My Top Drama of 2023
I’m still shocked that this show passed censorship—in a good way, I should stress. I’m almost speechless.I should also stress that this is a heavy show and it’s hard to watch. The script plays fair with the audience, which means that nothing goes smoothly for the sake of convenience. Every single outcome is actively earned and every setback is established fairly too. We know the villains, we know the heroes, and they know each other. It’s part spy movie, part guzhuang, part Law & Order SVU, and part love story. The love was there. It didn’t change anything, but it was there.
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Cute Drama, definitely recommending it!
First of all, I didn‘t expect this drama to be so good. I read a lot of slightly negative reviews beforehand, especially concerning Hwang Min Hyun‘s acting skills. However, I have to say I was seriously surprised how much I liked him in this drama and I am definitely looking forward to seeing him in many more.The story is really captivating. The plot following Composer Kim Do Ha‘s secret and his blooming relationship with his neighbour keeps you on your toes. Each episode brings you closer to revealing the culprit. Well, you might have a slight suspicion who it might be, but when it was revealed, I was really devastated, because I was so much into the story.
Another aspect is the dynamic between the lead characters. The chemistry between Hwang Min Hyun and Kim So Hyun is sparkling. Them playing a couple in love was absolutely sweet. I would have liked a few more “romantic“ moments, but in the later episodes you could really feel the love they have for each other. Seo ji Hoon plays Lee Kang Min, a character I didn‘t like at first, but he grew upon me. Kim Do Ha and Lee Kang Min‘s scenes were enjoyable and their bickering and jealousy was totally convincing.
My absolute favourite character was Jo Deuk Chan. I really felt with him when his life began to crumble around him. I wanted to help him solving all his struggles so bad! :)) I also liked the side characters and their stories, especially Syaon and her bodyguard.
As a Kpop enthusiast I appreciated the music, however I think there a way better Kpop songs ;)
All in all, I really enjoyed this drama. Please give it a try, you will not be disappointed!
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If you love Ancient Love Poetry, then you have got to watch this!
Yuan Qi being the Son to the Two True Gods: Bai Jue and Shang Gu in Ancient Love Poetry, The Last Immortal is a story which focuses on Yuan Qi journey to Adult-hood, after he was sent to Daze Mountain as the disciple to Donghua.The Last Immortal beginning takes place after Bai Jue sacrificed himself and before he return at the very end of Ancient Love Poetry.
Yuan Qi in the beginning is 200 years old, which is a bit odd in Xianxia standard that he's fully grown into teenager, but that's okay, since I just take it that it is just the world-building in this story. So when Yuan Qi is under a different identity, named Gu Jin (being 200 years old), would be considered a Young Teen at the beginning.
Some people keep asking whether they should watch Ancient Love Poetry first, or not. The Last Immortal is a standalone drama, BUT if you haven't watched Ancient Love Poetry, then you are surely missing out on it's prequel, since whether you like it or not, knowing what happened in the past, will give you a better understanding to the world building & characters and where this story takes place, since Post Time-Skip (1000 years later), Bai Jue(Yuan Qi's father) would have already returned to Shang Gu, in the God Realm. So the story is connected/tied back with each other.
I am into Xianxia genre, so naturally, when a Xianxia genre looks appealing I would give it a go, and me being a fan to Ancient Love Poetry, and know that the story are linked/connected in the world-building, how can I not give The Last Immortal a try? Since Bai Jue and Shang Gu is my OTP in the Ancient Love Poetry, naturally I would want to watch about their son in his own story/spinoff i.e. The Last Immortal. When I first started watching this drama, I was pretty neutral with Gu Jin (ML), but if I have to be honest, I didn't like that side to him where he doesn't want to cultivate to get stronger. At first I didn't understand why but as the story progresses there are hints thrown in to show why he felt that way, and by then, I came to understand his feelings better.
I actually felt that Yuan Qi's character is quite sad when you think about it. If we look at his past from his childhood until now, it is impossible not to feel sorry for him. People also need to know that the Novel Yuanqi (portrayed in Shang Gu) is different to the Drama Yuan Qi (in Ancient Love Poetry) when he was a kid. The change in the Novel Kid Yuan Qi vs Drama Kid Yuan Qi, is that in the Drama: Ancient Love Poetry, it was an added bonus where the screen-writers give us those moments where Yuan Qi's father (Bai Jue) spends time with him in the mortal realm before he go and sacrifice himself. He have those father-son moments that the Novel Kid Yuan Qi never received in the prequel.
