Reviews

Very Entertaining

The concept of Apartment 404, while limiting if you take the title at face value, takes large scale crimes that happened in apartment buildings/complexes from different time periods is SK and has the cast solve them. It made me wonder what exactly goes on in large complexes as I've never lived in one. They dropped a fact about how many apartment buildings there are in SK. I don't remember exactly, but they're one of the top in the world. That's a lot of damn apartments! I think the producers realized they didn't have enough source material and expanded their reach as seen in episodes 7 and 8. This actually gave me hope for a season 2.

I truly enjoyed every episode. It's like Busted! mixed with a bit of Village the 8 (had it lived up to it's potential). It was fun trying to figure out clues and guess which one (if any) of the endearing cast lead by King of the Variety Show, You Jae Suk. I will watch at least one episode of any show Yoo does. Of the shows available to me in the last 12-14 years there's only been 2 that I wasn't fond of. I was familiar with everyone in the cast but grew to love was Lee Jung Ha. You would think he'd get swallowed up by the over top personalities of the rest of the cast, but held his own and got better with each episode.

Rarely to I re-watch dramas but I tend to re-watch variety so I can laugh. In the case of Apt 404 it's more of case of trying to find clues that I missed. I would recommend this as a de-stresser to anyone, especially if they like things that are light hearted with a bit of mystery.

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story about pure love, determination, teamwork

-the cast are amazing, they blended all well
-acting are of professional level by both ML and FL as well as the supporting cast, realistic and just perfect for each role
-story is realistic, not overly romantic cringy or cheesy (it sucks if its too cheesy because that does not happen in real life)
-song sanchuan love for liang you'an is a combination of balance and passion at the same time, its loyal and lasting and persevering
-the story has nice transition
-definitely worth watching it several times if you want to fall in love realistically
-a lot of people do not like older FL and younger ML that is why this drama is so underrated because it received prejudice, give it an objective take not subjective, this is definitely one of the best drama of wu lei, i like his determination here
-the only chinese drama i put on repeat mode
congrats to wu lei and yutong , hope to see again in another drama in the future!!!

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Laorchan review

I've been waiting for this lakorn fir two years. And I couldn't be more happier to have watch it. It was really well made indeed. Lot of beautiful scenes. The acting by Gulf Kanawut was always on top. The fact he can switch from mad to sad, ti funny. It speak volumes about his skills. The fighting scene at the beginning. The story kept you wanting to watch another episode because you wanted to know what will going to happen next. The great use of CGI. The most part and beautiful part for the whole team was in the forest. It turned out absolutely beautifully. To me is a 10/10 totally worth to watch it and to re-watch ?

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Adorably Messy for Love Stage Fans

Love Stage !! is by no means a masterpiece. Some of the storytelling feels a bit rushed, and some parts are underexplained. But as a fan of both the original anime and manga, this is a great adaptation. The show gave its own spin to this cute tale and captured the essence of Izumi/Anda and Ryouma/Ryou perfectly. I loved seeing the characters come to life and had fun watching the show, despite its flaws. I'd definitely recommend if you're a Love Stage OG. If you're not familiar with the original material, I think you'd enjoy it if you're in the mood a sweet, fluff romance.

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very poor script

The contrived misunderstandings between characters were painful to watch. The Lin Kai Tuo character had no apparent redeeming qualities and nobody ever confronted him on what an insufferable jerk he was constantly being. The script writer seems to believe that stalking is the recommended dating style that most of the people should use. I couldn't finish the drama, even though I tried to muddle through the pain for several episodes in the hope that it might get better. After reading the comments about upcoming plot twists that I didn't get to, I'm extra glad I bailed out.

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1st story of set of 5 stories... The journey to find the truth

Never read the novel so no expectations but was eagerly waited to see GulfKanawut's performance after the success of Bua Phun Fan Yap. It's about the journey of Laorchan to find the truth about her family and her boss Khun Phu who truly and sincerely loves her.The betrayal of Laorchans best friend but the most impressive was the acting of Gulfkanawut especially in EP7 and so on, his tears was real and the bonding and the warmth of the family.. I love that family so much .. At times Gulfkanawut as Khun Phu's character bring tears in viewers eyes too.. His eyes express all his emotions and brings out the best of him... and it tells his stories . If you expect romance and kissing in the lakorn, im sorry,its very limited... The script and editing could have been better. At the end the cast did their job amazingly especially Gulfkanawut...

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Deeper on theme than relationships

There was good stuff here. Some interesting themes and thought-provoking ideas. A pretty good mix of humor and angst. The actors did a good job. And I always adore childhood-friends-to-lovers. Overall, it was pretty good. But I was a little disorientated by some choices. It appeared the show was more invested in exploring the nature of divorce, than going deep on the relationships; the relationships were there to serve the theme, not the other way around. Which isn't wrong. Some people might enjoy it. But I felt some important moments weren't quite given the attention they deserved.

