2To the ends of the earth.
The Lonely Warrior is a crime thriller about one man's obstinate, obsessive thirteen year quest for justice. It is a highly dramatized account of a real life case. The movie version Endless Journey is led by Zhang Yi whereas this drama version is led by Qin Hao.In the middle of a tense, emotional criminal case, an interrogation accident ends the careers of the elite Third Brigade investigative unit led by Cheng Bing. After a ten year stint in prison that costs Cheng Bing everything, he emerges hell bent on hunting down the violent killer Wang Dayong who eluded them all those years ago. He reunites with his squad, all of whom have at surface moved on with their lives but are still haunted by this cold case. They initially go to great lengths to help Cheng Bing but as a result of life commitments end up dropping out. Cheng Bing soldiers on deliberately, methodically pursing the vicious Wang Dayong seemingly till the ends of the earth, leaving no stone unturned.
The strongest aspect of this drama are the chase scenes and the way tension builds in a gripping and chillingly suspenseful way. What I didn't like was how Wang Dayong barely appears in the latter episodes. It was done to raise doubt over whether Cheng Bing was doggedly on the right track but it also made me quite frustrated with his obduracy. They failed to capitalise on Chen Minghao who delivers an incredibly menacing, ruthless and unpredictable Wang Dayong, a hardened criminal with exceptional survival instincts. I was also dismayed with what they did to his appearance; effectively obscuring all the nuances of his expressions. This would have been a lot better if they focused more in the cat-and-mouse chase between Cheng Bing and Wang Dayong with heart stopping near misses instead of pushing Wang Dayong off-screen for such long stretches.
My biggest issue with the narrative is that it delves too deeply into Cheng Bing's and the Third Brigade's personal stories. Qin Hao never fails to impresses in how he conveys deep emotions and he really out did himself in making us feel the weight of everything he loss. But I was not convinced at all by his relationship with Miao Miao. This is not a necessary character even though Ren Min does a good job with it. Add Tong Tong to the mix and I was just rolling my eyes. Even though I enjoyed the Third Brigade's camaraderie, they should either have had them see the case through all the way with Cheng Bing or not at all. It is very annoying to watch the narrative build up all of their personal stories only to see them drop out half way through. The most relevant and interesting relationship is the contentious one between Pan Dahai and Cheng Bing. These many digressions come at the cost of losing the momentum of the chase. This would be a much tighter and better drama with fewer episodes. As such, I am not surprised that the movie version has been better received than the drama even though I personally think the drama has a better lead cast.
Despite some pacing issues, this is overall a very enjoyable suspense thriller anchored by a stellar cast. Happy to rate it 7.5/10.0.
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Slice of Life Xianxia
This was my anticipated drama of 2023 and although I hoped that it could’ve been 50 episodes (in my personal opinion, 40 is too short. I just feel like 10 additional episodes would be better, but I get it) I still enjoyed the drama in it’s entirety. I was also looking forward to the Lusi-Anyu pairing, they definitely did not disappoint, and they had a lot of chemistry, like kids and friends, and when they matured in the later episodes. You could say that ALP is much more grander in scale and cinematography, but I love the story of TLI. its simple and beautiful and focused on the life of Gu Jin/A Yin. The theme song will also grow with you and I enjoy and love it now.I do have to say, the friendship of the four leads is my favorite of this series. They are all wonderful as individuals and even greater as a team! Even in the later episodes, you’ll love them even so much more. 🫶
I recommend this drama a lot! and even if you haven’t seen ALP, you can watch this for its plot and slice of life. Yes, it is still xianxia, and the angst are still there, but the happy early episodes are fun and bright. ❤️
I hope Anyu and Lusi get to be paired again! 🫶🫶
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Deceptively simple, but astoundingly mature and nuanced!