So, if you take this into consideration, you will know just how sad his childhood is like. Since the Last Immortal takes the adaptation of it's Novel (Hidden God), based on the events that happened in Shang Gu Novel.
Why is it sad? Well, Yuan Qi was born without a mother and father. When his mother woke up, he had to call her "auntie" for a while. His father acted like he didn't love him. Just when Shang Gu (Yuan Qi's mother) found out that his father was doing all this for them, she completely lost it. His mother could not take care of him as a result, since she didn't have the heart to take care of Yuan Qi, because she knelt before the ancestral god for years (500 years in the Drama, but more in the novel). When looking at this, it really feels like she ignored him. And then he was sent to Daze Mountain for training. It was also shown that Yuan Qi's lost his god powers due to what happened (in the past). Gu Jin was the name he uses as another identity when he was sent to Daze Mountain.
In all those years, he never properly get to have a family moment, nor did he get to celebrate his own birthday with his parents...
So honestly, I don't blame Gu Jin if he doesn't want to return to being True God Yuan Qi, because looking at his past/backstory, there is no example in front of him, when he's a child that godhood is a good thing. For Yuan Qi, being God means self-sacrifice, loneliness, and leaving loved ones behind, and not being able to live the life he want.
He once said that logically speaking; he understands why his father (Bai Jue) did what he did, but he then revealed his true feelings deep down, and I felt that the actor WAY (Wang An Yu) did a really good job in portraying those subtle expressions of hurt and sadness within him. BUT despite this being said, he still loves his parents deeply, for a child that didn't get to grow up in that kind of happy-family environment, his parents is among those few people that is very important to him (Yuan Qi really deserves a hug to be honest!!).
I honestly don't fault him for feeling this way, because as much as I love his parents (Bai Jue and Shang Gu, in their story), but as parents, they weren't able to give a loving childhood and environment for their son Yuan Qi to grow up in. Even Daze Mountain felt more like a loving family atmosphere than the God Realm that he grew up in so I can understand why he loves being in Daze mountain, those were his carefree moments where he gets to do the things he loves to do.
So when we began watching the very first scene, the producers gave us a snippet of 1000 years later at the beginning scene when Yuanqi(ML) was trying to chase after A-Yin(FL), but we didn't know what happened that lead to that scene, and then it got shifted back to 1000 years ago, the past, before that scene occurred, I do think it was cleverly used because it gives the audience a sense that "we know this beginning scene is going to happen eventually", but we don't know why, and what lead to that scene, so as we got transported back 1000 years ago, this is like going through a journey where we learn about their backstory and what lead to that scene at the beginning.
Acting wise, Zhao Lusi doesn't disappoint in her role as A-Yin and Feng Yin, she really bring out the emotions well! This is also the first time I've seen WAY (Wang An Yu) in a drama, but I felt like he really brought out the feelings of his character: Gu Jin and Yuan Qi well (in his own way), at least he did successfully made me feel sorry for him/through the way he played out those subtle sad/hurt emotions.
Both WAY (Wang An Yu) and Zhao Lusi have great chemistry in terms of expressing their love/feelings for each other, that when they're together on-screen you see how naturally comfortable they are together. FL being born to be the Next Pheonix Queen have to go through her Nirvana/Tribulation as A-Yin, the water divine beast and their story begins from there, where they came to meet each other, what started off as bickering to being the "only one" in each other life.
While in the Ancient Love Poetry (it's prequel) shows me that being a True God is cool etc etc, but in The Last Immortal, it really showcase it in a different light that being a True God isn't fun and games but someone with a heavy responsibility, that needs to consider the well-being of the Three Realms, and how to be fair, where personal opinions doesn't matter. I honestly felt so tired for Yuan Qi during those times, because..... Well, won't spoil it for you - you can see for yourself when you watch it.
Please don't hate Yuan Qi, try to see and understand his feelings... This is a story/journey to adulthood. If we have everything perfect with no mistakes, then it will just be bland and boring, and it will not touch on our emotions the way it did... If you didn't like him at the beginning then he's a character that will grow on you by the end.