I loved the main couple, individually and as a couple. The start of their relationship was great. I loved that we got hints they'd both been in love forever, but Fu Li Gong became aware of it much, much earlier—which fits their characters. Given Zheng Ze Shou's personality, I'm not surprised he went turbo-fast once he became aware of his own feelings. Fu Li Gong's freak out in the second half also made sense. He hid his feelings for a long time, scared of how their relationship might change; then everything did change, very suddenly, without any warning, and he didn't have the chance to process the changes or the consequences of the changes. A freak out at some point was inevitable, and I probably would've been disappointed if it hadn't come. Even so, I think the show didn't handle that entire conflict as well as it could have. Even though I understand why Fu Li Gong reacted like he did, the show only presented the surface level. They accidentally make his anxieties seem shallow, and like he came to that decision unbelievably easily, given how invested he was in the relationship. The resolution is also a bit too easy, given the big emotions must have been going on. Given how long these two loved each other, and how much they had to lose if things went wrong (which is the entire point of the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope!!) the whole conflict kinda played out like just another disagreement and makeup. That being said, I like that Ze Shou eventually called him out (gently) for lying.

I don't really have much to say about the second couple. They were okay to watch, but I didn't get invested in them. Don't know why. They just didn't grab my attention.

In summary, I'm glad I watched it, and I might re-watch it to see how I feel the second time around. If my opinion changes I'll add a note to the end of this review. It's possible I was just thrown off by how unusual the show was in it's approach. Normally, a show that explores a super deep and emotional concept like divorce, will mirror that depth and emotion in the relationships. This show didn't quite match the energy. They went deep on the concept, but didn't mirror that intensity at all in the relationships, so I was left feeling the relationships were surface level and lacking (even though I might not have otherwise felt that way). All that said, I'm not sure that this approach would suit my taste anyway. I can like shows that keep things light. I like shows that take things deep. But if I can only have deep themes or deep relationship, I'd rather a deep relationship with light themes, than heavy themes with relatively surface-level relationship. But that's just me. If I end up re-watching it (which I'm not sure I will) I'll let you know if I change my mind on anything.

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"A man is not a human being without mercy"

Sansho the Bailiff had little to do with the title character and everything to do with two noble children sold into slavery to him. A family torn apart never let the dream die of being reunited one day. They would all have to decide if they should continue doing the right thing when good things happened to bad people and bad things happened to good people.

A governor who refuses to let the military conscript and further tax his people who have experienced famine for 13 years is stripped of his title and exiled. Before he leaves, he tells his son to remember that “A man is not a human being without mercy…Everyone is entitled to their happiness.” He gives Zushio the treasured family statuette of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy to keep with him. His wife Tamaki and the two young children stay for a time with her brother and then determine to make the long trek in search of the father. Along the way they are betrayed in an area rife with bandits and slave dealers. Tamaki is sold into prostitution on a distant island and the children are sold into slavery to Sansho the Bailiff. Sansho is a cruel slave owner who keeps his slaves in a walled compound. Any attempt at escape results in a branding on the forehead. Sansho’s son, Taro, is kind to the children and tells them to endure until they are old enough to escape and make the difficult journey to their father. He then leaves the compound, never to return. As the children age, Anju adheres to her father’s words of wisdom while Zushio abandons them and in a twist of fate becomes the cruel "son" Taro could never be.

Calling out injustice was a familiar theme for Mizoguchi. In this film, the barbarism of forced labor camps was brought forth. More than once, the suffering of the common people was dismissed as unimportant by the affluent leaders. Much as his sister in real life had been, Tamaki was sold into prostitution. Despite the longing and despair of the characters, the scenery was amazing. Cinematographer Miyagawa Kazuo brought great beauty to the black and white film with stunning outdoor shots. Mizoguchi used water in several scenes—a lake and the ocean providing two of the more powerful moments in the film. Sansho’s slave encampment was claustrophobic and filthy, dark with hopelessness hanging over the weary people.

Sansho the Bailiff was based on a 1915 short story which was based on an old folk tale. What is curious about the title of the film was that Sansho was the villain and appeared far less than Zushio and Anju who were sold into slavery to him. Instead of Sansho’s story this was the boy Zushio’s as he grew into manhood. The mother and children were given different names along their journeys of suffering and as they sought to hold onto and rediscover their identities. Zushio’s growth and quest to reunite his family was the narrative backbone to the film. And if his growth was the backbone, Anju’s and Tamaki’s loving persistence was the life-giving blood of the film. Both women had deeply poignant scenes that will linger in my mind. Anju had a devastating scene that far from being melodramatic was like ripples through time that would affect other characters’ lives. And like those ripples the good done by the family members spread ever outward even when the family paid the cost. Sansho the Bailiff juxtaposed man’s cruelty and ability to be merciful, an ongoing battle even now as humankind decides who they want to be when they grow up.

15 April 2024

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