I was so surprised to see something jump to the top of BL rated dramas on MDL after what has felt like a year (2023) of less than great BL productions, but after watching it I believe it deserves the accolades. I’ve always gravitated to the BL dramas that prioritize a sense of realism and emotional heft, over the shenanigans and illogical misunderstandings that many BLs try to pass off as legitimate plot points. Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo stands head to toe with many of my favorite BLs, like Eien no Kinou, Fujoshi, Ukkari Gei ni Kokuru, Gameboys, I Told Sunset About You, Like in the Movies, More Than Words, Otto No Otto, Bokura no Shokutaku, The Eighth Sense, Mood Indigo, Kinou Nani Tabeta?, and Blueming. So if you like any of those, you will likely also enjoy this. The plot of Kimi to Nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo seems very simple, but hidden inside is a very relatable story, engaging characters, plot tension that emanates from believable human emotions. This show made me tear up (happy tears) many times. It’s incredibly refreshing to see characters be so honest with themselves about what they want. The drama hinges on actual human desires, without any “gotchas” like the forced under-explained misinterpretations and missed connections that many BL dramas unfortunately rely on as plot devices. this show was incredibly well written, and well acted. My only criticism of the may be that it might be slightly unbelievable that these two high school students would be able to communicate with such maturity. A bonus of this show is the amazing theme song, and closing credits song, which both perfectly convey the emotions of this series. I’ve watched over 150 BL dramas and this was one of the best!Was this review helpful to you?
if you haven't watched this yet do it right now
going into this show i did not realize how heartbreaking and gutwrenching it would be. one of the scenes literally made a sob come out my mouth like it genuinely wrecked me how emotional it was. some scenes had me sick to my stomach and made my heart feel empty. everything was so well done about this i can't put into words how much this moved mecharacters were expertly done, acting was sublime and the story was just incredible. this is one of those shows where i will be thinking about even months after watching
the greatest thing about this masterpiece are the characters and the relationships they have with one another. you even feel bad for the "bad guys" at some points. when i watch a show, i have to be attached to the characters, otherwise what's the point? if i'm not feeling their pain and if i'm not gripping the edge of my seat, then it's a waste of time. thankfully this show had everything. it made me cry, it made me slap my hand over my mouth and it made me feel joy.
it's a very grim yet humanizing perspective on how we as people would operate if left to our own devices. it leaves you thinking about the society we live in and how love may be the reason you keep fighting to survive. i finished both seasons of this show in a little over a day — that's how immersed i was — and i'm so glad i finally decided to watch this after it sitting in my watch list for the last 2 years T-T
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had me feelings things i've never felt
going into this show i did not realize how heartbreaking and gutwrenching it would be. one of the scenes literally made a sob come out my mouth like it genuinely wrecked me how emotional it was. some scenes had me sick to my stomach and made my heart feel empty. everything was so well done about this i can't put into words how much this moved mecharacters were expertly done, acting was sublime and the story was just incredible. this is one of those shows where i will be thinking about even months after watching
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It’s just too good to say anything
It’s definitely a refreshing drama that can change your mind instantly. 🌸🌻🌼😍😍😍😍💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕😍😍😍😍
It has enough comedy, romance, drama. And the mixture of these things is juussttt amazing🥺🥺. It gave me goosebumps and butterflies 🦋 in my stomach while watching this. 💕💕
It shows the value of both love and friendship. I personally loved it a looootttt😍😍
It’s a good thing to watch in any time. It’s worth watching and worth your time.
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
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This review may contain spoilers
Alright drama, nothing more, nothing less
First I'd like to note that the subs were out of sync 95% of the time (different sources so too much time needed to resync) and the other 5% I didn't look at them lol. so some details might be slightly mixed in my head.It was an alright drama, been about 2 months since I've watched a proper J-Drama but from memory, this plot is pretty average. You could say it flows similarly to 29th Christmas with the kind of plot developments, but no where NEAR as annoying and melodrama filled. Nothing that good stands out with the story, because it's so average, but the bad pacing does stand out.
I really disliked the fact that Chigusa and Taketo (along with the secondary couple too) kept on having trust issues and breaking up then getting back together basically every episode until the very end. I'm surprised though how they managed to not make it overly dramatic with this kind of story lmao.
Acting and all that was good, Yoshino's (Chigusa) acting felt well above par while everyone else had the standard Japanese drama acting. Masaharu's (Taketo) acting bothered me mainly because he seemed to slur words together like every other sentence, same with his dad but I'm just gonna write this off as being an element of the Kyushu dialect (which I've never heard prior)
Etcetera etcetera standard production quality of 90s J-Drama, good music, etcetera etcetera.