Yuan Qi is character that have made mistakes, mistakes that leads to regret and regret that leads to character developments, but in my eyes, no matter he is Gu Jin or Yuan Qi, they are the same person, and he has always tried his very best to protect A-Yin on his end. I can never bring myself to hate Yuan Qi, because I understood the situation that was presented to him, and how much he shows me he cares and values A-Yin's life. But the portrayal of Gu Jin and True God Yuan Qi does present different aura's to show a contrast on the development/growth that after Gu Jin returned to being True God Yuan Qi, he is no longer that same carefree him who just lives his life away, not having to shoulder those heavy responsibilities that he will have when he returned to being True God Yuan Qi
But you know, one of the things I love about Yuan Qi's character is that, although he know he doesn't have much time left, he really just simply want to spend those remaining moments with Feng Yin, so they can have those happy memories to look back to.
This is really difference to his father, Bai Jue, because respectively(each to their own) love the FL, in BJ perspectives, he thought that having his family hate him will be their strength to live on and move on without being heartbroken when he's gone. Since he didn't want the whole short time bliss leads to an long term suffering.
But Yuan Qi, in his own story shows us this in another light, where he didn't want to waste any moments away and he just simply want to create those happy memories together for Feng Yin, so that even if he's gone there won't be any regrets.
I think deep down Yuan Qi is subconsciously impacted by his father's decision and wish he didn't have to go that direction to make them(YQ and SG) hate him(BJ), because that left them with regrets when they found out the whole truth but is too late to go back to fix those regrets because they didn't know BJ real intentions and how much BJ loved them
Anyways what I wanted to say is that I honestly love BOTH Bai Jue and Yuanqi here, they both will do anything to protect the woman they love but have taken different paths to achieve it. If I have to choose here, although I understand BJ intentions were good, but I have to agree with Yuanqi decisions and what he's showing me, since I rather see some happy moments which leaves them happy memories without any regrets IF he have to "die".
Yuanqi in my eyes is a great and loving husband and I feel happy that Fengyin can have someone like Yuanqi who loves and protects her like this.
From the audience perspective, my advise is when you watch this drama, try to take a step back and see it from all sides perspectives, not just one, and then you will see why they did what they did. Whether you like it or not, it is entirely up to your preference, but like I said, when we look at his past from his childhood until now, it is impossible not to feel sorry for him. I do think this is the fate of the god of chaos, the direct leader of the true gods. The same was true for his mother, Shang Gu. In my opinion, the greater the power, the greater the difficulties one must overcome.
Some may love ALP better, due to preference, I love ALP too but I also love this drama as well, in its own way because it is a great story which shows a different perspective to being a True God in the three realms and showing how the characters have grown through their respective story. Each one have their own tribulation they must overcome, both Bai Jue and Shang Gu have theirs in ALP, now it's Yuan Qi's turn in TLI. Being in a tribulation, I see it is obstacles they have to overcome whether it's in love(worthy of being with each other at the end, after going through all these obstacles set for them by fate) or the roles of being a True God (Yuan Qi) and Phoenix Queen (Feng Yin).
As far as the other actors goes, there is quite a few familiar faces, like I recognized Qi Pei Xin who plays as Bi Bo and Feng Ming Jing who plays as the Three Headed Dragon, since they were both actors from The Untamed LOL, so that was a nice surprise to see them in this drama. I do think that all the actors did a great job in this drama!
If I have to say something I don't like is that, they didn't feature Tian Qi or Zhi Yang in the God Realm (or any mentioning of them), and I am still bitter at the fact that aside from Yuan Qi, they didn't keep the canon names for some of the other characters, and have to changed it instead. Di Juan and Yi He, seriously?? (-___-)
In terms of ending perspective, my final verdict is I asked for an ending that makes sense and I got that, they did well in explaining how Yuan Qi can come back instead of just leaving it to our imagination... Thats at least not lazy writing imo.
It's a happy ending for all characters and I'm happy for them. Happy that for all 3 pairings I shipped they got their happy ending.
I will have to express my gratitude to the Devil God, Ming Qi, since he really played a big role in bringing back Yuan Qi, and he doesn't seem as evil/selfish as his character portrayal in Ancient Love Poetry. I also like the bromance between him and Xiuyan!
