling.

Overall, great drama. I only wish they kept more of the lighter tone of the directing and editing in the second half.

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Touching

I guess what impressed me the most with this movie was the female lead's acting. I liked how she acted on her scenes and character. She really aced this one. Both performances of the leads were great, but the female lead left a deep impression on me.

Anyway, plotwise, I researched the original story (the real-life one), and I realized they changed it a little. I still like it, though. The storyline is not lacking. It successfully captures what they want to show, from how they met to how they eventually married after what happened.

Also! I am moved by the guy's loyalty, as he stayed and waited until the end. The girl, on the other hand, was understanding, I think? She handled her situation calmly, especially when she was introduced to her supposed-to-be fiancée without remembering who he was. I also loved her effort in trying to remember him.

Overall, it was a great touching movie.

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Not sure if I watched the same show

I'm trying to decide if I should give TLEOTM a rewatch and see if there is something I missed in the first watch that made everyone love this and rate it as one of the best Xanxia/Wuxia ever. I still can't understand how the relationship between FL & ML ever passed over from disgust to undying love. I loved Bai Lu and Luo Yun Xi in Love is Sweet, so it'ts not the actors, just the plot. I could not for the life of me figure out how the ML ended up being such a simpering fool who just kept getting himself in line for more smacks in the face from the FL, and kept coming back for more. He went from the most horrific being in all the universes to such a sucker... Like I said, maybe I need to watch again because as much as I had been looking forward to it and wanted to love it, I just couldn't,

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CatMan and the Power of Friendship

First things, first.
That CGI cat head, and paws, were ridiculous LOL White haired wigs can be tricky in these sorts of shows but I thought the ML looked really good in his. He has striking enough facial features to carry it well. I wish they had gone with that and some sort of Buffy style vampire prosthetic make up or something because, I was not a fan of the computer cat face LOL Heck, they gave the other guy fanged teeth. That ML actor, with the white wig, teeth and some face make up know how, and he would have looked gorgeous and I wouldn't have had to burst out laughing at the reveal each time LOL
They gave that beautiful face that flowing white hair because of 'shock' and then took it away from me. How dare they. How did he get his natural hair back even though his cat hair is style white? damn them. He should have at least kept the white hair.

Now that I've said that, this is an enjoyable series. Ridiculous and childish but fun. I feel like that may have been the point though. (E.g ML's slow-mo run away from his feelings) There was a lot of slap stick style humour. It was like a live action cartoon. Most of the comedy was very over acted and silly. People falling on floors. One of the character has a bad luck cloud, the overly dramatic one etc etc

The mysteries were good, I thought. I couldn't work them out. There were a few times were information was withheld or the ML just seemed to know randomly, but not too much. And most impressively, I couldn't work out the antagonist's motives either. I honestly couldn't figure him out and that doesn't happen often so touche. I was expecting the Empress to be involved considering her condition but she's never touched on. Also, our main female character is taken out of the plot for her safety and we don't see her again, not even at the end was a little disappointing.
I would also have liked to have heard of more of the lore that is the basis for the plot. How did our Cat God end up in the stone coffin? How long has he been there? I would have liked to have seen more of his story.

I had a hard time keeping up with names in this show. It was a show with so many characters as per usual with c-dramas but we mostly see the main group, which is fine. But when someone's name is constantly brought up and I've only seen their face a few times, it can make following the plot a little hard because I don't know who's being talked about lol

The whole plot is the standard, sieving through the powerful figure heads all the way to the top, but around that, there is a sweet and fluffy theme of friendship and the strengths of those bonds. Nothing too deep. Just simple honest communication with the people you care about.

Music and sets weren't bad but nothing too dramatic. We do spend a lot of time in the same places. I enjoyed the little dramatic singing snippets in the background of fight scenes.

Overall, I did enjoy this show for what it was. I laughed, I felt pity, I was intrigued and it had a sweet and fluffy ending to conclude. I didnt feel anything too deep or sad about this one. The 'big' death, and a second death, I had been expecting from about a third of the way into the series and the rest were the usual collateral damage.
My standard ratings are usually a 7 or an 8, I did have fun watching this but I'm not sure if I'd watch it again. There's a lot of cheese but I'm not sure if that was part of the humour or if it was just set up that way to keep things light hearted. And then there was the cat head, which I have mentioned. I think if I were to rewatch, it would be to just simply have something light hearted in the background.

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