Overall it was alright, good time killer if anything, but nothing unique like Koukou Kyoshi. Could have easily been 8 episodes
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This review may contain spoilers
dimple cpuple
i really love this cdrama, the plot is really good too. Zhou Yiran & Sabrina Zhuang have the cutest moments behind the scene, Shen Juan & Lin Yujing have the CUTEST moments in here, i just really love this cdrama so much, the plot is really good because Lin Yujing had a really cruel life with her parents, and with Shen Juan he also had a rough time through the years, but when they meet each other their life’s just got even better because they have each other, the ending was kind boring but when I saw the special episode i was happy, their matching dimples were cute too, people may be disappointed because it was rarely romantic, but i think it was a mature drama not that much skinship.Was this review helpful to you?
Our detective's Watson is no stuffy sidekick. Played with infectious charm by Dal-su Oh, he's the comedic yin to the detective's awkward yang. Their bumbling duo act is the heart of the film.
If you're craving a side-splitting laugh with a dash of intrigue and historical flair, this movie hits the spot.
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This review may contain spoilers
Best show i've ever watched
This is a very underrated show. This is the best show i've ever watched. It is fully action packed, and there's plot twists regularly to keep the show interesting. There's some romance too.The show is about Cha Dal Geon wanting revenge for terrorist attack plotted by a company where his nephew dies in the plane, but the entire government and NIS is corrupt and covering it up. So, Cha Dal Geon, along with another NIS Agent, Go Hae Ri, is trying to expose everyone behind the terrorist plane attack.
There is lot of interesting politics too. In this show, allies become enemies and enemies become allies. I highly recommend it to everyone.
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Tropey without cringe
Is it a trope overdone? Yes. But is it still done beautifully? Yes. It's the perfect rom-com watch. This one's for the light silly rom-com watchers.Good things:
1. If you want to watch attractive people being attractive this is a perfect watch. It's a treat to the eyes.
2. Easy going plot with a fun storyline. It's been done too many times yet this was so worth the watch.
3. The outfits, the fashion, makeup everything on point. It's not over flashy but very beautiful.
4. The bromance and sisterhood in this was splendid and fun to watch. So chaotic.
5. The grandfather was so caring and the grandson granddad relationship was good too.
6. I personally loved the soundtrack, but to each their own.
7. Both the couples chemistry was FIRE. The second couple was next level
8. No toxicity. Even that one character that competes with the second lead was just more funny than annoying.
Bad Things:
1. 12 episodes, felt short and the ending is a little rushed.
2. If anyone's looking for something different or deep this is definitely not it. It's just cliches after cliche.
Interesting things
There's a drama going parallelly with the original drama in the story, it was pretty interesting . Almost as if it was making fun of itself.
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Deaths Game is an emotional ride that grabs you from the first moment. Choi Yi Jae's life is basically a series of unfortunate events—unemployment, a betrayed heart, and the classic falling-for-a-bitcoin-scam disaster. But when he decides to take a dark turn, Death herself steps in with a wicked game. The top-notch cast delivers performances that hit the right emotional chords, and the cameos add extra flavor. The storyline, with its mix of genres, keeps you guessing, and the concept of experiencing death through 12 other lives adds a unique twist. The ending, though somewhat expected, feels just right for the narrative. What's impressive is the intentional cut after the final scene; it's like the creators want us to focus on the emotional weight rather than wondering about the future. Deaths Game is not just about dying and living—it's a gut-wrenching exploration of life's complexities and the resilience to start anew.
A must watch for a ride that'll tug at your heartstrings and leave you contemplating the layers of existence.
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The film is excellent, needlessly tucked away somewhere in a drawer, forgotten, it doesn't deserve it. On MDL, I at least voted for myself, rated, because it seems to me that the film is misunderstood on this server, there is not even a cast, it is at least partly here: https://en.hkcinema.ru/film/48004
Acting, processing, music, everything at a level. I had to look again, confusion in names, confusion in soul. But still, everything is depicted in the end by the desire to live ...