In terms of the ending for Yuan Qi and Feng Yin, yeah, it's a Happy Ending BUT personally it's not a satisfying one, for me at least, since.... I was like why didn't she run up and hug him at the end???
Honestly, I would be content if they shared one last hug before the end. It would be a nice parallel back to Bai Jue and Shang Gu (Yuan Qi's parents) where Shanggu ran up to Baijue and hugged him and them both being content at the end of Ancient Love Poetry (ALP) in each other's arms... But sadly we didn't get that in The Last Immortal. You know the irony here is that back then when I saw that ending for Shang Gu and Bai Jue, I wanted something more for them, not just a hug, but now in The Last Immortal, looking back at the ending, to Ancient Love Poetry, that was at least a more satisfying ending for the Shang Gu and Bai Jue, at least they can have a one final hug, which we didn't get for Yuan Qi and Feng Yin.
This is why I feel conflicted about the ending. I love that they put in the effort to explain how it's possible for Yuan Qi to come back and not left it to our imagination, but at the same time, I didn't feel satisfied with this ending. I honestly would be content if Feng Yin ran up to Yuan Qi and they have one final hug before the end. If that happened I think it will be a nice parallel back to ALP ending IMO.
IF they can't get that, then, can they not at least close the gap and not standing at a distance like that? Yeah, I can see that they both expresses how happy they were that they're back together, even if there's a distance, they're connected through their mutual happiness (for their well deserved happy ending). It is poetic, but it didn't leave me with a satisfying feeling, this is because I do think that after all they've been through they both deserve a more satisfying ending, you know....
Well, I think that is about me and my Xianxia genres in todays standards.... They always go with the typical "last minute happy ending", where the ML sacrifice for the FL, and the FL wait for the ML and then he return, and they got their happy ending... I really miss the good old days where the ending for Xianxia back then have a more fully satisfying ending when compared to nowadays. This is why for me, when I came to love them as a pairing in Xianxia, I want them to film at least another Drama together but this time in a Modern setting since at least the Modern Dramas are more fulfilling with their ending when compared to Xianxia. Xianxia has always been my favourite genre, but sadly, this is how I feel towards Xianxia ending nowadays, there's only a few Xianxia endings that puts a smile in my face when I watch it in 2023.... Back from the Brink, Love you Seven Times and The Journey of Chongzi epilogue to name a few where I was happy/content with their ending..
Anyways, I won't ramble on, so I will conclude my review here, do I recommend this drama? Yes!!! If you're a fan to Ancient Love Poetry, then do give this Drama a go, but watch this without any biasness. We may have our preference on which one we love better: ALP or TLI, but don't hate on one of them just to make your drama the "better" one since everyone have different preferences, and you're not doing your drama any justice because you're giving a bad rep to the one you're supporting/loving.
For me, I love both Ancient Love Poetry and The Last Immortal. They both have their own unique charm that is compelling, and it will be a sad miss if you don't watch either one IMO!
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BL Drama no Shuen ni Narimashita: Crank Up Hen
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I loved this series!!!!
I watch a lot of BL and have never actually written a published review but I had to for this one! I just finished it like 10 minutes ago and it was amazing! So sweet and the chemistry is insane! It’s nothing too intense, but it also has such great backstory and emotion! It is so funny and the two leads are amazing! I need these two in more dramas! The entire cast did amazing and it was so well put together for such a short show I was really pleasantly surprised. I could write an essay about this little series honestly, but I’ll just say you should definitely check it out!Was this review helpful to you?
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What was this??
Oh My God… here we go.I have watched probably most Kdramas in which Kim Ji Eun starred lately, if not all. And I must say this one is a disaster. This was worse than ‘One Dollar Lawyer’.
There’s so much wrong with this that I don’t even know where to begin from? Let’s start from the Plot? If this even had one.
If you have watched any medical Kdramas 2015 onwards you can guess the plot of this drama right from the very beginning. And I mean it. I guessed the plot in episode 1. Watching episode 2 just solidified my theory and the remaining episodes were pure torture.
Now you might be thinking, if it was so bad why the heck did you not drop it? Well, 2023 was a bad year for crime-thriller so I was making do with whatever crumbs I could find, okay? lol
The ML… was he so annoying because his character was written like that or was it because the actor didn’t do a good job?? I have never watched any other project from this actor before so I’ll cut him some slack and pretend that it was just bad writing at play. It does have lots of issues when it comes to writing.
His character was the ML but trust me if you remove his character from the storyline it won’t leave an impact at all. That’s how useless he was. All he ever did was shout, act like a brat and beat people up for no reason. I know he’s supposed to be the countryside one but c’mon… wth?? If you compare his character to the ML from “Bad Prosecutor” you’d say D.O probably did a good job there. Both characters are supposed to be typical Kdrama-ish bratty, hot headed, annoying characters but the way the screenwriter in “Bad Prosecutor” handled the storyline and character development, it made it bearable. While this was just utter nonsense.
Coming to his family, his brother was probably an Angel and I’m sorry I just don’t buy how someone can be so nice. Their mom was horrendous 😭 not just her, the friend and their so called polygamous relationship with the doctor guy was so uncomfortable to watch. Why did they even feel the need to include that?? Whyy??
The countryside scenes were unnecessary and didn’t add anything to the progression of the storyline. Instead of adding those scenes they could have easily skipped those and made this a 10-12 eps drama. (which is still too much considering the plot).
The Fl… *sigh* Good Lord. She was just there. Existing. Her character wasn’t too unbearable but it wasn’t something extraordinary either. You could easily forget about her. But she’s smart, which our ML isn’t.
The other characters were very stereotypical. Talking about stereotypes, wth was that Arab representation?? I’m not Arab but I am Muslim and although the writer did explain our faith. They did not do a good job. Kdrama writers should stay away from religions. Please I beg you.
The episode where the FL and her coworker gets kidnapped was so unnecessary. This drama dragged on for eternity. Once you figure out the plot in ep 2, there’s nothing left to watch (unless you want to see justice being done… which we didn’t see much of in this drama).
The plot twists weren’t even plot twists because you can guess what’s about to happen… *sigh* why am I still typing this review? guess I’m just very annoyed..
I can go on and on about the plot holes and bad writing. But as a writer there’s one thing I must say, whenever you’re writing a character please give them backstory. No matter how minor of a character it is, give them a backstory. Add their traumas, the scars they carry within and how the lessons they’ve learned shapes their perspective and outlook on life in general. It’s very important or else your character will come off as bland and dull.
PS: why can’t I keep the rewatch value 0? This app really expects me to give this a 1 star rewatch value? It’s too much.
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True to life
The movie beautifully yet realistically portrays the life of seven friends from a small town and how they go to Tokyo for a better life, how they mature over time as they face the cut throat competition of a large city and the harshness of life.The initial premise of the movie could have been better to give a better overview of the friends and their relationships and how they are held together as a group. However, the movie frequently flashbacks to the past to show certain significant moments in the character's life.
The movie very realistically portrays how people from small town in search of opportunities can easily go astray in life once they set foot on a megacity and can get easily overwhelmed ultimately leading to a bad end. It also portrays that simply having talent won't cut it in today's world, and even if you can survive that, you simply just can't do things as per your wish.
Overall the movie might feel depressing(it also is) to most people, that's mostly because of its accurate representation of real life. The movie can be thought of as a coming of age movie, and i believe the target demographic is the late teens to twenties as they will find the movie very relatable.
If you fall in that demographic, its a great watch, but avoid watching when you are feeling depressed or sad. Recommended.
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An Interesting Watch
I was keeping up with this drama’s updates since it was announced. I kinda wanted to read the original Manhwa but then I thought otherwise because I didn’t want to spoil anything for myself.The first half is interesting to say the least. There’s lots of characters, we see a bunch of side stories and the the cat and mouse game begins. But right after that it almost felt like they were just dragging the storyline a bit too much. The underage characters annoyed me so much to the point I went through the comments to check if anyone else was finding them annoying. Lo and Behold, some people did.
I really wanted to see character development for some characters especially Mu Chan. Man it hurts so much to see him being the way he is 😂 even in the end. If I were to say the ending just brings us back to square one then it wouldn’t be an understatement. We basically end up at a dead end. Unless they’re planning a s2, it was a very half assed ending in my opinion.