Dva téměř neslučitelné příběhy v jednom. Zmatek jedenáctiletého chlapce (ten taiwanský kluk to zahrál přesvědčivě) po tom, co jej opustila matka a dospělý mladý muž, co má rád muže. Opravdu vnitřní prázdnota a hledání, naděje.
Film je to výborný, zbytečně zastrčený kdesi v šuplíku, zapomenutý, nezalouží si to. Na MDL jsem alespoň sám za sebe hlasoval, hodnotil, protože se mi zdá na tomto serveru film nepochopený, není tam ani herecké obsazení, to je alespoň zčásti zde: https://en.hkcinema.ru/film/48004
Herecké výkony, zpracování, hudba, vše na úrovni. Musel jsem se dívat znovu, zmatek ve jménech, zmatek v duši. Ale přesto všechno je na konci vykreslena touha žít ...
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This review may contain spoilers
DAMN
WOW SEOKJIB WIN…. i was rooting for him…. well at the end. bro is mad handsome and just SO SMART LIKE. he doesn’t crumble under pressure and i think that’s how he basically won.. this was such a good game show man… WOW the games and the plotting was so good. i love watching smart people do smart stuff. IMAGINE BEING SEOKJIN THO… winning it all…. as an ACTOR?!?? damn. bro is so smart… the “next year” thing too?? like what the hell. Yah. but i wished the college student guy lasted longer. Bro was mad smart. i didn’t like orbit or the other yt guy??? and the orthopedic person, and the anchor… i rly liked dongjoo until she teamed with orbit LOL. i agreed w them like why make things even… it’s a game show bro..Was this review helpful to you?
i love blade.
As of this review, Blade is 20 days away from it's 20th anniversary! What better way to spend it than to watch the series...? :DFrom start to finish, Blade features a cast that feels genuine, compelling world-building, cool card-based suits, a main character you sympathize and want to root for, emotionally devastating scenes, and it's pretty funny! Also, Blade has 2 banger openings.
Blade had multiple writers until the latter half of the series, so some minor concepts end up getting discarded / never mentioned again, but I don't think this takes away from the overwall cohesiveness of the plot. Some people may tell you that Blade has some strange pacing in the first half of the series, but I really enjoyed the whimsy, mystery and conflicts of the 1st half. The first half tends to focus on plots that usually last 2 episodes, while the latter half has plots that span multiple episodes to the end. Though the first half of the series does a good job of building up the characters and setting the scene, the latter half has a tone shift that's bit more serious and showcases a clear goal in mind.
Despite this, I think Blade's biggest charm is that sometimes, it tends to take itself too seriously to the point that it's unserious, (onduru memes.) as well as the flawed yet genuine cast. Though I don't agree with some of the actions taken, the characters are given limited knowledge that leads them to act the way they do, VS. us viewers who are omniscient. They feel real to me and I really love the cast!
--
and here's my butchered descriptions of the reoccuring blade cast.
Kenzaki is a beautiful, lovely, golden retriever boyfriend protagonist, whose kindness and love for humanity brings me to tears whenever I think of him. This is Kenzaki Kazuma, he's a kamen rider and he's your next BOYFRIEND!!
Tachibana's disparity of being a well-respected senior to the blade characters, but being a pathetic sopping wet cardboard box of a man who has some of the worst months of his life to us viewers, is pretty funny.
Hajime's development throughout the series as he opens his heart to the Kuriharas (and Kenzaki) is heartwarming, yet heartwrenching. To be loved is to be changed. I love this guy so much.
Mutsuki is a teenager. He is definitely a teenager going through stuff in emo teen ways.
The trio of Kenzaki, Shiori and Koutarou are so enjoyable and I love seeing how much they balance each other out and how each character plays into each other... Friendship trio!!
(Koutarou is the true heroine of Blade and Shiori is the best friend that acts as an anchor. I believe this with all my heart.)
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Come for Kamen Rider and stay for blossoming relationship between Kenzaki and Hajime across 49 episodes with some 20-something episodes of slow-burn.
♠️(OWO)♠️ ♦️(OMO)♦️ ♥️(<::V::>)♥️ ♣️(OHO) ♣️
if you saw me write this review a 2nd time no you didn't.
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