Coming back to the characters, Kim Mu Chan my boy you let me down. The FL was okayish. The professor’s character was good and my favourite has to be the teacher guy (don’t mind me I finished watching this like a month ago so I cannot remember their names)
I shipped the main protagonists 😂 and loved their banters in the beginning. When she goes to his house, how he experience a “nightmare”, when she picks up a gun and decides to shoot the villain guy. I really wished they had more moments together because in the later half they started acting like strangers. All that chemistry just for them to be estranged? tsk tsk
Now the plot. I hate how Korean cyber unit couldn’t trace the IP address for the life of them. The whole steaming thing was very unrealistic but I get it, it’s fiction. I let it slide but still it was just hard to swallow.
The character motivations often didn’t align with their personalities. I hate how they killed that ONE character in the end. It was so unnecessary. (unless they’re planning on playing a trick on us??)
Where’s the backstory for our protagonists?? Kim Mu Chan lost his mother but what happened next?? What’s the story behind the FL’s scar? Why do we never find any closure for their traumas? Maybe they’re planning all of that for S2. 🤷🏻♀️
But this Kdrama did bring me out of my Kdrama slump. I feel like 2023 was a bad year for crime-thriller genre. This was a good addition to it and a good way to end such a terrible year.
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watched it for Jung So Min at first, but in the end I loved everything about it
Love Reset is a delightful romcom that had me laughing from start to finish. The movie cleverly embraces cliché scenes and over-exaggerated acting, creating a humorous atmosphere. The comedic timing in the film is spot-on, and it effectively balances the dramatic and comedic elements in its storytelling. The film delves into their past relationship, exploring the reasons behind their decision to divorce and the challenges they face in rediscovering their love for each other. Themes of forgiveness, second chances, and the importance of communication in relationships are skillfully woven into the narrative. What I appreciated most about Love Reset is that it stays true to its genre, delivering a lighthearted and fun experience. While it touches on the complexities of marriage and the pursuit of second chances in love, it never loses its light and enjoyable tone.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching "Love Reset" and would give it an 8/10 rating. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a feel-good romcom that will leave you with a smile on your face.
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A Familiar Revenge Story BUT with a ML Character has split personality disorder
From Enemies to Empathy/understanding to Lovers, this story still has interesting enough, there's a lot of kdrama/cdrama similar but this one quite lacks the acting ability, and another problem is the film's camera angles and shots, why does the camera shake and waggle in many scenes make the experience very uncomfortable.The plot is quite predictable, and the chemistry is 'uhhh', it's hard to say, maybe because the acting of FL makes me so frustrated and bored. Her eyes are so bland and flat, she plays an assassin character but with naive and sleepy eyes????, also her line is so bad...
The ML's story is quite interesting to me, his acting is good and he used to be an idol before, I think he is trying hard and putting effort into this, so he can capture and embody the character so well.
In conclusion, this drama is worth watching because of ML's story.
=> I dropped this after watching ep 3, I find it hard to watch, the acting, the camera works, and the way they portray the story are all so boring to me.
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Amazing Show, Took me by Surpise with the Tone shift--Highly Recommend
Wow I just finished this show and it was very well done, I'm quite surprised I haven't heard of this show before. If you're someone who hates slow-paced dramas and instead wants action, friendship, and deep topics then this show is perfect. With only 6 episodes, it gets right to the point and develops the characters so well, making the story gripping with each episode.As we know, Korea has a severe issue with bullying, with scales of bullying that aren't really seen here in the West (bullying becoming torture) and it always shocks me to my core when I see how severe bullying can get, this drama sheds light on bullying in the mandatory military enlistment. So many of the deserters, the Koreans who run away from their military service but are forced to come back, are victims of severe bullying. However, they are treated like predators, when in reality they are the victims running away to save themselves from the torture they face in the military. The drama shines a light on how, especially in Korean society, the bullies are put at an advantage and the victims are villainized. What change can happen, when the system itself ignores and favours bullies? If bullies are seen as 'strong' and the victims are blamed for being too 'weak' to deal with their issues, then change can't occur. It's a sad truth, but the cycle of oppression for bullying victims is too true of a reality.
I loved the ending, despite how sad it was, because it really enhances the theme and struggles that victims face. Their lives are ruined to the point that death is a better option for them, how can they live when they now have to deal with this trauma while also watching their bullies live their lives without any care or consequences? It's a hard drama to watch, but one that gives such an important message to viewers. Unfortunately, change never occurs until someone loses their life, and even then it's sometimes not enough.
What I liked about the show was the writing and how the writers were able to shift tones so smoothly, it would go from serious to lighthearted naturally and it made the show more digestible. The bromance between the main characters was perfect, and both Jun-ho and Ho-yol were perfect to be D.P. soldiers because of their humanity and empathy.
Overall this is a hard show to stomach, with its graphic and violent bullying, but the message is very well executed and overall the show was wonderfully done.
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Between Virtual Reality and Real World
This Sci-Fi Chinese drama is a rare one. Keep in mind this is not a drama for everyone.However try watching it before reading the reviews (as I did).
I rarely review chinese drama but here we go.
First of all... the story. It may seems like a virtual reality world kind of drama but as the story grows, it gradually become a story about altered memory. The writer guided us from the start as if Jiang Xiao Yuan (JXY) traveled through time from 2025 back to 2018 where she met Qi Lian (QL). Whilst QL took her as his old love interest but JXY had no memory of it thinking she occupied his old lover's body. They went through a love-hate relationships throughout the story to find the truth and tried to find ways for JXY to go back to her original world. They clearly were attracted to each other but their pride got in the way. If you are looking for a romantic genre, this is not one. So don't get your hopes on high on this. There's some light romance story but that's it.
However, there was a plot twist towards the end (writer took us on a roller coaster ride) where both JXY and QL found that there was no time travel or other parallel world. It was actually an altered memory where JXY joined as trial experiment participant (Lighthouse system) to earn money for her grandma's medication. It turns out that QL was also one of the earliest participant of the Lighthouse system owned by the original creator (Noah aka Xu Jing Yang-XJY).
JXY altered memory experiment was done by Fan Xiao Xiao (FXX) who stole the whole experiment from Noah, as FXX did not have all the data (and apparently Noah installed a pre warning to QL if his experiment is being used), JXY altered memory showed some problems. Whilst QL was a success story, FXX was not (she experienced some setbacks after the experiment hence she stole the whole thing to make things right).
After the whole roller coaster ride story of both QL & JXY life, they eventually got together and be honest to each other.
Along the way come this new character, Jiang Bo (JB) as the adopted son of FXX and serve as bff for both JXY & QL. He was used and abused by his adopted mother FXX so severely that he kinda lost hope in life but JXY made a great impact in his life that he pull himself together and start living life the way he want it.
In the end FXX was defeated and captured and JXY, QL and JB did live a happy life in the end.
Okay, story wise it may seems boring at first and some parts of it (especially about the make up thingy, salon thingy) but overall the mystery surrounding Lighthouse System and whether XJY did exist as a person or not were intriguing enough for me to keep following the drama from start to end. It did give us a satisfactory ending and would love to see more romance but as the genre it is, I'm satisfied it is. (A follow up wedding of JXY & QL would be nice though).
Lin Yi as an actor always delivered his acting excellently. No doubt he is not just a handsome one but great in acting as well. All his facial expression clearly shown throughout his acting. Love seeing him taking different roles in acting (not just romance genre all the time). Will definitely looking forward for his next projects.
Liu Hao Cun is considered newbie in acting world but her acting amazed me. Then I found out that she was handpicked by the renowned directy Zhang Yi Mou, no wonder she was really good. Her height difference with Lin Yi was really cute and they made a great couple. Looking at some BTS in the drama, shes actually really cute and playful. I know there's a lot of negative comments about her acting but for me, I watched her first before I read so it didn't really bothered me as for me her acting was on point.
All of the other actors were really great too and funny at times. I really like the actor playing Jiang Bo as not only handsome but did great too. Also the one playing Cheng Fang Zhou, he was really funny and loyal throughout the series. I really despise the character of Fan Xiao Xiao (the actress did really good though) to the point that I hate seeing her when she came out in the series (haha). So in my opinion all of the actors did well.
Overall, it was a great drama and I rarely find a sci fi chinese drama really good like this that kept me on edge when watching it. Dramas that made you wait for 1-2 eps everyday and watching in patiently must be really good or interesting.
So don't hesitate and start watching it especially if you really like sci-fi drama like this. I will definitely re-watch it again sometimes later.
I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do. Enjoy ^^
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